Essay 1

The first essay for this class should be 5-7 pages (double-spaced), and should address some question pertaining to Phillip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? or Ridley Scott's film Blade Runner. A simple comparison / contrast between the novel and the film will be too broad; if you want to compare and contrast, you must focus on some specific issue.

Some possible topics are listed below (you are not limited to these topics, but I would like to know what other topics you are considering):

An analysis of chapter 18 (Buster's announcement and the spider)
Why are androids banned on earth? What threat do they pose?
A comparison of Roy Baty's character in the novel and the film
A comparison of Deckard's character in the novel and the film
             (such topics will need to develop theses, not merely compare)
Do androids have emotion? If so, how does it compare to human? If not, why do they respond as they do in key scenes?
How does making Deckard an android change the central theme of the film (as compared to the novel?)
An analysis of Deckard's meeting with Mercer and his merger in the desert
Why are animals central to Mercerism?
What is the purpose of the empathy boxes (and perhaps the Penfield Mood Organs)?
What is the meaning of Mercerism?

No matter what topic you choose, you will need to develop a thesis, not merely compare or state a fact. You will need to support this thesis with examples from the text (or the film). Outside sources are not required for this essay, but if they are used they must be cited using MLA style.