The Paradox of Perceived Reality

The paradox of reality is constantly being altered by the minds of the public. Reality as a definition is "the world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them." However, what is reality? Everyone has his or her own opinion and view of what is in front of them. The stories reviewed in this section are prime examples on how ones view can dramatically change the conditions they are surrounded with. Whether it is being trapped in their own state of mind or a personal reflection on another's life changing event. The reality of these situations is perceived differently and in some cases hard to piece together as to what is real and what is not.

Beginning with Notes from the Underground this forlorn, ailing man is so caught up in his own head he completely forgets about everything significant in life. He broods and dwells on how unfair the world is, yet never takes responsibility for his own actions. The underground man is so trapped in his mind it is as if he is living in his own reality. Assuming farfetched opinions about what other people are thinking and doing. Time after time people are callous to this man, but he fails to realize this is due to his own cruel actions. At one point, he gives up on love. Towards the end the man ends up alone in his corner; making notes about life. "To care only for well-being seems to me positively ill-bred. Whether it's good or bad, it is sometimes very pleasant, too, to smash things." Whenever this man finds tiniest bit of happiness, he takes two steps back and destroys it. He never seems to realize the damage he is doing, but because it happens to him so frequently it seems like he does not want to be happy. “I could not become anything...

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... he died alone.

When dealing with the absurd in my life I do not push to an extreme as these stories do. Overall, these stories share a common theme of loneliness and tragedy. Each story had a sad ending that either dealt with despair in the mind or death. When comparing my life to these stories I think that there is always a truth do the paradox of perceived reality because reality can be whatever one wants to see it as. The Underground man sees himself as an outcast, therefore he is one, the director sees the step-sons death as a play instead of truth, and Gregors family sees him as a bug, so he loses his ambition to function in the house as a person. If the characters in these stories had a different look on what reality is, than the endings would have been altered dramatically. In short, reality is what you make it. Anything can be real if one wants it to be.