Reality and Illusion - 1812 Words

Postmodern literature draws attention to its status as fictional to break down barriers between reality and illusion. The boundaries between ‘real’ and ‘fake’ are no longer clear, because identity is socially constructed. In White Noise and Nights at the Circus, characters such as Sophie Fevvers and Jack Gladney have fabricated personas, and they exaggerate these roles so that their audiences cannot tell the difference between what the characters perform and their ‘true’ nature. There are many Matryoshka principles in Nights at the Circus, adding many layers of fiction to the story. This emphasizes the constructed identities of the characters by the authors and the characters themselves. This essay will examine how performance, mise-en-abyme, fabulation, and hyperreality all indicate how identity is constructed. In Nights at the Circus and White Noise, the audience is not supposed to be able to tell whether the characters are performing a certai n role. Instead, they tend to step into a role, as if this is their ‘true’ nature, but they know what is adorned. In Nights at the Circus, when Walser meets Fevvers, he runs through diverse processes of belief and disbelief as he talks to and observes her. When he is watching her on the trapeze, he starts as quite rational, he â€Å"whimsically reasoned† with her status as a winged woman and analyzes her anatomy in a scientific manner comparable to Darwinism â€Å"by all the laws of evolution and human reason† . He represents the typical,Show MoreRelatedReality and Illusion4098 Words   |  17 PagesReality versus Illusion Texts: Life of Pi King Lear Heavenly Creatures Blade Runner Pans Labyrinth Research Questions: 1. How does each character’s situation influence their perception or ideas of reality versus illusion? 2. What are the similarities and differences between the main character’s situation in each text? 3. What insights relating to reality and illusion can be gained from each text? Resources: Title: Life of Pi Author: Yann Martel Question 1: Pi survives his ordealRead MoreIllusions and Distortion of Reality1164 Words   |  5 PagesGeorge and Martha’s entire relationship is based on illusions and the distortion of reality. The author of the play once claimed that the play as a whole asks the question, â€Å"who’s afraid of living a life without illusion?† At the beginning of the play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee, George tells Martha not to â€Å"bring up their son† to the guests and is very mysterious when their guest, Nick, asks George whether he has any children. Martha violates her promise of secrecy when she discussesRead MoreReality Is Merely An Illusion1480 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Reality is merely an illusion.† This quote by Albert Einstein has been widely perpetuated and in many cases dismissed as nonsensical speculation; however, very few realize just how accurate this statement is. 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RealityRead MoreThe Line Separating Reality And The Illusion Of Reality1171 Words   |  5 PagesThe line separating reality and the illusion of reality is a blur. The line separating the narrator’s self-aware expression and his story telling is a blur. The line separating Ambrose and the narrator is a blur. All of this may blur understanding. It is clear, however, that these blurs exist because of the â€Å"funhouse†. A funhouse, Lost in the funhouse, in which exist other funhouses. Various funhouses exist in the story and in the writing. For this reason, the title Lost in the funhouse is very significantRead More Reality and Illusion in Richard Bach’s Illusions Essay1077 Words   |  5 PagesQuestioning Reality in Richard Bach’s Illusions The message of Richard Bach’s Illusions is based on the concept that the things we interpret in the world as reality are actually illusions. This is made evident to one of the main characters, Richard, through his interactions with his newly found friend, Donald Shimoda. Donald Shimoda is a â€Å"messiah†, and he has gifts that he uses to help mankind. A quote that Richard reads is â€Å"Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished:Read MoreIllusion Vs Reality – The Causticity of Illusion Essay1903 Words   |  8 PagesReality is the state of the world of how it really is, whereas an illusion is erroneous interpretation of reality. Illusions often derail people from their sanity, as they cause them to inadvertently live lives in accordance to false beliefs. As a result, the outcomes for these people, and the people around them, are often atrocious. The theme of illusion versus reality is excessively demonstrated in Macbeth, a play writ ten by William Shakespeare, and also in The Crucible, a play written by ArthurRead MoreThe Portrayal Of Illusion Vs. Reality1718 Words   |  7 PagesEnglish P4 6 December 2015 The Portrayal of Illusion VS. Reality in A Streetcar Named Desire Have you ever submerged yourself into a word of illusion to escape from the cold hearted reality of the world? This theme of escaping from reality and into illusions is explored throughout the play, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. What exactly is the difference between illusion and reality? An illusion is a deceptive idea or belief whereas reality is the actual state in which the world actuallyRead MoreEssay about Reality or Illusion955 Words   |  4 Pages The Matrix, and Plato’s Republic, â€Å"On Shadows and Realities,?reality and illusion are one in the same. The Wachowski brothers allows the viewer to see how reality and illusion can be mistaken for the other, using a number of contrasting ideas found in Platos analogy of the Cave, showing that at times the dream world can be safer than real life. The matrix is a simulation that creates an imaginary world where people are prisoners from reality, much like Platos mythological The Cave. The cave holdsRead MoreHamlet: Illusion vs. Reality1982 Words   |  8 PagesIllusion Versus Reality In Shakespeare’s famous tragedy Hamlet there is a dominant and overwhelming theme that is amplified throughout the entire play. Things are not always what they seem. Many of Shakespeare’s most complex characters hide behind multiple masks of lies and deceit. The American Heritage Student Dictionary defines illusion as â€Å"an unreal or misleading appearance or image† and reality as â€Å"the state of things as they actually exist†. The focus of this essay is the struggle between