After discussing The Caves of Steel in class, I constantly recognized the theme of racism that is both present in the story and has been present in our overall class discussion. This racial attitude is displayed both towards robots and towards women. Jessie is portrayed in the story as a delirious, hysterical figure. She makes irrational decisions and is depicted as somewhat dependent on Elijah. In addition, Elijah treats her as an inferior being, often speaking to her bluntly and disregarding her opinions all together. When she comes into the police office crying hysterically, Jessie is depicted as somewhat unstable and unable to make rational decision. Asimov points out flaws in the society he is currently writing in, where women are treated as inferior and deemed dependent on a male to rise in society. In some societies and even in the United States, this unfair attitude towards women is still prevalent, having influence on wage gaps and employment opportunities. Regarding racism towards robots present in Asimov’s novel, the Medievalists represent many of the hate groups present in society. In Spacetown, robots are treated as second class citizens and used as slave labor. And while Daneel looks almost exactly like Dr. Sarton, he still is used as his servant and follows his order directly in accordance with the Three Laws of Robotics. When Daneel arrives on Earth, he immediately senses and feels disdain from many of the commoners on Earth, causing Jessie to stay with her mother while Daneel and Elijah stay in an apartment. Constantly throughout the story, we see certain groups acting superior to others, whether it be men and women or humans and robots. This theme has characterized many of the readings this semester; Andrew in The Bicentennial Man felt the same resistance towards his quest for equal rights and human hood. While he was more innovate and could create more advance technology, Andrew wasn’t able to become a true member of society until he agreed to die. In my interpretation, granting Andrew citizenship on his 200th birthday—which is also the day of his death—is merely a way for humans to remain on top of the food chain. Andrew may have been considered the only “human” robot, but now that he has died, the humans can go back to their normal manner of society, using robots for their own personal good and needs. Andrew’s actions may have been a win in the quest for robot citizenship, but a paradigm shift didn’t probably wouldn’t occur in that society to alter the treatment of robots. In the United States, it took years to end slavery, and we still haven’t ended racism in our society. I’m eager to keep reading and find examples of racism in future novels in the course and to witness the literary change in writing as society becomes more progressive.
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