“’The electric things have their life too. Paltry as those lives are.’” (Dick). This quote by Rick gives insight to how electric animals as well as androids (advanced electric animals) were viewed in society and possibly their use in criticizing American society. Social class is an aspect of our American society that is viewed negatively by some, and positively by others. I believe Phillip K. Dick was against social classes, because of the way he makes them look in his book “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.” This can be seen through how the characters of the book are judged by owning the cheaper electric animals rather than the more real ones, and what their ownership of each symbolizes. It can also be seen by how much of a negative impact …show more content…
Dick questions social classes through a Marxist lens and how possessions affect the way you are looked at through the ownership of electric versus real animals, the judgmental views of others, and the overall impact of owning electric animals has on one’s social …show more content…
There are numerous points in the story where he tries to get his views on class across, especially when it came to characters talking about their animals and what it meant to own them. One instance where he presses socialism is when in the story ---- says “There’s the First Law of Kipple…’Kipple drives out nonkipple’” (Dick). Kipple is referring to the people that have. They want to own the best things, the real animals, and continue to find and collect them. When they realize or find out who the nonkipple are, they seek to push them away or seclude them away from the people who do have the animals, and they normally let everyone know that they do not have. I believe that this is a shot at American society by Dick, because a lot of times the upper class in our society will look at the lower class of people like they aren’t even human, and a lot of times will try their hardest to make sure they are not in the same premises as the poor. A lot of times the poor try to at least try to stay up to a standard in order to keep some respect or pride within our society, Dick also could be saying something about this. The story says “Owning and maintaining a fraud had a way of gradually demoralizing one. And yet from a social standpoint it had to be done, given the absence of the real article” (Dick). What I