Themes
“But they’ll look down on you. Not all of them, but some. You know how people are about not taking care of an animal; they consider it immoral and anti-emphatic.”
This quote relates to one of the most conspicuous themes in the novel: what it really means to be human. This excerpt comes from the novel’s first chapter, when he was talking to his neighbour Barbour about his ownership of a real animal. They had a minute argument about Barbour’s genuine animal and Rick’s electric animal, which led to Barbour saying that if Rick did not want his electric animal, maybe he should just abandon it. This caused Rick to state the quote presented above. Ownership of an animal is an integral part of the society in the novel. It is a default that humans…show more content… In the beginning, Rick believed that he knows who he is and was self-aware. His life was noncomplex, and revolved only around his job and his obsession with ownership of a real animal. However, everything changed when he was informed about the Nexus-6 androids and eventually instructed to retire them. He met Rachael Rosen, a Nexus-6 android designed by an android manufacturer called the Rosen Association, and developed an attraction to her. During Rick’s journey of retiring the said androids, he started questioning his beliefs. He began to wonder what it really meant to be human and whether the principles he had believed in are fabricated. After eliminating all six androids he was ordered to exterminate, he began to feel different about himself. He felt like he had become a different person. He never enjoyed retiring androids, but he felt relief when he finally terminated the Nexus-6 androids. He had become his “unnatural” self; he started doubting people’s actions, including his. This quote is the moment of awareness for Rick, as he realized that he has grown and his actions changed the way he viewed the world and himself. This passage appealed to me, for it shows how raw and genuine Rick’s character is seen as. He showcases confusion about his identity and that is a circumstance everyone goes through. Just like Rick, there are times when humans feel lost and their “unnatural