[English] Context essay - Whose Reality?

[Allygator]

“I am a thread too slender to suspend all this reality…” Phillip Pulfrey

Something terrible happens to you.  A sibling gets cancer, your parents split up, a friend dies. And suddenly you find yourself questioning everything you have based your life on. Am I actually of any significance? Is there a reason for all this pain? Is there something more than this life?  And though we may seek to find answers to these questions – there will never actually come a time where we can claim that we are absolutely certain of the answer. But the reality of this is so difficult to cope that each of us must look to something else to help us manage. Some people try answering these questions with some help from religion. Others may simply try and hide from it with their busy daily lives. And still others turn to alcohol in an attempt to blot out reality. Eventually though we can’t block it out the painful reality of life anymore and our well-constructed fantasies come crashing down around us.
For some of us, our backgrounds are so messy and difficult it’s often easier to fabricate an alternate reality in order to function in our day-to-day lives. We pretend that these things haven’t really affected us and portray ourselves so that others may see us the way we want them to as for some reason we think that their idealized view of us means those problems aren’t actually there. In Tennessee William’s play, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, Blanche DuBois, a character with a very difficult background avoids this reality through creating a new persona for herself. Her loss of wealth, beauty, her husband and youth drives her to desperation as she seeks to escape from her past. Instead she tries to represent herself as a ‘prim and proper’ lady using her suitor, Mitch, to validate this idea. Blanche’s sister Stella also attempts to create an illusory life in order to cope with the suggestion that Stanley raped Blanche. Stella constructs her own reality of Stanley’s innocence, as it’s the only way she can live with it. The American author, Robert Brault famously said, “If I choose abstraction over reality, it is because I find it the lesser chaos”. It’s much easier to find another reality then to face the chaos in our lives. Through these fabricated realities, we attempt to cope with the harsh truth that all is not right in the world.
One of the realities in life we find most difficult to accept is the fact that we will all die. We prefer to think of death as though it only affects the unlucky ones and that it will never actually happen to us personally. Euripides said, “No one can confidently say that he will still be living tomorrow”. And though we probably wouldn’t be foolish enough to say this, most of us rarely acknowledge this fact. We’d rather hide away from this truth, pretending it will never happen to us. In the same way, Blanche tries to avoid her aging body and looks, ultimately because she is trying to avoid the fact she is getting older and will eventually die. Stella tells Stanley to “tell her she’s looking wonderful. That’s important with Blanche”.  Blanche’s constant need to be told she is attractive demonstrates the avoidance of the reality that she is no longer young and therefore not as desirable to men. Our society is obsessed with the pursuit to stay young. All the lotions and creams they try to sell us claiming they will “reveal the youthful radiance within”. We cling onto our youth in our fervent attempt to avoid aging and the reality of eventual death.

Though we try to steer clear of the harshness of life and death, eventually our fabricated realities can’t stand up to the test. Something happens that bursts our fantasy bubble, reminding us of the difficult truths we try to avoid.  When Stanley rapes Blanche, Blanche’s constructed false reality falls apart sending her into a mental breakdown. Our societies attempt to avoid the difficulties of life has crippled our ability to deal with reality when it comes knocking at our doors. Eventually we can no longer shut it out and it comes pouring it, leaving us mangled and hurt with the immensity of it all. “Reality is too much to take in heapfuls, but sprinkle it sparingly upon life’s path and most can tread it lightly”. But contrary to Astrid Alauda’s suggestion, we try and avoid it completely – the result being utter devastation when we are finally confronted with reality. The number of people with issues bubbling up later in life needing counseling and therapy is evidence of this. It is so much simpler to delude ourselves into accepting an alternate reality to cope with undesirable situations.
Our inability to cope with the difficulties and trials of life and death requires us as a society to come up with a coping mechanism. Most of us, like Blanche and Stella, avoid our problems by simply ignoring them or trying to deceive others and ourselves into believing our situation is different than it actually is. Often though this façade doesn’t hold up and the truth of our imperfect lives and the inevitable death we try so desperately to avoid comes to the surface. And then we are left with a choice, to tackle the problem head on or simply look for another way to avoid it all together.

[DNAngel]

“I am a thread too slender to suspend all this reality…” Phillip Pulfrey

Something terrible happens to you.  A sibling gets cancer, your parents split up, a friend dies. And suddenly you find yourself questioning everything you have based your life on. Am I actually of any significance? Is there a reason for all this pain? Is there something more than this life?  And though we may seek to find answers to these questions – there will never actually come a time where we can claim that we are absolutely certain of the answer. But the reality of this is so difficult to cope red that each of us must look to something else to help us managecan be a little expanded here. Some people try answering these questions with someAvoid repeating 'some' in the same sentence help from religion. Others may simply try and hide from it with their busy daily livesSome examples would be nice . And still others turn to alcohol in an attempt to blot out reality. Eventually though we can’t block it out the painful reality of life anymore and our well-constructed fantasies come crashing down around us.
For some of us, our backgrounds are so messyNot sure if messy is the correct word. Perhaps try 'convoluted?' and difficult it’s often easier to fabricate an alternate reality in order to function in our day-to-day lives. We pretend that these things haven’t really affected us and portray ourselves so that others may see us the way we want them to as for some reason we think that their idealized view of us means those problems aren’t actually there. In Tennessee William’s play, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, Blanche DuBois, a character with a very difficult background avoids this reality through creating a new persona for herself. Her loss of wealth, beauty, her husband and youth drives her to desperation as she seeks to escape from her past. Instead she tries to represent herself as a ‘prim and proper’ lady using her suitor, Mitch, to validate this idea. Blanche’s sister Stella also attempts to create an illusory life in order to cope with the suggestion that Stanley raped Blanche. Stella constructs her own reality of Stanley’s innocence, as it’s the only way she can live with it. The American author, Robert Brault famously said, “If I choose abstraction over reality, it is because I find it the lesser chaos”. It’s much easier to find another reality then to face the chaos in our lives. Through these fabricated realities, we attempt to cope with the harsh truth that all is not right in the world.Good!
One of the realities in life we find most difficult to accept is the fact that we will all die. We prefer to think of death as though it only affects the unlucky ones and that it will never actually happen to us personally. Euripides said, “No one can confidently say that he will still be living tomorrow”. And though we probably wouldn’t be foolish enough to say this, most of us rarely acknowledge this fact. We’d rather hide away from this truth, pretending it will never happen to us. In the same way, Blanche tries to avoid her aging body and looks, ultimately because she is trying to avoid the fact she is getting older and will eventually die. Stella tells Stanley to “tell her she’s looking wonderful. That’s important with Blanche”.  Blanche’s constant need to be told she is attractive demonstrates the avoidance of the reality that she is no longer young and therefore not as desirable to men. Our society is obsessed with the pursuit to stay young. All the lotions and creams they try to sell us claiming they will “reveal the youthful radiance within”. We cling onto our youth in our fervent attempt to avoid aging and the reality of eventual death.Last sentences feel a little tacked on. Not as fluent as they could be.

Though we try to steer clear of the harshness of life and death, eventually our fabricated realities can’t stand up to the test. Something happens that bursts our fantasy bubble, reminding us of the difficult truths we try to avoid.  When Stanley rapes Blanche, Blanche’s constructed false reality falls apart sending her into a mental breakdown. Our societies attempt to avoid the difficulties of life has crippled our ability to deal with reality when it comes knocking at our doors. Eventually we can no longer shut it out and it comes pouring it, leaving us mangled and hurt with the immensity of it all. “Reality is too much to take in heapfuls, but sprinkle it sparingly upon life’s path and most can tread it lightly”. But contrary to Astrid Alauda’s suggestion, we try and avoid it completely – the result being utter devastation when we are finally confronted with reality. The number of people with issues bubbling up later in life needing counseling and therapy is evidence of this. It is so much simpler to delude ourselves into accepting an alternate reality to cope with undesirable situations.Good!
Our inability to cope with the difficulties and trials of life and death requires us as a society to come up with a coping mechanism. Most of us, like Blanche and Stella, avoid our problems by simply ignoring them or trying to deceive others and ourselves into believing our situation is different than it actually is. Often though this façade doesn’t hold up and the truth of our imperfect lives and the inevitable death we try so desperately to avoid comes to the surface. And then we are left with a choice, to tackle the problem head on or simply look for another way to avoid it all together.

Overall, this is a very good context piece. I feel that you have adequately explained and justified your opinion throughout your essay, and have provided accurate examples as well. Having said that, there a only a few minor issues that should be addressed. I know that it's difficult, but try to use different words that 'fabricate' or 'reality.' I believe that this will really spruce up your writing. Also, I noticed a few small issues with fluency.

I would rate this essay an 8/10. Well done!