The Different Shades of Reality

While analyzing Kurosawa Akira’s Rashomon in the essay, “Irreconcilable Realities”, Aaron M. Kerner writes, “The substance of the film hinges on what is irreconcilable, and “resolving” the narrative would run contrary to the film’s central concern.” In this quote, Kerner is addressing the fact that the film does not have a conclusion where the audience knows the truth about the characters in the film. Rashomon instead addresses the natures of reality and real life through his filming of this unusual mystery story. He addresses storytelling through the eyes of different characters and shows how the different points of view can have a major impact on the telling of the story. By telling the story this way the film creates a commentary on

The opening statement of the article Looks can deceive: Why Perception and Reality Don't Always Match Up by Christof Koch reads as follows; “When you are facing a tricky task, your view of the world may not be as accurate as you think” (Koch, 2010) In this article Koch argues that a human’s conscious perception of the world is neither static or accurate. That people everywhere are incapable of being one hundred percent objective and therefore their awareness of objects surrounding them is dependent on factors such as personal strength, confidence, fears and desires. Koch states that being human is equal to “seeing the world through your own, constantly shifting, lens” (Koch, 2010)

To resist this neglection, Miranda's bluntness and dark humor enables for an early-generation California Indian, Vicenta, and a modern-day California Indian descendant, Miranda, to find strength in each other's experiences of violence, even if the world fails to properly acknowledge the horrors that California Indians have experienced. As Miranda directly addresses Vicenta when she states: “‘I’m sorry, because I don’t know what to tell you. I could try and be funny and say, ‘Hey, guess that priest gave up celibacy for Lent, huh?’ Or I could go for a crude wink...That’s how I’ve learned to deal with it…”(23), Miranda’s coarse humor and direct words of apology, create the effect of resistance. The violence that was perpetrated by Father Real to Vicenta and to all the other women who have suffered violence on the hands of non-Indians, was intended to deteriorate the California Indians. Instead, Miranda transforms this perception into a story of strength. Vicenta’s assault is told bluntly in order to unveil the truth of violence and and suffering encountered. While California Indians continue to be victims of violence from non-Indians, Miranda’s letter reminds the community that the presence of violence will be there, but that they must take control of their experiences and make them stories to be shared truthfully and unforgotten.

A few weeks ago, I finished reading your bestseller Between Shades of Gray which quickly became one of my top three favorite books ever. From the heartbreaking moments to the unique setting of the book, I could not put it down. I also was able to learn new information. I love this book so, so much, and I am definitely going to start reading some more of your amazing books!

Sacrificed the truth, beauty and the right to think, happiness and comfort is just indulgent, it is the discomfort brought by the misery, responsibility and the bonding give us the weight of life. The world is full of people who try hard to gain happiness, and we all have at least one time the idea of living in a perfect world, a world without pain, without misery, without getting old and without cancers. We always ignored the importance and the beauty of uncomfortableness, just as a quote in this book said, “Stability isn’t nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand”. After read this book, I started to be more objective at those bad things I used to hate, to understand the significance of art and to be grateful to this imperfect world we are

Many say that events, good and bad, from childhood shape a person’s future. Things like the death of a loved one, domestic violence, expectations and economic struggles can surely mould one's true self. However, the gap between finding the person they want to become and the one to avoid becoming is controlled solely by the way one chooses to handle these things in life. This is directly connected to the novel, Crow Lake by Mary Lawson, in which the life of Kate Morrison and her three siblings is depicted. The children are faced with tragedy when both their parents are killed in a fatal car accident and they are left orphaned to fend for themselves. The novel perfectly embodies what it takes to get through extremely tough times and push in order

To ease one’s pain, humans will do anything to escape the negative emotions they feel, even if it is not healthy. In the novel Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese, he effectively shows how Saul faces a journey of undoing years of isolation after his traditions and values are ignored by St. Jeromes, a residential school. This experience causes him a large amount of emotional pain. Therefore, Saul copes with his problems by escaping reality itself so he does not need to dwell on his negative emotions.

Lina Vilkas is an average 15 year old girl with a prestigious art school to look forward too, typical

Captivity is a strong theme running throughout American Romantic literature. This novel is a wilderness romance with strong undercurrents of captivity and escape. Not long after arriving in the Congo, their minds are already focused on escape. The jungle is a paradise, but a dark, gothic one where evil lies in wait - in the form of venomous snakes, flesh eating ants, and the poisonwood tree. Just as surely as the slaves in Uncle Tom's Cabin were searching for escape from captivity, so too are these women and children, and their escape is equally fraught with danger. The entire time that they live in the village, they imagine that a return to America will release them from their heartache, but this does not prove to be the case for any of them. Africa takes the life of one sister, holds on to

Realism is a theory that depicts world politics as a ceaseless repetitive struggle for power. In other words, political realism seeks to explain international relations between states in terms of power. Realist “views that nation-state as the most important actor…because it answers to no higher authority;” in other words, it is an anarchic system (Kegley, 27). Some traits of realism are that states are sovereign, non-cooperation among states, and the exclusion if morality in policies.

In the story “Happy Endings” the author Margaret Atwood gives 6 scenarios in alphabetical order from A to F of how a couples life could play out over the span of their lives. In these six scenarios Atwood uses satire to emphasize how interchangeable and simple each couples life is. In this story Atwood uses character, style, and point of view to chastise the desire for the everyday common life and the concern for only the “whats” in life and not “how or why”.

Has anyone lived a life without misfortune? Doubtable; even the person with what could be described as the ideal life deals with some form of adversity. The novel, Speak, and the short story, The Third and Final Continent, both use plot as a way to convey themes of hardship. Moreover, these texts both use symbolism in order to develop their themes as well. The Art of Resilience and Speak utilize characterization as a method of developing their respective themes. Speak, The Third and Final Continent, and The Art of Resilience each deal with the theme that all people must learn to cope with adverse situations.

The 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 “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 significant.

This novel teaches us about the endless possibilities of life that we can face and that we can keep trying until we succeed with the many opportunities that we have around us.

When trying to comprehend international politics, current events, or historical context, having a firm grasp on the various international relations theories is essential to understanding patterns when looking at interstate affairs. Realism, liberalism, constructivism, and marxist radical theory are used to provide a framework by which we can dissect international relations.