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Metaphors
Definition of Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis:
The mood of the novel starts out eerie and bleak. The reader is dropped into a version of San Francisco that is sort of familiar: not only does it have some recognizable neighborhoods like Nob Hill, but it also has married people who fight and worry about what the neighbors think of them.
But as normal as the characters seem, their universe is also full of unfamiliar and frightening technology. For example, Rick wakes up at the start of Chapter One when something called a "Penfield mood organ" makes him feel alert. The reader gleans over the course of a few paragraphs that this device alters a person's mood all day long based on what they program into it. Rick and his wife, Iran, get into a fight about Iran's choice to dial for depression, and the mood organ becomes a potential weapon in their fight:
“If you dial,” Iran said, eyes open and watching, “for greater venom, then I’ll dial the same. I’ll dial the maximum and you’ll see a fight that makes every argument we’ve had up to now seem like nothing. Dial and see; just try me.” She rose swiftly, loped to the console of her own mood organ, stood glaring at him, waiting.
He sighed, defeated by her threat. “I’ll dial what’s on my schedule for today.”
The mood organ seems like a potentially useful device, especially as Dick reveals that these characters are living in the aftermath of nuclear warfare. Their environment makes it extremely challenging to function, let alone be happy. And yet, Dick immediately shows how terrible the mood organ can be for people and their relationships. Iran rightly points out that it might be appropriate to be depressed occasionally about the state of the world. It soon becomes tragically and frighteningly clear that society is solving its problems by ceasing to wish for anything to get better.
Technology like the Penfield mood organ, the empathy machine, the electric sheep, the hovercar, and androids are all alien and eerie to the reader, but they are seamlessly and boringly integrated into Rick's workday routine. This routine centers around protecting humanity from androids and reinforcing the boundary between living things and technology. Over the course of the novel, Rick's hunt for six new, highly advanced androids forces him to confront the strangeness of his routine and previously unquestioned beliefs. He learns that androids might be more widespread on Earth than he ever realized, and his usual methods for distinguishing them from humans begin to fail. He starts to think more critically about his own relationship with technology. Although the novel does not end on a note of salvation, it nonetheless ends more hopefully than it begins. By alienating himself from society's "new normal" and connecting with some of the androids he once thought utterly different from him, Rick wakes up to a fuller experience of his humanity and all the complicated feelings and responsibilities that come with living in an imperfect world.
Related Themes:
