The first drawing is that of the owl from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I didn't want to mess with coloring it due to the shading. Owls in mythology are usually connected with the
Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena. In the story Rick Deckard is almost fooled
into thinking that the owl is real but he thinks back on how Rachael Rosen
keeps referring to the owl as “it”. He had enough wisdom to realize that he had
almost overlooked the little things when he was interrogating Rosen. Before it
was too late, he was able to identify that Rachael was an android and so was
the owl.
The second picture is from Dr. Bloodmoney as a house is still standing before the bomb went off. I think the coloring makes it look a bit cheesy but I'm not a really good artist so it needed color to help it look better. There are flood myths all around that world, that
deal with similar themes that line up with the explosion of the novel. Both the
floods and the explosion’s themes were destruction, survival, and
rebirth/renewal. In Dr. Bloodmoney,
the city was destroyed and those who were directly or indirectly affected by
the bombs had to find ways to survive. Human rebirth was symbolized in the
chuppers who were identified as similar to early man. They were the human race
starting over or being reborn.
Third, we have how I imagine Rachael Rosen from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? as she is trying to seduce Rick Deckard. In Greek mythology, Calypso seduced Odysseus for
many years keeping him from his wife. Calypso’s name means “to conceal”. This
connects to Rachael in the story because she had been trying to conceal being
an android from Deckard and then later on she tries to seduce him into feeling
sympathy and empathy for androids so that he will no longer be able to do his
job.
Image number four is from A Scanner Darkly. This is how I imagine Fred/Bob Arctor looking at his hand before he took Substance D. The skull on the side was to signify that people call it "Death" or "Slow Death". This drawing represents the decision to take what they call
“Slow Death” or “Substance D”. It was the name “Slow Death” which made me think
of the Greek myth where Achilles was dipped into the river Styx and he became
invulnerable except for his heel, which his mother held onto him by. It was a
way of trying to stay alive longer. Another example would be the Greek myth of
Tithonus and Eos. Eos wanted Tithonus to have immortality for which she had to
ask Zeus. But she forgot to ask for everlasting youth in addition to
everlasting life.
Image number five is my version of a play on words...in a picture. The tree is technically Jack Tree from Dr. Bloodmoney. In mythologies across the world, trees are symbols for growth, death, and revival/resurrection because of how they change with the seasons. Dr. Bluthgeld in a sense dies and the man becomes Jack Tree.
This drawing was based of off a different cover for The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. In the past as well as today, people use the
phrase “the all-seeing eye” to refer to the fact that God sees everything and
nothing takes place without God knowing about it. He sees everything down to
the very intentions and thoughts of a person’s heart. In the novel, Palmer
Eldritch seemed to be everywhere and know everything. But in the novel, to me it seemed like he was the representation of the antichrist.
The seventh image is that of a piano and it was how I though Richard Kongrosian saw the keys in his mind as they moved with the music. Everyone in the novel is searching for him because they want
him to play and perhaps he will inspire people in some way. He is comparable to the Muses in Greek mythology who were used to
inspire. Today, specifically in the arts world, people are searching for their
own “muses”.
Image eight is that of a sheep from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? In Greek mythology there are two instances that
come to mind. The first is the story of the Golden Fleece that was needed to
help end a drought. The second instance is when the Cyclopes Polyphemus who
takes care of a heard of sheep and goats, and ends up eating them. Sheep in
Jesus’ day were compared to humans as they blindly follow one thing after
another. An example of this in the novel would be when Deckard was able to
trick all of his neighbors into believing he had a real sheep. They just
accepted that it was real and went on with their lives. The sheep could also
signify how people continued to use the empathy machines and continued to “climb
the mountain” despite having rocks thrown at them. They all continued to do so
without question
The next image is that of a horse's head. I did try to draw the whole horse, but after struggling with the legs I decided to just draw the head. I got this idea from the main character,
Horselover Fat/Phil in the novel VALIS.
In Greek mythology, horses have important roles to play. They were wild forces
people tried to tame and were also loyal allies in battles. Some immortal
horses are given as gifts from the gods to their favorite mortals. The two
Greek gods that presided over the horse were Poseidon and Athena. Athena, the
goddess of wisdom, was the one who gave man dominion over the horse. It seemed
like Horselover Fat/Phil was trying to gain wisdom when it came to religion and
God.
The final image is the flower from A Scanner Darkly. This one is by far my favorite. I liked it so much without the coloring that I drew a second one and couldn't decide which one I liked better. In mythology, flowers are connected with death
because of how quickly they themselves fade. In Greek mythology, the lotus
flowers were a narcotic and caused people to sleep. This could be a
representation of the people who were addicted to Substance D. They just seemed
in a trance when high on the drugs.
