Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Frankenstein - Essay Example

Frankenstein, Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep-Self and Other Begin to Blur In Eleanor Rosch’s “The embodied Mind”, she writes that, an individual comprehends the power of grasping after foundations when he or she becomes aware of owns experiences. It is grasping of a foundation, which is of a real; separate self, separate world and actual familiarity between self and world. This means that, by definition, anything can only be absolute, intrinsic or independent if it is not dependent on other things; it needs to have an identity that can transcend its relations. Therefore, nothing in existence can have an independent or ultimate existence. Everything is empty of independent existence because it is co-dependently originated. Therefore, it is important for people to experience. The self and the world change from one moment to the other and are mutually independent. This paper will examine the changing adherence to these foundations by artificial beings in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Frankenstein. It will also examine evidence in the novels that the artificial men are more human than human beings in their search for experience. Both texts claim humanity is a peculiarity, which can be acquired and lost and has naught to do with the mode of creation. Artificial men can have human empathy as a human characteristic, while humans can also lack in empathy. The foundation of both novels shows societies that are very similar in the way they treat artificial men, with both texts showing the way that they hunted down and persecuted them without empathy (Bendixen 27). In Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, the Androids are mentioned as appreciated members of the society in space colonies, although there is no proof. The novel also shows how the specials, originally humans, are looked down upon as they are deemed to have lost their humanity due to the decay of their genes. Both novels are also founded on the creatures’ search for friendship (Bendixen 29). In Frankenstein, the monster comes up with elaborate plans to increase the possibility that it could make friends with the cottage dwellers. On the other hand, Frankenstein ignores his family and friends as he works on the monster. In Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Deckard does not portray friendship to the androids when they move into his building. While humans are not concerned with making friends, the artificial humans try hard at this. Another characteristic of this foundation is the fact that humane and human is not the same (Bendixen 29). The capacity for self-sacrifice and empathy is present in the non-humans than in humans. In Frankenstein, the non-human jumps into a river, with the objective of saving a girl from drowning while his creator does not even speak up during the trial of Justine. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, empathy is one of the characteristics that separate the androids from the humans. Phil is more concerned for the squirrel than he is for himself after he finds out that he is, in fact, an android and will be shot. In both novels, it is clear that artificial men are more likely to be empathetic towards others than humans are, which makes them more human than humans. Pursuit of knowledge, or experience, is another major definition of what entails humans (Bendixen 31). Frankenstein, his creation and Walton are constantly in the search for knowledge. In Frankenstein, there is not much difference between the non-humans and the humans. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Rosen Associates are the only ones looking for information. The humans who built the androids want more knowledge to make these androids more human. The novel does not have clear indications as to the importance of experience and knowledge to humans, unless we consider their search for methods to humanize androids. While this is important for them, it is not important to the novel. The view by Frankenstein’s monster of the world begins to change during his meeting with Victor in the cave, where Victor calls out the monster as “Abhorred monster! Fiend that thou art! The tortures of hell are too mild a vengeance for thy crimes.” (Shelley 81). The bond after this becomes disastrous, and it is at this point that the monster conceptualizes the fact that it is in a situation in which it cannot attain any support. He vows revenge on Victor, as does Victor on him. The monster’s views also change as he becomes more intelligent, as well as in reaction to the actions of others. In the beginning, he attempts to fit into society and acts compassionately towards others as a way of acquiring an identity that transcends its relations. This is shown, by his attempts, to save the girl from drowning and coming to the aid of the poor peasants. This is not successful as the monster is met with rejection and violence. Through reading abandoned books, the monster, becomes aware of the world around him and understands itself better. The knowledge he gained acts as a depressing letdown, which causes the monster to lose hope and become angry at the world, especially Victor, for coming up with him. The monster says the books; “Sometimes raised (him) to ecstasy, but more frequently sunk (him) into the lowest dejection” (Shelley 108). Despite this, he tries one more time to end his isolation and gain acceptance from the family, visiting blind man De Lacey. The family, however, returns to react in fury at his return. After the rejection, the monster claims, “My heart sank within me as with bitter sickness.” (Shelley 115). The monster and the world are too different, and at this point, the monster’s view of the world changes. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Deckard starts as empathetic to his wife, although he is not empathetic to a lot of things. Deckard is also portrayed as more human than Isidore, due to his empathy. However, over the course of the novel, his empathy pattern begins to alter. His relationship with his wife deteriorates, as he becomes attracted to female androids. He says, “Most androids I've known have more vitality and desire to live than my wife… she has nothing to give me” (Dick 54). Some androids begin to look prettier, which gave him an odd sensation since he was aware that the androids were machines. His statement regarding his wife’s unattractiveness could be read as meaning that she is less human and uninteresting. However, it can also be read as meaning that Iran has not changed while he is becoming more android-like. Later, when he goes to bed with the android girl, he thinks of murdering her but gets her to promise that she will kill Pris. While she had told him that Pris was just like her, Deckard does not stop in consideration of her fears. Another indicator of his decreasing empathy is the fact that he sleeps with Rachael, and he is still married. He does not consider the implications sleeping with a machine could have for his wife. Regarding what it is to be human and non-human, both novels discuss the conflict between the non-humans and humans. In Frankenstein, the sympathy is with the creature, who exhibits traits normally associated with humans, including sorrow, compassion, love, and loyalty. The humans, however, are portrayed as disloyal, indifferent, emotionless and irresponsible as creators. This irresponsibility is evident in both Tyrell and Frankenstein who create life and then refuse to acknowledge it. Their crimes are not that they have played God but, rather, they have not taken responsibility for their actions. The murderous actions done by the non-humans are ultimately the responsibility of Tyrell and Frankenstein. The two works focus on the essence of humanness. Both works are in agreement that these qualities are concern for others, responsibility, and empathy. Additionally, they both seem to contend the way an individual is born does not matter, rather, what he becomes matter. The relevance of this works is enhanced by the various scientific advances that have to do with in vitro fertilization and such. These advances have expanded the boundaries of what can be possible, but also resulted in widespread debate as to the essence of being human and how far the world should actually go in creating non-humans. Works Cited Bendixen, Alfred. A companion to the American novel. Hoboken : John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Print Dick, Philip. Do androids dream of electric sheep? New York: Ballantine Books, 1968. Print Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Hanover: Steerforth Press, 2010. Print Read More