Elijah Baley\'s Character an Analysis

Elijah Baley's Character

An Analysis of Elijah Baley

Isaac Asmiov's Caves of Steel is an interesting and strange futuristic tale. The novel opens with a murder and introduces the character of Elijah Baley as an insecure detective who does not yet understand the powers of his own capabilities. Throughout the novel, and with the help of his humanoid partner R. Daneel Olivaw, Baley gains a stronger sense of confidence as he continues to get closer and closer to the truth.

Elijah Baley's first impression of R. Daneel Olivaw shows his confusion regarding the nature of the humanoid robot. On the one hand, Olivaw looks human, and he would have otherwise not known he was a robot if he wasn't told. Asimov writes "He had expected a creature with a skin of hard and glossy plastic, nearly dead white in color. He had expected an expression fixed at an unreal level of inane humor. He had expected jerky, faintly uncertain motions. R. Daneel was none of that" (Asimov 13-14). Baley had not guessed him to be a robot, as Olivaw did not meet the assumptions Baley had about robots based on his prior experiences with them. It is this confusion that only intensifies his uneasiness and insecurities when initially working with the robot.

There are a number of clear insecurities that are shown by the character of Baley. In Asimov's novel, the detective Baley is a huge agoraphobic. Baley is intensely afraid of life beyond the walls of the New York City dome. He prefers the dark, enclosed space of the city, and this reflects his lack of confidence in a number of ways. Baley is scared to go outside of his comfort zone, even if that means finding a better method of doing things, and a better way of life. In his investigation of Roj Nemmenuh Sarton's death, Baley is forced to leave the comforts of his known world, and this helps expose his insecurities throughout the rest of the novel. Sarton's death must be solved in order to avoid an intergalactic diplomatic conflict, and so Baley is forced to step out of his comfort zone in many ways to solve the murder.

Baley shows a lack of confidence especially in front of Julius Enderby and Olivaw, the humanoid robot. Enderby is the Commissioner of Police in New York City, and Baley's boss. He is the one who assigns the important case to Baley and thus tests his character's confidence and abilities. The situation is only aggravated further when Enderby turns against Baley. Enderby believes that there was sabotage within the New York City Police Department, and immediately blames Baley for the murder of Sarton. It is at this point where Baley starts to have his own suspicions of Enderby. Here, Baley believes that Julius Enderby was more successful in the city's hierarchy not because of his abilities, but because of his connection with the Medievalists and his secret plotting to stop the progress of the Spacers within a society in New York that was highly fearful of the world outside the city walls. According to Asimov, "Baley followed Enderby, but at a continually greater distance. It was no one's fault, precisely. Baley was capable enough, efficient enough, but he lacked something that Enderby had. Enderby fit the administrative machine perfectly. He was one of those persons who was born for a hierarchy, who was just naturally comfortable in a bureaucracy" (Asimov 37). Enderby worked within the status quo, he did not challenge the closed-minded ways of society within the caves of steel. On the other hand, Baley at his best moments was much more capable than Enderby. However, he represented change and a challenge to the social order.

Moreover, there is a certain uneasiness that Baley experiences in front of Olivaw that shows his overall lack of confidence in himself and his abilities. Baley is afraid that Olivaw might surpass him in terms of his ability to solve crimes and prove himself as a good officer. To a certain extent, Baley is afraid of being outshined by a robot. If this were to occur, that would only show Baley's insecurities as being true, and not just part of his own skewed assumptions of himself. Still, as the novel progresses, it becomes clear to Baley that Olivaw is not a foe to be feared, but rather a friend who can help him overcome his insecurities and work together to uphold the full measures of the law.