Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep vs. the Matrix
Tyree J.Hilliard
Tusculum University
The futuristic stories of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep novel and the blockbuster movie The Matrix are both distinctly different, but they also have some remarkable similarities about them. One of the main similarities is the theme of science-fiction and action; the main characters in both stories are the heroes who face adversities to discover the true meaning of humanity. The similarities in with the theme of the stories are humanity, science fiction, and good vs. evil, while the contrasting elements of the stories and themes are setting, character development, and forms of characters.
The similarities of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and The Matrix are the scientific fiction and moments in the stories. In The Matrix the humans are dreaming, Morpheus and travel through the reality of human’s thoughts and controls the humans mind until the dream ends. Neo is a computer hacker who interferes with the systems and steals information under the hacker as the nickname alias. Neo finds out the truth about real matrix out of his reality, he knows martial arts in the classic line “I Know Kung Fu” Morpheus he becomes part of his surroundings. Neo’s dreams are no longer dreams. Neo calls it living and has woken up from this supposed dream. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep the androids are dreaming the Tyrell Corporation has programmed the androids to think, feel, and to do whatever the creators say to. The novel and movie are both in dream that are both being controlled.
How characters are handled in each story and their individual worth is approached in a similar way in each of these pieces of entertainment. The characters in the novel (The Rosen Association, Rachel Rosen, Rick Deckard, the androids, and John Isidore) have the similarities to the characters from the movie (Morpheus, Cypher, the agents, the unplugged, and the people that are a part of the matrix?). Both stories have to do with humanity and global warfare. The androids produce a harboring organization, similarly to what Morpheus thinks he is doing when he is “freeing minds.”
The book (the Rose Association) and The Matrix (Morpheus) have both constantly search for more in life whether superiority or having more power. Morpheus, for example, is in the search for a man who is the one, a superior man who has the power to have superiority over others. Morpheus wants to find the one who will challenge the “agents” who are the police of the matrix. Rose Association are always looking for the more ways to develop the androids, to make them smarter, more emotional, and all around human-like. Rosen wants to create an android that...
