Reality and illusion in literature

【Abstract】This paper explores the use of reality and illusion in both “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and “A Rose for Emily”， focusing on their respective relations with the protagonists and their role. Through research， the paper gives us a detailed analysis on the writing technique of using reality and illusion.

【Key words】reality； illusion； protagonist； “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”； “A Rose for Emily”

I. Introduction

Have you ever read the masterpiece of Marquez， One Hundred Years of Solitude？ Do you marvel at the complicated and eccentric family history he depicts？ Actually， he uses the technique of magical realism in the fiction， which combines reality and illusion to produce a stunning impact. For a long time， the integration of reality and illusion has been paid special attention to by many renowned writers， such as James Thurber and William Faulkner. Similarly， reality and illusion play an important role in both their works： “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and “A Rose for Emily”.

II. The definitions of reality and illusion in literature

Since the combination of reality and illusion， as a narrative technique， is widely used in literature， we have to first understand their meanings before dipping into their roles in the two stories. Reality， as being actual or real state of the protagonists， reveals their true situation. While illusion， on the contrary， describes something unreal， is a mental state triggered by the delusion of the protagonists. Ph.D. Werner Wolf states that， “aesthetic illusion shares with hallucinations （and also dreams） a vivid impression that can be described as a feeling of being “recentered” or “immersed” in an imaginative possible world”（3）. When reality and illusion appear simultaneously in a single piece of literature， it implies that the hero or heroine is building secretly an imaginary world which belongs to themselves in the real world which they refuse to face. In this way， reality and illusion create a distinct effect from other writing techniques.

III. Reality and illusion in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”

“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” shows the daydreams of Walter Mitty in an absurd but vivid description. Throughout the story， Mittys fantasies stem directly from some details of his environment in real life. At the very beginning， driving his wife to town through bad weather triggers the daydream. In his first dream， he is a fearless commander conducting his soldiers. Then， he imagines being the famous physician， Dr. Mitty， who is admired by his colleagues， after driving past the hospital； a master shot who saves a lovely girl in the courtroom， after hearing a newsboys shouting about “the Waterbury trial”（Twentieth Century American Short Stories 8）； Captain Mitty， who decides to fly alone in a battle， after reading the news about World War II on “an old copy”（9）； and the hero smoking in front of the firing squad， after lighting a cigarette and leaning against the wall. In the end， “Walter Mitty the Undefeated， inscrutable to the last” （10）.endprint

Reality and illusion， in the article fulfill their functions in character creation and theme exposition. To begin with， the illusion contrasts sharply with the reality， impressing us readers with a ridiculous and pitiful Walter Mitty. In all his daydreams， he is a young， strong， knowledgeable and confident man， deserving others respect and admiration. However， in reality， he is old， weak， ignorant and insecure， who is even unable to take his cars chains off. In a word， his superiority in his reverie serves as a foil to his inferiority in real life. Moreover， his frequent， intermittent addiction in daydream suggests his another two typical features. Firstly， as Anne Ferguson Mann claims in her essay， “What Walter Mitty would ultimately reject is his physical being， half of what it means to be human” （355）. Mitty attempts to live in his delusion， which is “one way of trying to deny mortality” （Mann 355）. Nevertheless， what he can only do is to seek for consolation from the illusion. Secondly， his misanthropy can be inferred from the contrast of reality and illusion. That is， his mental status is a proof that he dislikes secular world but is unable to escape from it. Thus， his withdrawal from the reality is “symptomatic not of mild-mannered exasperation with a trivial world， but of anger and misanthropy” （Kaufman 93）.

In addition， the contrast of reality and illusion has a close relationship with the theme on gender roles. Mittys wife， the connection of Mitty to the real world， is more aggressive and powerful than her husband. She dominates their marriage. “A close inspection of the five fantasies strongly suggests Mitty suffers from a marked sense of sexual inferiority for which he needs to compensate” （Blythe & Sweet 111）. What the society expects and values in man is the strength and capability， whereas Mitty fails to meet the traditional features of masculinism. So he achieves the conventional masculine power in fantasy. The anticipation on gender roles from the society puts too much pressure on him. Being too much suppressed， as a result， his abnormal psychology causes him to blur the boundary between reality and illusion.

IV. Reality and illusion in “A Rose for Emily”

Identically， reality and illusion deserve analyzing in A Rose for Emily. It tells a tragedy of a weird southern aristocratic lady Emily Grierson who is driven by the worldly tradition and desires to possess her lover by poisoning him and keeping his corpse in her isolated house， even sleeping with his decayed body for over forty years. The secret is not discovered until the death of Emily. In the story， Emily lives in illusion represented by her house： “it was a big， squarish frame house that had once been white， decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies” （Faulkner 15）. On the other hand， the town， which is invaded by the industrialism and modern civilization： “garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of that neighborhood” （Faulkner 15）， stands for the reality. Emily， unwilling to accept those new things， chooses to hide in the old-fashioned house.endprint

So what prevents Emily from distinguishing reality from illusion？ Obviously， it is “dust” that makes the boundary of reality and illusion blurry. Living in the house “smelled of dust and disuse” （Faulkner 15） for the whole life， it is not surprising that Emily has gradually lost a reasonable mind. Breathing in the dank， rotted dust every day， she produces a delusion that time has stopped in this old house. As long as the house confines her， the whole world remains unchanged， including the outside town. Dust serves as the drug that hallucinates her normal psychology and the barrier that stops Emilys effort to step into and learn about the new world. “Faulkners use of dust imagery provides the key to understanding the role of the past and the manner in which it lingers in the present” （Binder 5）. Meanwhile the strange smell was a “l(fā)ink between the gross， teeming world and the high and mighty Griersons”. People in the town try to spy and comment on Emilys private life. They talk behind her back on her insanity and lose of “noblesse oblige”. Thus， staying in illusion is one of her ways to defy the public opinion and the social convention after her lover， Barron deserts her.

With regard to the purpose of using reality and illusion， it is on the writing style and theme. “A Rose for Emily” is“a classic gothic work” （Zhang 1）. The illusion in the story， the house， totally different from the human world outside， has “a dim hall from which a stairway mounted into still more shadow”， and a parlor “furnished in heavy， leather-covered furniture”. The dark house， in the neighbors eyes， is described as a medieval style architecture—a gothic castle， however， for Emily， it is a warm place where she feels safe. Such contrast casts a mysterious light on the illusion. Moreover， the room， where the body is kept， is associated with a tomb； while for Emily， it is a bridal room where lays her lover. Barron is still that young， fascinating man in her fantasy. More scarily， she sleeps with the corpse for more than forty years. It seems that death never exists in the house. Her paralysis in illusion adds to “the gothic mysterious， gloomy， and horrible circumstance” （Zhang 12）， which is one of the gothic elements. Therefore， the strong contrast of reality and illusion is the fountain of the gothic atmosphere in the story.

Additionally， reality and illusion are related to the theme as well. “The doctrine of the patriarchal chauvinism and the puritan womanhood” （Zhang 22） poison this southern aristocratic lady， consequently， she chooses to kill the man to protect her dignity and reputation， as well as live in illusion. In the dusty house， “in one of the downstairs windows” （Faulkner 19）， she spends her rest life. “She is forced to a road of destruction and self-destruction” （Yang 4） in illusion. Furthermore， the old house is a symbol of the old era， which has elapses with the American Civil War. Her rejection of the reality and her dependence on the illusion imply her reluctance to face the new era. In sum， the conflict between reality and illusion is the epitome of the war between southern traditions and northern modernism.endprint

V. Conclusion

The tactful combination of reality and illusion is one factor for charm of the two short stories. Therefore， they can attract readers with high artistry and aestheticism.

References：

[1]Binder，Aubrey.“Uncovering the Past：The Role of Dust Imagery in A Rose for Emily.” The Explicator，vol.70，no.1，2012，pp.5-7.

[2]Blythe，Hal&Sweet，Charlie.“Coitus Interruptis：Sexual Symbolism in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” Studies in Short Fiction，vol.23，no.1，1986，pp.110-115.

[3]Faulkner，William.A Rose for Emily.New York：Perfection Learning，1990.

[4]Ferguson Mann，Ann.“Taking Care of Walter Mitty.” Studies in Short Fiction，vol.19，no.4，1982，pp.351-358.

[5]Kaufman，Anthony.“Things Close In：Dissolution and Misanthropy in ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” Studies in American Fiction，vol.22，no.1，1994，pp.93-95.

[6]Twentieth Century American Short Stories.New York：Collier Macmillan International，1975.

[7]Wolf，Werner.“Aesthetic Illusion as an Effect of Fiction.” Style，vol.38，no.3，2004，pp.3-10.

[8]Yang Pingping.“A Road to Destruction and Self-destruction：The Same Fate of Emily and Elly.” Theory and Practice in Language Studies，vol.3，no.1，2013，pp.3-10.

[9]Zhang dongmei.“An Analysis of ‘A Rose for Emily from the Gothic Perspective.” Studies in Short Fiction，vol.22，no.5，2015，pp.120-135.

作者簡介：王城婷（1996.5.1-），福建福安人，研究方向：美國小說。endprint