Justine Del Rosario

Professor Hannah Jorgenson

English 114B
May 13, 2014
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Book Review
Many dystopian fictions come with the purpose, other than simply entertainment, of
creating awareness of social issues in real life that should be addressed or at least talked about.
We take most of our resources and availabilities for granted. Do Androids Dream of Electric
Sheep? is my favorite work of dystopian fiction that brings awareness and brings attention to the
social issues of a future changing world, one of the mass destruction due to a world war, and a
world lacking in animals, making them so much more valuable than ever. By reading this novel
written by Philip K. Dick, you get practice of reading dystopian fiction as well as becoming
familiar with the different writing style. This novel makes readers realize that the possibilities for
the future are indeed endless. After a major world war, there may be good outcomes but also bad
outcomes.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a novel set in the future of a world that
undergoes World War Three and was in full effect with atomic bombs killing off something
animal species as a whole. The remainder of undestroyed land has become the only places people
can live. Because their homes are no longer suitable there was a moving dust and radiation that
would soon come over to the cities where the people were situated. After the world war and
world destruction, the national leaders set aside their differences, forgetting about what caused
the problems in the first place, and united to develop strategies for their citizens for finding a
new place to colonize. Reaching solutions and improvement, the leaders would send people off
Del Rosario 2
to different planets but the majority of people went to Mars. The deal of sending off a person to
another planet, leaving earth, the only place they ever knew before would be providing an
Android to each person. An Android is basically a humans personal assistant, created to assist
humanity but looks and acts just like a regular human being, the only difference is how Androids
feel, or shall I say dont feel, empathy to others.
There were groups of people inclined to stay on earth but for different reasons. The
remaining people on earth included those who were too exposed to radiation, policemen to keep
the peace and capture escaped androids and other people who just chose to stay on earth. Those
who remained on earth had evolved into a society that really values live animals of any sort
because there is major lack of living animals due to the radiation killing them off. If you had an
animal or animals, you had a higher ranking in society and it also depends on the type of species
of animal and how rare it is. Policeman, Rick Deckard, unfortunately had to result in purchasing
an electric sheep after its just annoying.
By reading a novel just like this one, it makes you think about the world you live in
today, thinking about what is similar and what is different and also keeping in mind the many
possibilities that life has to offer. You wonder if that will happen in the future or if one day our
government will encourage us to migrate and leave this civilization due to safety precautions.
This kind of dystopian novel gives a few ideas to be planted in a readers mind to ponder about
later on. A novel with twists and turns to a world we know as home, keeps the readers mind
active and exercising, hopefully enough to be thinking and realizing the relationship between the
novel and real life issues being faced today. I think that each issue touched and incorporated into
the novel in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, in some ways, relate to issues faced today
but exaggeratedly. I always come across articles that focus on the issues of animal extinction or
Del Rosario 3
creating a better environment for everyone on earth, for examplefor it be about air pollution.
Water is a large part of our environment and a major element in sustaining our lives on
Earth on every single persons daily lives. The novel does not exactly mention a lack of water or
preserving it yet this issue about water is one about the environment. New York States website
has an article online entitled Keep Water Clean and the article provides suggestions as to the
many ways people can conserve water to work for a better environment. Another environment
related issue is a noticed lack of vegetation in an area where there normally would be plenty.
Where there is open untouched land then that place would serve as a great spot to grow new
vegetation. The New York Times posted an article online entitled, Study Finds Less Green in
the Congo Rain Forest. From what I read in that article is that changes in the environment have
led to drastic findings in places like the Congo Rain Forest. Lack of water in the rain forest
sounds bad which is why it is important to be aware about issues like this so that people can take
action to stop or at least slow down the process of a destroyed environment. Do Androids Dream
of Electric Sheep? brought attention to the issue about loosing many animals therefore we should
value them more than we do today. Currently, many researchers have said that they fear the
extinction of many animals of different species. Its hard to imagine that animals we grew up
learning about have the possibility of dying out.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a book I really recommend to anyone from
high school students to students in undergrad college. It is a good read with interesting plots and
issues of the environment, also benefiting your mind, keeping it active. This is a good novel that
brings attention to everyday issues and will keep your mind thinking and analyzing actively
about the connections between the dystopian fiction and our world today.