Beloved

Toni Morrison's Beloved has an overall message that I found both very powerful, and in several ways, very relevant to my Big Question.

Sethe's inner struggle with her past limits her ability to live her life to the fullest. Her past literally consumes her when her dead daughter comes back into her life. It seemed to me that Sethe did not choose to allow herself to get caught up in Beloved's presence, which to me indicated that her mental vulnerability resulted in further inability to create her own reality. She may not have been able to create the reality of her past, but I also believe that the present could have been in her control had she truly desired it to be.

This book presents an interesting addition to the conditions of my big question. The past affects our realities so deeply that perhaps it is impossible to avoid certain reactions to certain situations.

On the other hand, Denver's strength after Beloved's sudden departure seems to suggest that happiness can, in fact, be a decision. In every situation I've read so far however, it appears to me that the ability to determine one's own reality depends not on the magnitude of an individual's misfortune, past, or present, but the individual's mind alone.

The Stranger

I am finding it difficult to relate "The Stranger" to my big question. The main character Meursault is complex in his extreme simplicity; he is so indifferent to most of what life throws at him, that he appears almost immune to being a normal human. This made me wonder whether he chooses this indifference, or whether he cannot help but be indifferent. Based on the book as a whole, I concluded that in Meursault's case, reality is not something that is possible to determine, it just is. This may be because he spends so little time overthinking what is happening in his life... It seems like Meursault is the one exception to my big question.

Metamorphosis

"The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka heavily relates to my big question. Gregor Samsa, a man tortured by his family's expectations and dependency upon him, wakes up one morning as some kind of bug. (Perhaps)it is the constant pressure he feels that has driven him to change (metaphorically or literally) into such a creature. Either way, Gregor has managed to somehow reject his life as a human, and become something completely different. In my opinion, he is successful at leaving behind his old life and self, leading me to believe that in Gregor Samsa's case, it is possible to create an entirely new reality, and consciously or subconsciously adapt in order to find happiness, comfort, etc.

Portrait of the Artist

Stephen Dedalus from Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a character that both supports the concept that a person is able to create his/her own reality, and refutes it. In the beginning, it seems that Stephen can't help but be different from everybody else; his quiet and awkward nature and passion for literature separate him from the rest of society. As a child, it is impossible for Stephen to bring about another lifestyle for himself. On the other hand, Stephen experiences a drastic change in lifestyle because of a new and closer relationship with his church. His past decisions/mistakes motivated him to create a completely new and disciplined agenda, revolving around the church. In this part of Stephen's life, he was able to create his own reality. On the other other hand, in the end, Stephen finds that he cannot fool himself into living a life he is not meant to live (with the church), and he decides to live a life as an artist.

Based on Stephen's story, my conclusion is that Stephen's subconcious is too powerful to let him create a reality that isn't the truth. Is it possible that some people DO have the ability to convince themselves of something other than the truth in pursuit of the lifestyle they want?

Big Question

As my shoulders shook with the shame and complete humiliation of being so short-sighted, I realized that this is what it feels like to be heart-broken. That night, laying awake in my bed, my sheets damp with tears, I decided to never allow myself to feel this way again; I would change, I would adapt, and I would control my own life.

The possibility that we can create our own reality has fascinated me for years. I’m not sure which movie it was, but I once heard that, “Every woman has exactly the love life she wants.” At first, it seems a ridiculous thing to say, but in almost every case I’ve seen, this statement is true. Sometimes, it seems that the human mind is able to “brainwash” itself to the point that humans perceive themselves or a situation to be something it’s not.

In To the Lighthouse, reality is an important theme. How the characters choose to deal with their frustrations enhances or impairs their entire lifestyle. This novel made me wonder if, in the end, we consciously decide our own reality. For example, Mrs. Ramsay chooses not to let the transience of life get her down, and she is the happiest character in the book—so, in a way, didn’t she choose to be happy?

Upon discovering reality, Oedipus chooses to embrace what he has found. On the other hand, his wife/mother/ew attempts to dismiss the evidence supporting a dreaded prophecy-come-true, and not believe the truth. And who wouldn’t? She may have succeeded in carrying on with her life as it was and ignoring the facts put in front of her, had Oedipus not been so persistent.

The play King Lear integrates the concepts of madness, love, and truth with reality. The character Lear creates his own reality of love and truth, only to find (in madness)that his reality has been distorted. Other characters such as Cordelia and Edmund behave in ways that set up their realities.

By embellishing his story, Christy in Playboy of the Western World creates his own reality. He is able to reinvent himself when he travels to a new town, and becomes the person he describes in his recollection of his "patricide." However, the truth catches up with Christy when his father comes to the town and finds him, and he is unable to maintain the new reality he has created. Can we truly create our own reality? Or is the truth to powerful to ignore?