Sorry I cut us short today. Here are the questions I was hoping we would get to to bring our thinking together. Feel free to also share your thinking about ideas, characters, and settings in the text (Roxy, Chambers, Sons of Liberty, the Driscoll family name, etc.) that we didn't quite get to today.
What effect does this illusion versus reality motif have on the reader?
To what extent would Twain agree with Dickinson’s assessment of reality?
With Hitchcock’s?
To what extent do you support Twain, Hitchcock and/ or Dickinson’s thinking?
Happy pondering and posting.
When someone reads a story that has illusion verses reality motif, they will often question the reasons for that need to hide reality. This happens a lot in mysteries stories or other detective books. Another reaction that many people have to a character acting differently in appearance verses reality is they think the character is evil or not entirely good. We assume someone with something to hide is bad.
ReplyDeleteI think Mark Twain would agree with Dickinson’s view of humanity. As a long time reporter and journalist to the public, Mark Twain would understand that you slant the truth before you give it to the public. He applies this philosophy in his book as well. He doesn’t give the reader all the details in order to keep them interested. If twain told the entire truth about every character, the story would be less exciting. Mark Twain, Emily Dickinson, and Alfred Hitchcock are defiantly believers in the philosophy “less is more.”
I both agree and disagree with their ideas. I think it is sometimes valuable to withhold information. It can result in lots of great things. However, the fact that the media and other important informational sources slant the truth for their benefit doesn’t seem right. To much of a good thing can be to much.
I think that in literature, the motif of appearance versus reality keeps the reader engaged and questioning. It engages the imagination and the reader is trying to figure out just exactly is the appearance and what is the reality in the story. I think that Twain would agree with both Dickinson's and Hitchcock's portrayals of reality. I believe that all three of them would argue that reality isn't the most important aspect when it comes to storytelling. I would have to agree with Ben, there are certain times when withholding parts or all of the truth would be the best choice. However, in some scenarios, this is completely inappropriate and is ultimately damaging to many people.
ReplyDeleteThe illusion versus reality motif is not only used to keep things interesting, as said above, but to give a story another perspective. If the reader doesn't know all the details and events of a story, they are more inclined to keep reading. It gives them something to think about and allows them to make assumptions or predictions on the outcome of an event. The illusion effect serves as a veil over the reality of the story. By giving the reader less information, you are giving them more to think about, as Ben said before.
ReplyDeleteTwain uses this idea to an extent but only in certain scenarios. He contradicts Dickinson's poem in his novel, Pudd’nhead Wilson. For example, when Roxy informs Tom that he is really a slave, and not the heir to his father's plantation, Twain takes no time hoping around the fact and giving details, but rather says it straight forward. He has Roxy tell Tom the truth in a matter of a few short paragraphs, rather than writing many pages to get to the point. He gives the reader the message straight forward, whereas Dickinson and Hitchcock give details before the facts. In other instances of Twain’s writing, he does use the idea of illusion versus reality, and gives details before giving the reader the message, but I feel that this is not one of those scenarios, unlike Ben and Ally.
Illusion vs. reality keeps readers intrigued. It also allows the author to allude to things without truly giving anything away. Often times illusion can make the reality of the situation that much more surprising and intriguing. I believe that Mark Twain uses illusion vs reality in some very intriguing ways. He has characters who have more illusive and shady personalities, such as Tom, however; Twain describes Toms every move so the overall effect of Tom is very blunt. It is characters like Puddinhead Wilson who are truly illusive in that we do not know as much about them. I am not sire that Twain would agree with Dickinson's assessment of reality. In his literature he does not tend to ease the reader into a concept. He just kind of hits you with it as he did with the revealing of Luigi's murderous ways. I most definitely do not agree Dickinson. I think that People deserve to hear the un-bias facts in order to form their own opinions about things. Otherwise we are simply selling ourselves to the most charismatic speaker.
ReplyDeleteI believe that novels that truly question the appearance vs. the reality of modern day are meet controversially. It is alright to question this reality a far off place, but when it hits home it is not always meet with approval. The Catcher in the Rye is a novel that brings up this motif, and it is a very controversial book. This is partly what Dickinson is saying in her poem. We (human) are not strong enough for the “harsh truth,” and reality of our lives. I think that Twain would agree to this to an extent. Tom in Puddin Head Wilson is a character that is not strong enough to handle his reality and Twain definitely presents him in a negative light. Mankind may not want to know the whole truth, but that doesn’t keep it from existing.
ReplyDeleteIllusion vs reality forces readers to compare similar situations and characters. For example Tom and Chambers vs puddn'head Wilson: Tom and Chambers have switched places in society, while Wilson's appearance is that he is dumb and everyone loves him, but he is actually very smart. Also, Twain has explained very little about puddn'head Wilson, but has gone into great detail about the lives of both Tom and Chambers. By comparing each characters appearance and the reality of who they really are, you can make connections among other characters. I agree with both Paige and Kelsey when they say: Twain would not agree with Dickinson because she believes that people need to be let known the truth slowly, so that they can have time to analyze and understand. Twain jumps right into things and takes no time to butter-it-up before saying it. When Roxy tells Tom that he is not the heir to the plantation, she is blunt about revealing her long-kept secret.I do not agree with Dickinson's thinking because I think people should be allowed to know the entire truth without hesitation. Without knowing the whole truth, people would have to base their opinions around what the monarchy told them. I don't agree with Twain's thinking either, though, because having details is important in understand and interpretting.
ReplyDeleteAppearance vs reality in books makes the reader think on a deeper level about the books understanding. If the reader can see what is written it is good, but to delve deeper into why and what is not written shows that the reader can understand the book. Twain shows appearance vs reality throughout Pudd'n'Head Wilson with the twins. They don't fit with the rest of the town. One has also murdered to save the other though only a few know about it. Twain would agree with Dickinson's poem because when Tom Realized the truth about his heritage and the truth about the murder the twin committed. Tom couldn't handle the truth and it was very hard for him to believe.
ReplyDeleteThe motif of illusion versus reality creates sort of a confusion within the subconscious of the reader, whether he/she likes it or not. This causes the reader to further question if reality is actually illusion, and if illusion is actually reality for other things in the text. I think Twain would very much agree with Dickinson's assessment of reality, because Dickinson sees the reality in consequences and realities of telling the truth, and through Twain's texts it seems as though he understands these aspects of the truth as well. Twain would much less agree with Hitchcock's assessment of reality, and the reason I have for this is that Hitchcock's assessment of reality is far more of an illusion than Twain's is. No, it is not a common thing for people to hide within others' houses and kill them in the shower, so it is mostly an illusion that builds Hitchcock's view of reality. I support Twain's and Dickinson's thinking more than Hitchcock's because Twain and Hitchcock lean towards the reality of things, and Hitchcock's thinking is strongly an illusion.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the effect of the illusion versus reality motif is just based on what an individual thinks of it as. An author may have the reader believe that in a story line it may be portrayed as such only in the aspect because he/she is trying to escape from reality. So the motif is just an escape for some, but for others a reality. The message keeps us as human curious about what may or may not happen. As Kelsey said, it intrigues us. Us being the reader. We take our curiosity so far that we begin to question, like Ally and Ben said. We sometimes create illusions for ourselves in order to escape from the harshness of reality. So rather than creating your own illusion to get away, authors tend to create this illusion versus reality motif to let the reader know that they are not along in the world. Therefore, making the reader feel normal and not awkward. People feel self-conscious when they believe they are going against conformed natures set strongly by others.
ReplyDeleteI would assume that Twain would agree with Dickinson in the aspect like Ben said, Twain was a reporter once in his life. He would understand the idea of telling the truth to keep the public interested, but tell it at a slant so that people can take it in a little better than all at once. As discussed in class, you cannot give humanity all the information about a particular subject at once without them overwhelming and acting in irrational ways.
I think people should be able to know the whole truth and create their own opinions. You cannot force someone to believe what you believe in.
Like Kelsey said, illusion vs. reality keeps readers intrigued. There's a sense of mystery and excitement that comes along with it that keeps the reader interested.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kailyn in that Dickinson was saying was that humans are not strong enough to handle "the whole truth, and nothing but the truth". For about two decades, Roxy refused to admit that "Tom" grew up to be just as shallow and cruel as the other "pure" Caucasians of her time. It wasn't until "Tom" harshly rejected and sent her away that she finally faced the brutal truth. When she did, the result was blackmail and burdening "Tom" with the truth. "Tom" struggled with the knowledge of him not being a Driscoll. The whole truth brings hardship. Illuding it makes it easier to handle.
The motif of illusion vs. reality cause the reader to question other supposed “facts” the book presents. It keeps the reader constantly questioning what the book presents. They question the character’s intentions and motivations for performing a certain task. Twain would not agree with Dickinson’s argument about reality. Dickinson presents the idea that truth must be revealed with time, which Twain has rejected. For example, Luigi was perfectly fine letting Wilson reveal what his palm said, and let it hit his audience quickly, and then explained it. On the flip side, when Tom has not said anything to his uncle about him being a slave, you know that there will be consequences of this. Prolonging the truth will only make it worse. Hitchcock also prolonged the truth. There was much anticipation before he revealed that the woman was going to be killed. I support Dickinson and Hitchcock’s thinking the most because often times it is proven to be difficult to hear all the truth at once. Sometimes it’s better to gradually learn something. However, if you prolong telling the truth and reality, there can be consequences.
ReplyDeleteAs was said previously I think that appearance v.s. reality is used to intrigue and compel the readers. It keeps them on their toes and constantly questioning happening in the story. Dickinson, through her poem reveals her thoughts that humanity is not capable of handling the whole truth all at once and needs to have it revealed gradually. While Twain, through his writing thinks that we ought to know the whole truth straight out. I believe that the truth should be told completely the first time, and not gradually or "sugar coated". I think this because when you tell someone only part of the truth, you risk them assuming unknown information and/or twisting the story in a way it was never meant to be. They could also take actions without knowing all of the facts which could get them in trouble or killed. And if/when you tell this person the rest of the truth, you risk them being greatly hurt or upset or in trouble.
ReplyDeleteLike said above, I completely agree with the fact that illusion gives the reader more to think about and encourages the reader to interact more with the literature. When the whole story is not told outright it gives the reader a reason to keep reading. Twain is so straight forward and reveals the truth right away, from the beginning of Pudd'nhead Wilson we know that Tom and chambers were switched at birth, and the characters themselves find out soon after. The book points out the terrible affects of the truth being hidden for so many years. This goes against Dickinson's point that truth needs to be told a little at a time, because humanity cannot handle it all. Like Dickinson, Hitchcock does not show the whole truth all at once. He gives it clue by clue but but by the end the reader still doesn't know the whole story. I doubt that Twain would agree with Hitchcock much more that with Dickinson. As far as literature goes, I definitely agree that the motif of appearance vs. reality makes the piece more interesting, and both in literature and real life I think that not knowing the whole story makes me more curios about all sides and forces me to think more in depth about things.
ReplyDeleteWhen a reader is given every piece of information, and every bit of reality, they have a hard time reading. They get bored, because everything is completely predictable and pick a more interesting book. There needs to be some piece of illusion in the story to keep the reader engaged and interested. Twain and Dickinson would not agree on the idea of truth. Twain either tells it all at once, or will not tell it at all. Dickinson believes that the truth should be told, even if it takes awhile to get out. It seems like Twain has a more black and white view of things, either lie, or tell the whole truth. Hitchcock feels more like the truth should be hidden, to keep intrigue alive. I agree with the idea that truth should just be told, that if you want a person to hear the truth, then just tell them, and let the chips fall where they may. That is the most honest way of doing things.
ReplyDeleteThe contrast between illusion and reality keeps the reader interested, it allows for a certain amount of foreshadowing without giving the reader exactly what happens. In order to keep the reader hooked into the book, the author tends to throw some mystery into the storyline. I do not believe that Twain would agree with Dickenson’s ideas because in Pudd'nhead Wilson Twain gives off the truth without hiding or concealing it. This contradicts Dickenson’s idea of telling the truth slant. Hitchcock’s view gives the details before the facts as opposed to just the plain truth like Twain. I agree with Dickenson’s idea because there are always times when it is better to tell half truths than the full truth and therefore I think that it is better to tell the truth slant.
ReplyDeleteIn literature, the motif of illusion versus reality catches the reader’s attention and makes them want read further. It does not just reveal what really happened, but makes the reader engage their imagination. It provides the reader with perspective, and gives the story a sense of mystery making it more intriguing. I think Twain would agree with Dickinson’s assessment of reality. Hitchcock seems to focus more on the illusion aspect while Dickinson and Twain show the reality. I do not agree with Dickinson’s assessment of reality. To form an actual opinion about something, I think one has to have all the facts and details.
ReplyDeleteIllusion vs. reality causes the reader read on. Since the reader does know the "facts", what is an illusion and what is a reality, it causes them to keep reading because they want to see if the characters will distinguish the illusions from the realities. It causes surprise and intrigue.
ReplyDeleteI think Twain would agree with Emily Dickinson’s “Tell All the Truth but Tell it Slant” because he knows that it is human nature to not tell everything but tell the truth. As Ben mentions, Twain was a journalist and understood how to twist reality into an illusion. Pudd’nhead Wilson demonstrates this understanding. The towns’ people knew the reality of the Judges murder, but they were under illusion that the twins killed him. Twain presents this truth with a “slant”.
Hitchcock’s philosophy, I believe, focuses on the illusion, not on its relationship with reality. Hitchcock shows the viewer many objects, but does not tell what they symbolize, leaving them for the viewers imagination. This causes and illusion of what the viewer might think what happened, instead of the reality. For example, He depicts the girl to be innocent, but the viewer doesn’t know if the reality is that she is guilty.
I support Twains philosophy on illusion vs. reality. He shows that it is human nature and that there is always something that no one really knows or understands.
The aspect of illusion verses reality has a massive impact on the reader's view of the novel, the characters and the overall plot of the story. It is able to show what we want to see rather than what we may not want to see, and possibly what we are given instead of what is truly going on. Twain was able to use irony to show the massive difference of illusion verses reality in showing the reader what was going on for part of the time and for other parts of the novel leaving open-ended. I believe that he would agree with Dickinson's poem for the truth that he writes about in Puddn'Head Wilson is given but only in pieces for the truth given at once will make "every man be blind". I feel that Hitchcock shows more of the illusions as opposed to the reality that is seen in Dickinson's poem and Twains novel.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to what most of the class has already said earlier I believe that allowing the reader to try and decifer between illusion and reality causes the reader to become more involved in their reading and develops curiousity in the reader. I also think that Twain would agree with Dickinson's assessment of reality from his writings such as "On the Damned Human Race" where he has a frank point of view and kind of uses a similar theme as Dickinson about the human rache being weak. To some extent I agree with Dickinson and Twain's ideas but I also believe that human's deserve to know the truth. None the less I think that people often struggle initially with reality but to be presented with the facts up front is more beneficial in the long run.
ReplyDeleteAppearance vs. reality means the look or surface of an idea, whether it is abstract or concrete, in comparison to the deeper and true meaning or the part that we don't immediately know or see. I believe that Twain would probably agree with Dickenson's idea of appearance vs. reality because Twain uses this motif a lot. Pudd'nhead Wilson is seen as a loser and wierd, but in reality he was very smart and even figures out the murder at the end of the book. Twain feeds you little bits of the truth slowly as the book goes, similar to what Dickenson means when she says, "Tell all the Truth, but tell it slant-". You get all the information, but twisted or drawn out in some way. If they met today, they might night necessarily agree about what appearance vs. reality means to them personally, but they both use different versions of it in their writing. Therefore, in both the pieces of literature, appearance vs. reality is seen, just in different ways.
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