Reality and Illusion
Reality versus Illusion
Texts:
Life of Pi
King Lear
Heavenly Creatures
Blade Runner
Pans Labyrinth
Research Questions: 1. How does each character’s situation influence their perception or ideas of reality versus illusion? 2. What are the similarities and differences between the main character’s situation in each text? 3. What insights relating to reality and illusion can be gained from each text?
Resources:
Title: Life of Pi
Author: Yann Martel
Question 1:
Pi survives his ordeal through the power of his own story telling. He uses it as a way of dealing with the horrific situation he has found himself in. By creating animal characters to replace the humans in the lifeboat he creates a coping mechanism powerful enough to survive. It also allows him to distance himself from the violent side of his own personality. Pi doesn’t see his story telling as lying, just another interpretation of the truth. Turning his situation into a story is a fairly typical for a child, yet Pi is obviously quite mature in his dealing of it.
Question 2:
Story telling as a method of escape is a common theme in Pans Labyrinth and Heavenly Creatures as well Life of Pi. These other texts also have fairly young children or teenagers as their protagonists.
Question 3:
That story telling can be an effective means of escape and though one version of events may be factually true, other interpretations may have an emotional quality that cannot be compared. That advance into illusion does not necessarily lead to a lack of understanding or recognition of reality, just a break from the harshness of it.
Title: King Lear
Author: William Shakespeare
Question 1:
King Lear’s personal rashness and initial inability to effectively judge peoples’ character leads to his eventual decent into madness. He is flattered easily by his elder daughters Goneril and Regan but banishes Cordelia who is the only one who truly loves her father. Often in this play it is the good characters that are forced
Texts:
Life of Pi
King Lear
Heavenly Creatures
Blade Runner
Pans Labyrinth
Research Questions: 1. How does each character’s situation influence their perception or ideas of reality versus illusion? 2. What are the similarities and differences between the main character’s situation in each text? 3. What insights relating to reality and illusion can be gained from each text?
Resources:
Title: Life of Pi
Author: Yann Martel
Question 1:
Pi survives his ordeal through the power of his own story telling. He uses it as a way of dealing with the horrific situation he has found himself in. By creating animal characters to replace the humans in the lifeboat he creates a coping mechanism powerful enough to survive. It also allows him to distance himself from the violent side of his own personality. Pi doesn’t see his story telling as lying, just another interpretation of the truth. Turning his situation into a story is a fairly typical for a child, yet Pi is obviously quite mature in his dealing of it.
Question 2:
Story telling as a method of escape is a common theme in Pans Labyrinth and Heavenly Creatures as well Life of Pi. These other texts also have fairly young children or teenagers as their protagonists.
Question 3:
That story telling can be an effective means of escape and though one version of events may be factually true, other interpretations may have an emotional quality that cannot be compared. That advance into illusion does not necessarily lead to a lack of understanding or recognition of reality, just a break from the harshness of it.
Title: King Lear
Author: William Shakespeare
Question 1:
King Lear’s personal rashness and initial inability to effectively judge peoples’ character leads to his eventual decent into madness. He is flattered easily by his elder daughters Goneril and Regan but banishes Cordelia who is the only one who truly loves her father. Often in this play it is the good characters that are forced
Bibliography: del Toro, Guillermo (2006) Pans Labyrinth, Esperanto Films Jackson, Peter (1994) Heavenly Creatures, Fontana Productions Martel, Yann (2002) Life of Pi, Harcourt Inc Scott, Ridley (1982) Blade Runner: The Director’s Cut , Warner Bros. Pictures Shakespeare, William (1994) King Lear (Oxford School Shakespeare), Oxford University Press