Differences Between Reality and Perception in Literary Analysis

Introduction

In recent times, researchers and scholars alike, who work in social sciences and humanities, as well as psychology and literature, have taken an intense interest to study identity. For instance, in the political circles, the identity is always at the epicenter of lively debates. This has consequently led to researchers delving into identity politics of race, color, and sexuality. Despite the continued research on the subject, identity has remained to be something of an enigma. It is important to assert that the present idea of identity is a recent social construct, and it is rather complicated at that. Even though many people may know how to use identity in different contexts owing to the fact that they have looked it up to get different definitions, it is rather difficult to give a short and satisfactory statement that captures the present meaning. Identity has prompted the rise of reality and conception, which most of us do not see the difference between the two since they seem to have the same meanings. Ideally, there is a clear difference between reality and perception, and in this case, the study explains why it proves difficult for the characters in Immobility struggles to unravel the prevalent differences between reality and perception, as well as shed some light on identity, self, and self-concept.

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Identities, as they may be generally defined, are traits and characteristics, roles, social relations as well as memberships that reveal who one is. Identities could be in the past, the present or the future; what used to be true of one, what is true at the moment and what one expects to be true about them respectively (Schachter and Galliher 1-4). In common discourse, the term self has been used to imply that something belongs to someone or is about them. Having a reflection on oneself requires that there is an "I". More importantly, self requires that there is an ability to think, awareness of thinking, as well as taking self as an object for thinking. These dimensions have contributed to the difficulty of distinguishing between reality and perception of reality. Brian Evenson in his fiction bamboozles the audience with the writing skills exhibited in the book and prompts a difficulty in explaining what the difference is between reality and perception (Wikstrom 59-63). In order to dig deeper into the two, it is paramount to understand any underlying unique features between the two terms and if there are any characteristics that make them inseparable.

Under normal circumstances, perception can be defined as the way how one comprehends something; their unique way of understanding different things. People have different perceptions for the same things since in most cases perception is shaped by the society in which one lives in. there are a number of factors that shape the thinking pattern of an individual, which leads to these perceptions (Betancourt 241-242). Levels of education, cultural values, beliefs, myths, as well as attitudes are some of the factors that have an influence on the thinking patterns of different individuals. The past generations may also affect the patterns of thinking of an individual as well. For instance, the myths and legends of gods have been passed on from one generation to another in different communities, and which then affects perceptions in different individuals. In most cases, people believe in what they think is true and that most of the things are understood based on the outward level of understanding only (Betancourt 241-242). Even at that, it has become difficult to prove some perceptions wrong, although they may not make much sense. Reality, on the other hand, is the actual existence of something. It may be difficult to bring out some truths and misconceptions may also, hinder truth from being known. For instance, the ancient people thought that the earth had a flat surface since the horizon seemed to be a flat sphere. Historically, some rulers did not permit scientists to prove that the earth did not have a flat surface, because they did not want their perception to be changed (Boyer 53-63). Similarly, the truth can be buried in the debris of misconceptions, while nobody wants to find the reality. The reason for this is that it is easier to follow what other people believe in other than an attempt to seek the truth, which would be hectic.

With the setting of Immobility as a fiction book, it is difficult, not just for the characters in the writing, but also for the audience as well, to differentiate the truth from the perceptions. Initially, literature was of paramount significance in conveying a clear and concise message. Culler posits that a novel would be an upstart, a source of information that would be used for reference (Culler 102). If one is not careful and attentive enough, it is difficult to draw any meaningful information from Evenson's Immobility. Culler further laments that the novel has eclipsed poetry, owing to what readers read and what is being written by writers since the 1960s. As the argument goes, stories are the main way through which sense can be made out of things, whether in educating oneself on the progress or through telling oneself what is happening in the world (Culler 92). Extracting reality from perception or the other way around has also been made even harder by scientific explanations, which places things under laws, for instance, whenever a obtains b, c will occur. However, life does not follow a scientific logic of cause, but the logic of the story, where understanding depends on the conception of how one thing led to the other; or how something may have come about-practical things about practical life.

A narrative or writing should have a keenly developed plot, which is the basic feature; in that st9ories should have the start, the middle and the end. Essentially, a plot would want a transition, which would then usher in the flow of events. With a smooth flow, it is easier to understand the events. A well-arranged plot in literature focuses on the readers' ability to identify the gist (Culler 84). This would enable them to unravel the main ideas of the story, unlike immobility, which has been made with a massive coding in the language. Immobility has a deceptively simple premise in the making, while its fiction does not help much in comprehension of the contents. It being a hypothetical book, it is very difficult to transform the thought s and the events of the book into an actual book or to events that one can (Evenson). This feature makes it difficult to distinguish perception from what is real in the book, explaining further why many people would struggle to systematically organize the plot of the book. A character named as Josef Horkai is awakened from cryogenic sleep by another called Rasmus and has no memory of where or who he is. Rasmus makes a claim that he Horkai's friend because he wants him to retrieve something from another group. Because he cannot walk, Horkai is given two mules that are engineered for strength and endurance, but they do not have a resemblance of the humans at all. The fiction book does not focus more on the ravaged landscape and it does not go into a lengthy and florid description of the landscape.

The discussion of Horkai and the two mule companions presents a twofold purpose of giving a bit of background created by Rasmus, and although he has little or memory, these discussions are odds with his recollections of what humanity should be. It is difficult to join the dots in the storyline of this fiction book by the virtue of how it is presented (Evenson). It is important to note that the basic distinction of the theory of narrative is between plot and presentation, story and discourse. Accompanied by the text, the reader can extract sense out a text, by the identification of the story and "what happens." In addition, every narrative should have a narrator, who may not be in the story as a character. This is where first-person narration or third person narration comes in literature; as protagonists or participants and minor characters (Ringer). Any literature or narrative that is devoid these characteristics in presentation would present challenges to the audience and the readers in particular. These challenges make the reader struggle in identifying the reality from the perception from the book.

Immobility seems to question how much of who we are and is defined by our pasts. In perspective, Horkai has no memory of his past to present information of sense of his self-identity, as well as his instinctual reactions to the environment that surrounds him, and which makes the foundation of who is he is today (Evenson). One of the initial actions that Horkai does is to strangle a man, and through this deed, the tone for his experience. Without any memories of his life whatsoever, Horkai becomes the ultimate tool of violence, since he has packaged himself to be more effective his work. At the end of the day, the fiction novel ends up being about the main character, without shedding light on what was real and was not (Diamond 1-26). This is partly so because of the gap between the hypothetical descriptions of the book, and what it is really meant to be in the novel. It is fitting to note that many novels fill the readers with illusions, provoking desire, and in the process bamboozling our take on identity. It is difficult to identify with the story; even more difficult to scrutinize what is real and what is the perception from the reading. Novels have become powerful tools in the internalization of social norms, but they also provide an avenue of social criticism. However, for a novel such as immobility to bring these traits out clearly, they have to be written in certain ways which use all skills amiably. Immobility, one would assert, is a test brevity, but it does not bring an exceptional use of language or tone to the fold (Ringer). The novel is certainly not easy to read and comprehend, as it is a dark one that casts bright and uncompromising light. The novel examines a number of things, but most importantly, what becomes of us when the survival of species as a whole is the primary goal, so much so that people even change themselves to pursue it.

Conclusion

Literature and identity have been empathized by scholars and researchers alike. Authors and writers are ensuring that narratives have traits that make literature and identity to resonate seamlessly. Narrative literature especially follows the fortunes of characters as they are defined by the combinations of their past, present, the choices they make as well as the social forces they act upon them. Stories and different narratives give varied identities to the characters in the play, but this can only be successful if the right skills of writing are used. Narratives must be written in a way that readers can comprehend what is reality and what is a perception through the plot, which is the most basic requirement of a story. In this case of Immobile, the plot of the narrative is very complicated that it is difficult for the reader to understand the gist. The ability of the reader to understand the narrative is not entirely emphasized, which makes it difficult to distinguish between the reality in the novel and what people may perceive out of their imaginations.

Works Cited

Betancourt, Joseph R. "Perception is Reality, And Reality Drives Perception: No Time To Celebrate Yet." Journal of General Internal Medicine 33.3 (2018): 241-242. Web.

Boyer, Wanda. "Accentuate The Positive: The Relationship Between Positive Explanatory Style And Academic Achievement Of Prospective Elementary Teachers." Journal of Research in Childhood Education 21.1 (2006): 53-63. Web.

Culler, Jonathan. The Literary Theory. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2007. Print.

Diamond, Cora. "The Difficulty Of Reality And The Dif...