Reality and Illusion - 4098 Words

Reality 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 ordeal through the power of his own story telling. He uses it as a way of dealing with the horrific situation he has found himself in. By creating animal characters to replace the humans in the lifeboat he creates a coping mechanism powerful enough to†¦show more content†¦However as he gets to know Rachael and her history, he learns that there is much more to her and replicants in general. In the final scene when Roy saves Deckard, Deckard understands the true humanity shown by the replicants and the exploitation they have suffered. The replicants are ‘more human, than human.’ Question 2: Related to King Lear through the false face theme. Good characters are misjudged and isolated unfairly. Evil characters such as Tyrell, Edmund, Goneril and Regan lack empathy and are ruthless in their treatment of others. Question 3: This film provides insight into man’s inhumanity to man and teaches us that we should not judge others based on their appearance or background. There may be more to people than you think. We tend to dehumanise others as justification for our inhumane treatment of them. Title: Pans Labyrinth Director: Guillermo del Toro Question 1: Ofelia is a young girl who might be the lost princess of the underworld, and is undeniably the adoptive daughter of a brutal captain in Francos army whose job is to root out, torture and kill rebels in a remote village. Looking to escape the brutality in the world around her Ophelia discovers a fantasy world where she encounters an old, gnarled faun, fairies and members of an ancient forest aristocracy. The faun Pan challenges Ophelia to three tests to prove herself as the long lost princess of theirShow MoreRelatedReality and Illusion1812 Words   |  7 Pages 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 manyRead 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 sonâ₠¬  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. Reality is not nearly as tangible as most have come to believe; rather, it is a fabrication that exists solely within any one person’s mind. What is labeled as reality is merely an interpretation of data that already surrounds us and is taken in by sensory receptors. The brain and body takeRead More Illusions of Reality Essay1341 Words   |  6 Pages The Illusions of Reality The only thing in my life that I can be positive about is change. Everything changes, from the moment we’re born to the moment we die. Reality has many twist and turns, and our perception of reality is what shapes us to become who we are. Our life is spent on deciphering the difference between reality and not reality. This is hard to define because reality is unique to each individual. Our environment and the people we are around shape our perception of what is real. 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