animal

Those who remained on Earth after World War Terminus coveted any living creature. For the people who couldn't afford live animals, companies built incredibly realistic replications such as horses, birds, cats, and sheep. Being that any life form remaining after the nuclear war became sacred after many were extinct; animals became a status symbol for those who can own them. The animals let other people know that their owner has wealth and a high social standing on Earth. Like a diamond is rare and therefore is expensive and valuable, so are animals in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Monthly supplements of Sidney’s Animal & Fowl Catalogue provide humans with the listing and prices for animals to further drive humans need to own animals as a way to show status. Everybody and their neighbor can check to see how many every other person paid to get their animals. All characters seem aware of Sidney’s listings as it is mentioned several times throughout the novel as “much-studied.” The main character, Rick Deckard, keeps it with him at all times and factors how many androids he kills as a bounty hunter into what type of animal he can get with his pay check. On page 41 Dick writes, “Sidney's, he thought; they list it in their catalogue as extinct: the tiny, precise type, the E, again and again throughout the catalogue. As the girl walked ahead of him he checked to see, and he was right. Sidney's never makes a mistake, he said to himself. We know that, too. What else can we depend on?” This demonstrates how attached Deckard is to the idea of buying animals if he can rely so heavily on the catalogue that provides the amounts and variety of animals for sale.
The idea of showcasing the importance of animals and treating them with such significance illustrates Dick’s “life-long fascination and love for animals.” (Behrens 1) This element of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? reflects his vision of a world where animals are respected like humans, maybe more. This is proven through the way androids are treated on Mars, as servants to their owners. On page 130 Dick wrote, “Animals require an environment of warmth and love to flourish. Expect for reptiles and insects.” In contradiction to treating animals that way, the androids, who are also made of flesh and human features, are not shown the love and warmth on Mars that the people on Earth show animals. Androids were given to everyone, and not seen as rare, so therefore they were less valued. This relates back to how animals were coveted by owners because they were so rare and became valuable on Earth.

Bibliography:
Behrens, By Richard. "Scriptorium - Philip K. Dick." The Modern Word. Web. 06 Dec. 2010. .
Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? New York: Ballantine, 1996. Print.