A Scanner Darkly
Ashlyn Phillips
Mr. Flanigan/ Dystopian Literature
Period 2
December 4, 2012 Who Are You? As young children we begin to develop a personality, one that is based off of the people we are surrounded with. When identifying who we are as people, physical appearance is less important in comparison to our spirits and mindsets. The body serves only as a shuttle for our spirits and minds, without these two assets our bodies would simply only be empty shells. In Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly, the protagonist, Bob Arctor, has fallen victim to a highly addictive drug called Substance D, which has the side effect of splitting the personality in one’s mind. In dealing with the abuse of this drug, Arctor begins to lose himself and forgets what really makes him who he is. Our souls, character and appearance determine who we are as people, without these three attributes it would be very difficult to differentiate between one human from the next. The brain begins to develop in the first trimester of pregnancy, even as fetuses we are able to think and begin to develop our personalities inside the womb. As we enter the world and begin living, our surrounding environments control the outcomes of our minds, bodies and spirits. If you are born into a wealthy family, it is more than likely that you will live a wealthy lifestyle; if you are born into a poor family, it is more than likely that you will live a poor lifestyle. In society, we are first identified by how much money we have, then by how we look and at last we begin to learn more about each other to identify who our characters are through how we wish to portray ourselves. Our personalities begin to develop when we are first able to open our eyes, smile and really when we begin to communicate with each other. From there we begin to learn what we like to do in life; whether it be dancing, singing, painting, playing sports, etc. These attributes are major when identifying a person. Our spirits begin to develop at
Mr. Flanigan/ Dystopian Literature
Period 2
December 4, 2012 Who Are You? As young children we begin to develop a personality, one that is based off of the people we are surrounded with. When identifying who we are as people, physical appearance is less important in comparison to our spirits and mindsets. The body serves only as a shuttle for our spirits and minds, without these two assets our bodies would simply only be empty shells. In Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly, the protagonist, Bob Arctor, has fallen victim to a highly addictive drug called Substance D, which has the side effect of splitting the personality in one’s mind. In dealing with the abuse of this drug, Arctor begins to lose himself and forgets what really makes him who he is. Our souls, character and appearance determine who we are as people, without these three attributes it would be very difficult to differentiate between one human from the next. The brain begins to develop in the first trimester of pregnancy, even as fetuses we are able to think and begin to develop our personalities inside the womb. As we enter the world and begin living, our surrounding environments control the outcomes of our minds, bodies and spirits. If you are born into a wealthy family, it is more than likely that you will live a wealthy lifestyle; if you are born into a poor family, it is more than likely that you will live a poor lifestyle. In society, we are first identified by how much money we have, then by how we look and at last we begin to learn more about each other to identify who our characters are through how we wish to portray ourselves. Our personalities begin to develop when we are first able to open our eyes, smile and really when we begin to communicate with each other. From there we begin to learn what we like to do in life; whether it be dancing, singing, painting, playing sports, etc. These attributes are major when identifying a person. Our spirits begin to develop at