Brendan Wu
This World and the Next
Kevin Goldstein
November 29, 2014
A Thoreau Examination of Materialism In Walden, Thoreau admonishes society for succumbing to material desires and forsaking greater, more worthy pursuits like knowledge and self-reliance; similarly, in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Dick creates a world where dependence on material possessions causes society to sacrifice its humanity and ultimately creates irreversible ruin. Yet both authors acknowledge that material items are important, with Thoreau depending on things like his house and his field for survival, and Dick introducing pet animals and empathy boxes as possessions that heighten human experience rather than suppress it. Thoreau and Dick argue that material possessions themselves have the potential to make powerful and positive impacts. It is the unchecked desire for material possessions that leads to societal decline and unhappiness. Throughout Walden, Thoreau is largely critical of materialism, venturing into the solitude of Walden Pond for two years partly to escape society’s preoccupation with material possessions. In the beginning of “Economy,” he observes young townsmen strapped with large inheritances and comments that having a massive farm, which is typically perceived as a sign of prosperity, only creates obligations and forces its inhabitants to spend their entire lives toiling, whereas owning a meager plot of land both allows for self-sufficiency and provides time to explore other opportunities. Thoreau uses the example of the farmer and his burden to highlight the broader issue of man’s self-inflicted destruction, lamenting that society has become “so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked.” (3) Thoreau points out that the majority of men are mere slaves to their obsession with money and the material – only by forsaking such things and adopting a simple lifestyle can they liberate themselves. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Dick too underlines the deterioration and loss of humanity brought about by the over-prioritization of material things. The existence of mood organs highlights how mankind is willing to sacrifice even its most basic and essential attributes in exchange for convenience. Rick and Iran effectively relinquish their capacity to experience emotions naturally – when Iran suddenly becomes aware of how abandoned her apartment building really is, “although she heard the emptiness intellectually, she didn’t feel it.” (5) Androids further underscore the faults of an avaricious society: originally created to serve humans immigrating to space colonies, androids soon began escaping back to Earth, becoming threats to its remnant civilization. Humanity’s development of beings that are meant to benefit it but eventually turn against it is a clear reflection of how greed and dependence on the material can quickly become corrosive. And perhaps Dick’s most pointed commentary on the destructive qualities of materialism lies in Kipple, the rubble gradually spreading across Earth. Kipple is the physical manifestation of human inclination toward meaningless acquisition. It is nothing but clutter, and yet it continually grows and multiplies, mimicking how material possessions can consume one’s life. Through technology and the ever-advancing Kipple, Dick shows how materialism both saps away at humanity and leads to eventual decay. Whereas Dick Deckard encounters perhaps the pinnacle of materialism and human reliance on technology, Thoreau experiences a lesser but nevertheless parallel issue in the insatiable and spiritually starved world of nineteenth-century America. Thoreau conducts his two-year experiment of “voluntary poverty” (9) in Walden Pond to highlight society’s misplaced priorities, pointing out that even the bare necessities of survival – food, clothing, and shelter – take on inflated and unwarranted significance in the eyes of most people. Appearance becomes far more important than a pure soul, with Thoreau sardonically stating that, “there is greater anxiety, commonly, to have fashionable, or at least clean and unpatched clothes, than to have a sound conscience.” (13) Shelters too become needlessly luxurious – people live in lavish houses they often cannot even afford. Thoreau criticizes society and its pointless material longings, which only lead to spiritual decline and empty existences; he instead recommends leading a life of simplicity and self-reliance, free from greed and unnecessary desire.
In Thoreau’s “Conclusion,” he further emphasizes his disdain for materialism by reversing traditional social hierarchies and claiming that “the town’s poor seem to me often to lead the most independent lives of any.” (212) Thoreau argues that the rich are constrained by their indulgent lifestyles and that their singular focus on accumulating material possessions distracts them from leading spiritually fulfilling lives. Poverty, however, allows for freedom from societal restrictions; the poor are unconcerned with acquiring new things and can therefore concentrate on developing their minds and enjoying the beauty surrounding them. As Thoreau points out, “if you cannot buy books or newspapers, for instance, you are but confined to the most significant and vital experiences.” (213) Although society may perceive poverty as an immense burden, Thoreau seems to consider poverty a form of salvation, detaching people from societal excess and allowing them to find enjoyment in simple existence. The material belongings of the wealthy are not only unnecessary but detrimental to achieving enlightenment and purity of the soul. Thoreau therefore places more importance on the intangible; he believes that one’s worth is not determined by material wealth, but by more abstract concepts such as character and thought. In “Economy,” Thoreau defies common belief when he reveals that he considers philanthropy both selfish and harmful – he argues that most philanthropy, rather than being beneficial, creates an atmosphere of dejection, prevents others from practicing self-reliance, and is largely done for the gratification of the philanthropist’s own conscience. He believes true philanthropy to be “not a partial and transitory act, but a constant superfluity, which costs him nothing and of which he is unconscious.” (50) In essence, a man’s most important attributes are not his possessions nor even his conscious actions, but the kindness and knowledge which continually impacts and benefits those around him. Thoreau expresses a similar idea later in “Reading,” where he once again addresses the ephemeral nature of material belongings and contrasts it with the immortality of the wisdom found in ancient texts. Earlier in “Economy,” he notes disapprovingly how nations vainly attempt to showcase their greatness through grandiose monuments, commenting that they are “possessed with an insane ambition to perpetuate the memory of themselves by the amount of hammered stone they leave.” (37) In Thoreau’s perspective, a civilization’s true value lies in its literature, which captures powerful and timeless ideas and spurs intellectual advancement in generation after generation of readers. Thoreau believes that in both individuals and societies, the pursuit of the material is meaningless, whereas the pursuit of the immaterial – thought, wisdom, fulfillment – is absolutely necessary. However, despite their harsh attacks on materialism and its consequences, both Dick and Thoreau interestingly do not condemn material objects themselves, only human obsession with material objects. Dick does show that becoming reliant on mood organs and androids distances society from its most human aspects and leads to inevitable deterioration. But in several instances throughout his novel, objects act not as hindrances but rather as pathways to fulfillment. The ownership of animals in Rick’s barren world admittedly embodies consumerism and a disturbingly intense keeping-up-with-the-Joneses mentality in many ways. Yet animals play a dual role, providing a much-needed sense of humanity for their owners. When struggling to determine whether or not he is an android implanted with false memories, Phil Resch rationalizes, “I own an animal; not a false one but the real thing. A squirrel. I love the squirrel, Deckard.” (128). Owning an animal becomes indicative of the difference between a human and an emotionless android; animals are no longer just material possessions, but channels for empathy, allowing for a rare human experience in an otherwise bleak society. Similarly, the empathy box transcends the role of a mere item and serves as a powerful medium, connecting humans to one another through shared Mercerism. Isidore fervently describes it as “the most personal possession you have. It’s an extension of your body; it’s the way you touch other humans.” (66) Just as animals ascertain one’s humanity, empathy boxes provide a feeling of community desperately needed by Earth’s lonely population. Dick demonstrates that although materialism is destructive, material things are not necessarily harmful and can actually be valuable to society. Thoreau adopts the same mentality as Dick – he expresses disapproval at society’s obsession with material objects, arguing that such fixation restrains people from achieving spiritual fulfillment and ultimately leads to a vapid existence, but admits that material objects alone are not inherently detrimental. Although Thoreau leads a simplistic lifestyle, he does not abandon material possessions altogether, acknowledging their necessity. Like all men, he wears clothes, furnishes his home with tables and chairs, and purchases food and household goods. The key difference is that others are unsatisfied with the bare minimum and instead pursue unnecessary luxury, inadvertently fettering themselves to a life devoid of beauty and joy. In “The Bean Field,” Thoreau toils in his humble patch of land every day, considering his work a noble method of supporting himself financially while simultaneously allowing him to feel connected to nature. However, he decries modern, industrialized farming, stating somewhat resentfully that “husbandry was once a sacred art; but it is pursued with irreverent haste and heedlessness by us, our object being to have large farms and large crops merely.” (107) Material possessions, when treated correctly, contribute to a comfortable life and can even promote personal growth; desiring material possessions, on the other hand, is what cripples mankind. Thoreau does not even completely denounce contemporary society or the idea of commerce. He lives not in the wilderness of the western frontiers but on the outskirts of town. And although he spends much of his time in solitude, he also appreciates the sense of companionship and community he feels from the company the others. In “Sounds,” Thoreau’s proximity to civilization allows him to experience the daily passing of a railroad. He does express annoyance at the railroad’s intrusion, asserting that he “will not have his eyes put out and his ears spoiled by its smoke and steam and hissing” (80) and scorning the difficult and misguided work culture that it embodies. However, he finds his encounters with the railroad refreshing as well; the passing cars and their contents connect him to the vastness beyond his insulated Walden bubble, allowing him to feel “more like a citizen of the world.” (78) Thoreau admires commerce for the industrious character of its workers, its ceaseless efficiency, and the rapid social and technological advancement it has inspired. Despite his overarching criticism of modern materialistic society and its negative implications, Thoreau still acknowledges that commerce and business are worthy and respectable in many aspects. Thoreau and Dick both portray the harrowing consequences of materialistic attitudes in their respective worlds. In Walden, Thoreau points out that American society, insatiable and perpetually obsessed with attaining more luxury, more possessions, contributes to its own downfall; a singular focus on material items condemns mankind to a needlessly strenuous life and blinds it from what is truly important: contemplation, spiritual health, and simple enjoyment of the world. Dick, in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, uses Kipple, the debris multiplying and slowly consuming the Earth, as commentary for how materialism and its meaninglessness directly threatens humanity’s well-being. However, both authors demonstrate the usefulness of material items: Thoreau’s house and bean-field constitute an immensely important part of his life, while Dick’s empathy box offers a shared experience for the inhabitants of a mostly abandoned planet. Thoreau and Dick do not believe that material possessions are fundamentally bad, only that humanity and its greed transform something potentially beneficial into something poisonous. For it is not the material itself, but our ravenous desire for the material, that ultimately destroys us.