Illusions and Atwood
...refore, illusion and reality cannot be decifered by mere appearances and perhaps not even able to be decifered at all. In other words, how do you know if what appears to be reality, isn't in fact illusion? So can we trust appearances? Certainly not. Not only is there no way of proving something is real to the absolute, but further more, an illusion isn't always something that isn't there, illusion is the erroneous perception of reality. Therefore, an illusion could be something that's there but not seen or possibly distorted to look like something else. For instance, In Atwood's poem This is a Photograph of Me she begins describing something that "at first... seems to be a smeared print" but then after further attention is paid you notice "a thing that is like a branch" then "a gentle slope, a small frame house." then "in the background there is a lake" So, what at first appeared to be a smeared print is not a detailed picture. That's not all, the poem goes on to explain that there is a drowned person in the middle of the lake, "just under the suface." In conclusion, what appears to be, isn't always what it is perceived to be. Therefore, we cannot trust appearances. What influences our perception of reality? Numerous things can influence our perception with varied affects. Including, our own state of mind, our perspective on an subject, preconception and stereotypes. In fact, preconceptions and stereotypes influence the way we perceive thing because after we have something pictured in our mind, then see it in real life, we tend to distort or emphasize certain features to make it fit the mold we made for it in our minds. Margaret Atwood is one of the most famous and talented female writers of the century, so naturally many (including myself) assume that since she possess such a talent now that she must have been born with her abilities. But on the contrary, its seems to be quite the opposite, when a...