INSIDE OUT: BELONGING & HUMANITY IN LITERATURE
Mr. Weaver
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Philip K. Dick
ISBN-10: 0345404475
ISBN-13: 978-0345404473
This novel will provide us with the basic framework for exploring how humanity is defined, who defines it, and what determines whether someone or something is included or excluded.
Here are some questions to consider as you read. Note that you will not be required to submit written responses to these questions, but you may find it helpful to annotate your copy of the text, noting passages that help you to answer these questions or that raise related ones.
Describe the novel’s protagonist, Rick Deckard. How does he evolve over the course of the novel? Which characters and experiences are the most important catalysts for these changes?
Consider the role of women in the novel. Are they fully developed characters? Which of them is portrayed most convincingly? Which strike you as stilted or otherwise underdeveloped?
Rachael Rosen plays a significant role in changing Rick Deckard’s perception both of himself and of the world. How does she do this? Does this ultimately serve to challenge or reinforce stereotypical gender roles?
Consider the role of John Isidore in the novel. What is the attitude of the narrator and of other characters toward Isidore’s disability? Does Dick convincingly develop the experience of Isidore as an individual with a disability? Or does Isidore’s disability function only as a symbol or plot device? How does Isidore complicate the question of how humanity is defined in the context of the novel?
Empathy supposedly distinguishes human beings from androids, but in some ways, the picture Dick paints is more complex than that. Who is able to empathize with whom? Who is not? Note in particular human characters who fail to exhibit empathy. Do you notice any instances in which android characters seem to exhibit empathy?
Note how the narrative alternately follows Deckard and Isidore. What is the effect of this narrative structure? How does this structure contribute to development of the novel’s theme?
Note Dick’s word choice and selection of detail. How do these contribute to the development of setting and mood? How might setting and mood be related to the novel’s meaning and the effect Dick intended the novel to have on readers?
How does Dick develop tension and suspense in the novel? What are the key moments of revelation and climax?
What characters, social dynamics, or events in the novel do you relate to most? Why?
How does your impression of the novel change as the story progresses? What aspects of the novel surprised or challenged you the most? Why?