Thursday night proficiency class: DADOES, Chapters 13 & 14

Latest update ever! My excuse is illness. This week, let’s not have specific questions — instead, I want you to be ready to retell what happened in these two chapters, and also think about what important developments there are in terms of the plot and the characters, as well as thinking about how the events  relate to the overall themes of the novel.

See you tonight!

Thursday night proficiency class: questions for DADOES, Chapters 11 & 12

Dear students, please forgive my lateness this week! My computer went into the shop for repairs on Monday, and I’ve been very busy away from the school, so I haven’t been able to get to my copy of our book, or onto the internet to write you questions until now, the day of our lesson! Millions of apologies, but at last, here they are. We’ll talk about it in class.

Chapter 11

1. So, what do we learn about the shadow police department, and about Garland and Resch?
2. Do you sense that Deckard feels genuinely conflicted about what to say to Resch about his being an android, or do you think all of his concern is related to self-preservation?
3. In the final paragraph, why do you think Dick intends with this description of the squirrel’s activities and Deckard’s response to it? Would you say it’s a metaphor for something?

Chapter 12:

1. How do you feel about Resch and Luba Luft? Did you pity them a little in this chapter? What about Deckard?
2. Deckard really does seem to be feeling the stress of his job here. Why do you think that is?
3. Resch, apparently, tests negative for being an android. Do you still suspect that he is one?
4. Why do Resch and Deckard fear including androids in their range of empathetic identification?
5. Why does Deckard ask himself a question using the Voigt-Kampf test? What conclusions does he draw from the result?
6. What is Resch’s explanation?

OK. See you all later. Again, apologies for the delay.

Thursday night proficiency class: questions for DADOES, Chapters 9 & 10

Well, it’s getting interesting, right? Here are some questions for you for this week — I’m sorry they’re so late!

Chapter 9

1. In your own words, describe what Deckard is thinking as he watches the rehearsal of The Magic Flute.
2. Do you think Luba Luft knows, or doesn’t know that she is an android? Do you believe her that she doesn’t understand the questions Deckard asks her?
3. What’s a ‘harness bull’?
4. What do you think happened when Rick called the police station to talk to Mr. Bryant? Was he there, or no?
5. Do you think Officer Crams is really a police officer?

Chapter 10

1. So, what’s going on here? Do you think, at this point, that Deckard is a real police officer?
2. Who are Garland and Phil Resch?
3. How does Resch respond to Deckard and Garland?
4. What’s your theory on what the situation is, here? what’s real and what’s false?

See you tomorrow!

Thursday night proficiency class: questions for DADOES, Chapters 7 & 8

I’m hoping better late than never is an expression you know, dear students! Here are some questions to consider for chapters 7 & 8 of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep:

Chapter 7:

1. Give a short summary of this chapter in your own words.
2. What relationship does Isidore draw between Buster Friendly and Wilbur Mercer?
3. What do you learn about Isidore from the phone call he makes to the owners of the dead cat?

Chapter 8:

1. As with Chapter 7, briefly summarise what happens in this chapter in your own words.
2. What’s a “poop sheet”?
3. How do you think Deckard knows Kadalyi is really Polokov?
4. Why does Rachel offer Deckard her help? Do you think she is being honest about her motivations? Do you think he should take it?

See you Thursday!

Thursday night proficiency class: questions for DADOES, Chapters 4-6

Ok, so finally, here are some questions to consider for chapters 4-6. We’ll discuss Chapters 1-6 in our class on March 24th, so have a think about the answers, and also, as you read, highlight any vocabulary you find interesting or is new for you, and we’ll talk about it in class. See you soon!

Chapter 4

1. What do you think about the relationship between Deckard and his boss,  Inspector Bryant? Do you have the feeling Inspector Bryant is keeping something from Deckard? What evidence of this can you find in the text?
2. What do you think a ‘flattening of affect’ is? How do you think it indicates whether the subject of the Voigt-Kampff test is an android or not? What kinds of reactions does it measure?
3. What’s your first impression of Rachel Rosen?
4. What correlation does Deckard draw between synthetic animals and androids?
5. What interest does the Rosen Corporation have in the success of the Voigt-Kampff testing Deckard does?

Chapter 5:

1. What do you think of the questions Deckard asks Rachel? Why does he think she is an android during the test? How can he be absolutely sure?
2. How do Rachel and Eldon Rosen explain the results? What explanation is given for Rachel’s antagonistic attitude to Deckard?
3. What do Rachel’s initial test results mean for Deckard and for the Rosen Corporation?
4. What’s the deal Rachel and Eldon try to make with Deckard? What is his motivation to accept it?
5. In the end, Deckard outsmarts them, and refuses the deal – why? What does he learn about the Nexus-6 androids?

Chapter 6:

1. What’s your first impression of John Isidore’s new neighbor?
2. What is ‘kipple’? What does it do?
3. Why does her attitude to Isidore change when he reveals the results of his I.Q. test?
4. Why does she say she is Rachel Rosen? Do you believe she really is?

Thou impertinent fool-born strumpet!

Please enjoy the further pleasures of the Shakespearian Insulter

Thursday night proficiency class: questions for DADOES, Chapters 1-3

Hello dear students! When next we discuss it on Thursday 24 March, I hope you will have read Chapters 1-7 of Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. To help you with that project, I have written you some questions for each chapter that you might consider as you read.

Chapter 1:

1. Who are the characters we meet in this chapter, and what kinds of relationships do they have?
2. What is Rick Deckard’s job?
3. What is the function of a Penfield Mood Organ? How do you think it works, and why do the characters use it?
4. What has happened to the world they live in? Why are animals so rare, and why do they feel they have a moral obligation to own and care for one?

Chapter 2:

1. What is the Rand Corporation? What do they do? What was their role in World War Terminus?
2. Why did the animals start dying?
3. Why were the ‘humanoid robots’ or ‘organic androids’ created?
4. Who is John Isidore, and what is a ‘special’? What is a ‘chickenhead’?
5. What do Iran Deckard and John Isidore have in common?
6. Who is Wilbur Mercer, and what is the function of the ‘empathy box’? Who are ‘the antagonists’?
7. Why is Isidore’s arm injured after grasping the handles of the empathy box?
8. What does Isidore remember about his life before the war?

Note from this chapter: “mors certa, vita incerta” means “Death is certain, life is uncertain” in Latin.

Chapter 3:

1. Who are Harry Bryant and Dave Holden? What happened to Holden?
2. What is the Nexus 6 brain unit, and why is it special? Why are the police filing complaints with the manufacturer of it?
3. What is the T-14 android, and what does Deckard find out about them?
4. What is the Voigt Empathy Test? Why is it effective in identifying androids?
5. How does Deckard think of the androids that makes his job easier to do? Who are ‘The Killers’ and what do they represent? How does this relate to Mercerism?
6. Why does Deckard call the pet shop, and why do you think he lies about his name to them? How does he plan to pay for his new ostrich?

I’ll update this page with questions for Chapters 3-6 in a few days.

Happy reading! And, please feel free to leave me a message here if you have any questions or comments.