Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By Philip K. Dick I

It, he thought. She keeps calling the owl it. Not her. [p. 59]

I thought it was interesting that the only reason why Rachel Rosen was caught in her act was because she called an owl, it. It is interesting because one, according to the Voigt-Kampff test; I would be subjected at the point of that laser gun. I always call animals ‘it’ sometimes because I lack of a term to described them when I do not know it’s gender, and I am a proud omnivore who delights in meat products. So what do they call them if they do not call them it? Another reason why it is interesting is that the owl which Rachel refers to as “it” ends up being “it” after all as it is a fake animal. If it is hard for me to not say “it” to animals, I can’t imagine how hard it would be if the animal is not even a real living thing. Although she also failed the Voigt-Kampff test, she would have been able to fool Rick if not for that slip, thus it is just so ironic that the owl that made her slip was not a living thing after all. Because then, her slip does not become a true slip.

I cannot help but think of what ifs, if Rachel was indeed a “special” schizophrenic individual, forgetting that the owl is supposed to be a she, not a robot, would she have passed the test? It was briefly explored in the novel that mental patients may not be able to pass the Voigt-Kampff test, which was the reason for Rick initially being tricked. Because the way she was found out had sketchy ends-after all, Rick does not have an empathetic connection with his electric lamb-it just makes me wonder if Rick’s assessment based on the use of Pronouns were so accurate.