Themes Of Illusion And Reality By Bret Easton Ellis's ' Trainspotting ' And ' American Psycho '

The symbolism in this novel exposes the emotionally sensitive topic of society blindfolding people from the truth; once readers understand this message, they will most likely feel a sense of betrayal and anger towards the world and society they live in. But instead they should realize that almost every, if not all, novels conceal a message through their symbolism – and with intertextuality, the messages may not vary as much as one might think. Recognizing this, all readers should preserve these significant ideas and keep them in mind when facing daily situations in the world; they should work on distinguishing traps before falling into them and identifying the people who create them. Kesey teaches his readers that society is not as pleasant or honest as it seems, and Foster illustrates that almost every story conveys the same principles. Thus, it should be safe to say that anyone who reads Kesey’s novel – or in fact any novel – can never keep their eyes and mind open enough in the world around

In 1980’s Scotland, socioeconomic conditions and morale suffered due to the implementation of Thatcher policies, placing the lower class in a deplorable state of hopelessness. The film Trainspotting, directed by Danny Boyle, depicts the plights of young heroin junkies during the Thatcher Era in Edinburgh. The film’s focus is not heroin addiction, but rather, uses the silver screen as a platform to portray the depressing impact Thatcherism had on Scottish socioeconomic conditions as conveyed through the protagonist, heroin-addicted Mark Renton. Trainspotting illustrates that the social struggles of the Scottish lower class during the Thatcher Era are significant contributing factors to cause Renton to become a heroin user in order to escape the depressing and monotonous existence to which he is subjected.

In his latest novel, Jasper Jones (2009), Craig Silvey uses syntax, visual and olfactory imagery, personification and symbolism to describe the inside of Mad Jack Lionel’s dingy house, creating a sinister, gloomy and malicious mood. As this setting is observed through the youthful eyes of the Bildungsroman novel’s narrator, Charlie Bucktin, you receive the eye-opening thoughts and perceptions of a child combined with Silvey’s precisely crafted language, producing an impactful and evocative passage.

How does one distinguish the difference between reality and fantasy? Can our realities be so complex and unwanted that we are simply unable to grasp it? Coming to terms with actuality allows us to accept and find who we are. If we choose to neglect and become unaware with reality we may become delusional to the point of becoming insane. Feminist Charlotte Gilman’s (1860-1935) “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Mississippi native William Faulkner’s (1897-1962) “A Rose for Emily” both contain extreme delusional characters (“Charlotte Perkins Gilman”, “William Faulkner”). These characters lose touch with the real world and slowly begin to exhibit madness. Although both characters are unable to grasp reality, they both express distinct methods that show the severity and capability of their insanity.

Philip K. Dick’s novel, Time Out of Joint, is set in an artificially created town from the 1950’s in a dystopian 1990’s society. Published in 1959, Dick’s novel was met with criticism from those who feared the Communist threat of a third world war. In making “time out of joint” in his novel, Dick blurs the line between fiction and reality by distorting narrative structure and employing the symbolism of words to satirize 1950’s American society’s willful ignorance and fear of the unknown. As power and moral authority shift, the reader questions the postmodernist novel’s world, instilling a sense of doubt and curiosity.

The protagonist holds to his immature beliefs that by looking, acting and maintaining a false façade as a “dangerous character” (Boyle,114) it would bestow on him an the badness he desires.

“The third stage of narrative development was characterized by the appearance of rogues… relying on cleverness more than force, and motivated more by profits than by passion” (Williams 14). Rogues defied whatever came in between their pursuit, whether it be law or authority (Williams 14). In the third stage of criminal literature, the protagonists were all rogues despite of their unlawfully ways, they “aroused reader sympathy” (Williams 16). Williams described these rogues as “outsiders, existing apart from the social structure either by choice or by fate” (William 16). He also described these rogues as “individualistic, opportunistic, self-reliant” as well as “defiant of authority and entirely free” (Williams 16). William argues that the evolution of these narratives took place in three stages: the first being the “early execution sermons and final confessions”, the second being “the incomplete narratives of life and, finally the full length rogue narrative” (Williams 17). Williams’ article describes how criminal literature changed from “promoting obedience, [to] encouraged defiance” (Williams

Literature is the window to realizing the negatives of society and how destructive certain norms can be. Readers are brought into a completely different story than their own, but by using similar issues in today’s world, the readers can actually learn from the story and its overall message. All writers write for a purpose, whether it’s for a new meaning to life, to live a different life than our own, or to impact others on an emotional level by teaching them to see the importance of the little things. As a reader, you search for pieces of literature that interest you whether you find the story like your own, or wish you lived the life in the story. By using issues in today’s within their works, authors are able to grab the reader's attention long enough for them to get across what they wanted to get across. Often in many works of literature, writers use societal issues as their basis for the work’s themes and symbols. By doing so, this allows the reader to question the morality behind social norms and how impactful certain ideals can be in people’s lives.

“The Book Thief” presented a story filled with various themes that comprised a powerful plot line. Although there were many themes in the story, there was one that stood out to me more than others. In the process of reading the book, the theme of suffering affected me the most. The definition of the word suffer is to experience or be subjected to something bad or unpleasant. Different characters within the story are subjected to dreadful feelings and are therefore suffering. Through my analyzation, I observed the three different types of suffering that the characters experienced: guilt, feelings of emptiness, and anxiety. The characters of “The Book Thief” experience these three types of suffering in different ways.

A long time ago the difference between perception and reality was defined as the act of understanding in contrast to the act of being real. Reality could be tricky; most of us including myself depending on scenarios of our lives tend to give in to ideas which are not applicable to reality as a whole. The best example of this is written in the short story “All Over” by Guy de Maupassant. In which his main character Lormerin is very self conscious and narcissistic also Lise de Vance, a former old love plays a big role in hurting Lormerin ego and opening his eyes by showing him, his real self. Many would say that when reality knocks it could be harsh and confusing. In the next couple of

When these and other questions weigh upon his mind he begins to realize that something is fundamentally wrong with the world he is living in. In Brave New World the main character, Bernard, is set apart from society by physical differences, which, in a society of ‘engineered’ people is extremely inhibiting. It is these ‘defects’ which cause him to look for a deeper meaning than the drug induced happiness forced upon him. These characters, although alienated in the novels, are believable and rational. The acts of their questioning in their search for the truth and real emotion persuade the reader to do the same thing. It is in this manner that the utility of these novels becomes apparent; through the demands they make of the reader personally - a superior social commentary, one that demands interaction, is born.

The turbulent societal changes of the mid-20th Century have been documented in countless forms of literature, film and art. On the Road by Jack Kerouac was written and published at the outset of the counter-culture movement of the 1950s and 1960s. This novel provides a first-hand account of the beginnings of the Beat movement and acts as a harbinger for the major societal changes that would occur in the United States throughout the next two decades. On the contrary, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a Hunter S. Thompson novel written in 1971 provides a commentary on American society at the end of the counter-culture movement. Thompson reflects on the whirlwind of political and social activism he experienced and how American society had

Character development within novels with complex plot structures proves to be a difficult task necessitating the author to add their own inner thoughts and experiences to weave a more realistic story. The historical background of a writer helps glean on information about that person’s unconscious and subconscious processes that become apparent within an author’s literature. As the author develops their thoughts throughout a novel attempting to paint a clearer picture of their purpose, their own persona becomes a part of the literature. Psychoanalytic theory attempts to further this claim by taking information from one’s childhood, inner taboo thoughts and hidden motivations, and synthesizing them for a better picture of the author’s

Philip K. Dick's The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch is a deeply symbolic work. Centered largely on concepts of soft science fiction, Dick presents to the reader a work which is based essentially on themes of philosophy and theology; he leads the reader to ponder such concepts as the true nature of reality and the direction in which our current society is headed based on then-current social and cultural phenomena - specifically, the growing use of hallucinogenic drugs in the 1960s. These themes are presented by way of a dystopian future set in the year 2016. Due to the nature of the thematic material and the complexity of the work itself, the book is clearly intended to be read and understood by an adult audience.

The conversation between Mustapha Mond, a “World Controller” and John, the “Savage” examines the sacrifices for stability in the society of the novel Brave New World. Mustapha Mond justifies the government’s restrictions by describing the apparent “happiness” of the public. Ultimately, he claims that they have achieved stability in that the public has no need for worries and in result must be happy. Similarly, Mustapha alludes to the fact that classic conditioning was used on the public to conform to the government’s laws, the reasoning for their lack of worries. He mentions the consumption and the public’s dependence of “soma”, a drug that causes lethargy and inhibits awareness, aiding to distract the unhappy. He scoffs at how ridiculous