A Unit In Review

Through the course of examining and re-examining the work of Philip K. Dick, I have been able to discern but a few more things from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, that I did not already recognize upon my first reading of the text. Possessing a basic knowledge of Dick's tormented existence, I could understand most of allusions and symbolism behind what is possibly his most famous work. However, a deeper comprehension of his childhood, his numerous wives, and spiritual experiences only helped to cement my assertions concerning the novel. For example, Philip K. Dick's Exegesis secured my beliefs that Dick was largely affected by not only apocryphal understandings of Biblical events, but also by Buddhism and Hinduism. These religious tendencies are evidenced by the allusions to the unity and sanctity of life via the empathy box and Mercerism within the novel. Learning of Dick's visions of St. Thomas and Jesus also influenced my interpretation of the text, as it reaffirmed the initial connections I drew between Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, A Course in Miracles, and Disappearance of the Universe. Dick's Exegesis also rejects the normal perceptions of reality, time, and consciousness. Playing off the idea of artifice versus authenticity by creating both android and human characters, Dick reasserts these same concepts. This elemental understanding of the novel coincided with a parallel study of the manipulation of memory and truth, which only enriched my experience with the text. Ultimately, reading and analyzing Philip K. Dick's work seemed almost intuitive and overwhelming at the same time. The consequent review of the prose left me in admiration of the novelist who could take a depreciated genre and elevate it to something awe-inspiring and truly profound.