When it came to choosing what words to make into a hyperlink, I had to factor in what words were significant to Philip K. Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep? As I wrote, many of the words that I chose to hyperlink interconnected when it came to defining them. Others have found that “Dick wrote quickly, often repeating himself in both theme and character, never pausing to explain some of the more outrageous futuristic features of his imaginary worlds,” which is definitely noticeable when it came to the interconnection of the words I defined. (Behrens 1)
Words that I wanted the reader to have immediate access to while reading a section of page #13-14 were “W.W.T,” “andys,” “colony planets,” “animal,” and “bounty hunter.” These words either had special thematic significance to the text at large or needed to be defined to provide context and background information for the reader.
W.W.T, or World War Terminus, was chosen because the entire novel is based around the time period following the war. The reader can easily be further educated on when the war occurred, what it involved, and the effects the war had on the novel’s settings by clicking on the hyperlink while reading.
The main plot of the novel follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter of androids, which is why I chose “andys” as one of my hypertext words. The reader is able to understand what androids exactly are through my provided context and background information. The hyperlink can also provide them with instant access for further information on the robots that the man character is faced with "retiring" after new upgraded models, Nexus-6 androids, escaped.
Following the war, many human left Earth and emitted to Mars, which is referred to as a colony planet. The reference to colony planets also provides context and background information as to where androids come from and where the original habitants of earth relocated too following World War Terminus. Discussing colony planets gives the reader insight as to why humans relocated and what the colony planets offer them there for their news, alternative lives.
The animals hyperlink can help readers understand how extremely valued they are after most had died and become extinct because of W.W.T. Through conversations between the characters and references to Sidney’s Animal & Fowl catalogue, readers understand how animals had become a symbol of status during the time when animals are rare. Animals also prove empathetic feelings toward another live being, which androids cannot do, only humans, so it shows a distinction.
The word bounty hunter was chosen to hyperlink because the requirements of the job going along with another theme of the novel of empathy. The man character, Rick Deckard, is a bounty hunter assigned to kill androids. The term is important because the entire novel is based around following Deckard while during one bounty hunting assignment. Readers get a quick overview of how killing versus having feelings towards these human looking robots causes a change in Deckard’s personality through the hypertext information.
The words that I chose to analyze through hyperlinks provide readers with historical context or background information and also references to thematic significance. I feel that the hyperlinks I created were important for a reader to have as immediate access for when wanting further information while reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep? Each word or phrase can give the reader further insight into the word and also a better understand on how it fits into that section of the novel.
Bibliography:
Behrens, By Richard. "Scriptorium - Philip K. Dick." The Modern Word. Web. 06 Dec. 2010.
