The definition of what it means to be human is not clearly defined in the world today, because there is not an exact measure of what it means to be human. In the post-apocalyptic world of the novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the definition of what it means to be human is in question. With the creation of humanoid robots, it is difficult to distinguish between them and humans. Philip K. Dick establishes a boundary between being human and inhuman to show that humans should show empathy toward everything in the world. This theory Dick has about what it means to be human is clear in the comparison between the most human characters Isidore and Iran, and the dynamic character of Deckard throughout the novel.
The first character that Dick shows as being the most human is Isidore because he treats both the androids and the animals with empathy. The first action Isidore takes when he hears a new neighbor is to bring “a cube of margarine” down to
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According to Palumbo, Isidore is “the most sympathetic and apparently “human”- character in the novel” because he has empathy toward a dying cat that he thinks is electrical (1279). Isidore feels the pain that the cat is going through and wants to help it. He is trying to help it by bringing it to the people who he believes can which is how humans act when they see suffering. When the androids living with Isidore cut off a spiders’ legs, he screams “Don’t mutilate it” which shows he cares for the well-being of the spider (Dick 206). Isidore knows that the spider needs protection because it shows how fragile life is and the importance of it in the world. Isidore is one of the most human characters in the novel because he realizes the importance of all life. He knows people need to have empathy for people and all living things including mechanical