Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
by Philip K. Dick
✓

or to save your progress

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?: Allegory 1 key example

Definition of Allegory

An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The Tortoise and The Hare" is... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and... read full definition

Key Examples in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Chapter 2 
Explanation and Analysis—Halcyon Days:

John Isidore gets ready for work in Chapter 2 while, in the background, the TV advertises one of the services available to those lucky humans who emigrate to Mars. The advertisement hinges on a simile that allows Dick to introduce an allegorical critique: 

The TV set shouted, “—duplicates the halcyon days of the pre–Civil War Southern states! Either as body servants or tireless field hands, the custom-tailored humanoid robot—designed specifically for YOUR UNIQUE NEEDS, FOR YOU AND YOU ALONE—given to you on your arrival absolutely free, equipped fully, as specified by you before your departure from Earth; this loyal, trouble-free companion in the greatest, boldest adventure contrived by man in modern history will provide—” It continued on and on.