In chapter 16 and 17 of, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Philip K. Dick, Rick’s empathy and compassion for the androids overcome him when he decides to “go to bed” with Rachael Rosen (Dick 191). However, this becomes a bigger mistake when he finds out that Racheal is teamed up with the other androids that he has to retire. Rachael states, “no bounty hunter ever has gone on after being with me,” implying that Rick will not be able to complete his task of killing the androids because he went to bed with her (Dick 198). In response, Rick is furious and wants to kill Rachael, yet never does. He simply lets her go and eventually completes his task of retiring the other androids.
Therefore, how do you think Rick’s empathy for the android species played a role in him going to bed with Rachael? When do you think this empathy for the android species began? Overall, do you think this empathy was his downfall, or did it give him strength?
Rick did begin to care for androids, but only for female androids. He does mention on pg.197 “If I could legally marry you, I would.” This demonstrates that he does feel some sort of compassion towards androids. In addition this phrase shows that this is the first time Rick realizes his feelings for androids, and debates if he wants to continue to kill them. Ricks realization that he doesn’t have to kill androids could be his strength realizing that they are just as equal as humans or animals.
His empathy for female androids played a role in him sleeping with Rachel. I believe that he was curious about how he felt for female androids and wanted to see if he could have feelings for a female android. I think his empathy was his downfall. It made him second guess himself and become emotionally unstable.
I do think that Rick’s empathy for Rachel played a huge role in him going to bed with her and this inevitably was his downfall. Because of Rachel and how he felt, he couldn’t retire her and almost couldn’t retire Pris. Because he couldn’t retire Rachel, he ended up spiraling down, especially after his goat died. This empathy for androids I believe started with Resch, but who knows, because on the test, he said he always empathized with female androids.
I think that this again shows how diverse empathy actually is. Ricks job is to “retire” all androids however, his feelings and empathy overcome his ability to perform his job. We know from the book that the only way to show true empathy is to take care of an animal however, when Rick went to bed with Rachle it showed that empathy runs deeper then they know. I think that Rick has always had some empathy for the android species but it was heightened when Rick gave Rachel the empathy test which proved that the test wasn’t 100% effective. Rick realized that empathy is not something concrete. I think that Ricks new found empathy for the androids only aids him in his understanding of the androids and gives him the strength to effectively complete his duties as a bounty hunter.
In this world, his empathy for the androids is probably his downfall. The androids are simply trying to blend in so they can eventually rule all real humans and be in control. So in this world, androids are the bad guys and they need to be taken out to save humanity. If Rick begins to let them go they will continue to follow through with their plan, and humans will become extinct.
I definitely think Rick’s empathy for androids—specifically females—played a role in him going to bed with Rachael; if he didn’t have empathy for her, he probably wouldn’t have been sexually attracted to her, because he would have viewed her as a machine and not a being. It seems Rick’s empathy for the android species began as a result of having more contact with female androids and possibly due to his depressed state, as he wasn’t quite satisfied with his life and job at the beginning of the novel. His unique mood may have led to him making out-of-character choices and feeling ways he usually wouldn’t. I think his empathy gave him strength; while it definitely made his job more difficult and emotionally straining, in the end he can understand the androids better than most humans and can use this to his—or their—advantage.