[English] Context essay - Whose Reality? (Spies)

[myanacondadont]

Hey, first time here. If anyone could spare a few moments to analyze my essay and give some feedback I'd be ecstatic .

Prompt: Some events influence our reality more significantly than others

Our reality is constantly evolving through our life. Every experience becomes a memory and consequentially embeds itself in our understanding of the world. However some are called on to be remembered more than others. Some events we once thought pointless become absolutely crucial in advancing our life. This change occurs as our reality constructs itself and we begin to reach a more mature stage of understanding. Not only true memories but fictitious events also aid in our development through life.

To allow an event to influence our reality takes no action. Our reality progresses naturally, as ancient Taoist philosopher Lao Tzu once said, “Let realty be reality. Let things flow naturally in whatever way they like”. Tzu insinuated a concept of subjectivity which lies dormant in our reality. The personal aspects of our life; our social context, environmental factors and the like, all play a major part in our life. As a result our sense of actuality and understanding always differs to the person next to us, or even to the person on the other side of the world. Events constructing our reality are an independent process, to be left untouched. This is why we may never know the significance of a memory until the unknown future.

Michael Frayn’s novel, Spies, accentuates the importance of events in the past. Stephen Wheatley is a very unique young boy, and with the help of his best friend, Keith Hayward, they get up to all sorts of mischief. We read about events and experiences in his life which tore apart his quiet cul-de-sac. As Stephen returns 50 years later we come to acknowledge his difference in viewpoint and can attribute its cause. Spies also explores the notion that pre-existing ideas may cloud our judgement in the future, and that it’s these ideas that are most significant to us.

Perceptions of reality develop over time. Spies sees Stephen Wheatley at first with a reality based on ‘fictitious truths’, and at last with a superior comprehension of his experiences. His attempt at uncovering Mrs Hayward as a German infiltrator reveals huge gaps in his mind as a young boy. However we can witness Stephens’s ability to process complex events in his past as a much older man. This leads to the interpretation that as we age we begin to call on those significant events to aid us in our travels. The 80 billion neurons in our brain construct our memories and can also call on those memories at any point. There is no limit to our memories and subsequently no limit to understanding the world. Therefore there is no singular definitive reality that some people search for.

Sometimes we are torn from pre-existing ideas to interpret a new perspective. An African-American professor, Henry Louis Gates, tried to enter the window of his house as he had forgotten his key. He was promptly arrested by a white policeman, Sargent Crowley. The policeman was torn from a previously accepted judgement and the morally adherent action. Crowley jumped to conclusions, exemplifying that we make assumptions based on events from our past. In Spies Stephen Wheatley as a young boy becomes so infatuated with the idea of a German spy he begins to distort his reality, to support its existence. He fails to acknowledge the disastrous possibilities, relying on his pre-existing ideas to delude himself. New events are crucial to providing a contrary ideology to your personal beliefs. It’s how we evolve; however the event itself may be distorted in favour of previous beliefs.

We must inundate ourselves with events to realise their true significance. We can rely on our imagination to do this for our initial years but we soon divert from it for it’s too riddled with fallibilities. However Stephen Wheatley and Keith Hayward utilise their imagination to its full potential. Their plans to create an intercontinental railway and a message cable linking their houses are two of many frivolous endeavours. Yet their impact is undoubtedly noticed in Stephens return. He now interprets the accuracies of his memories and is able to lay the inaccuracies aside. His once overzealous behaviour became more restrained in his pursuits, relying on his adept interpretation of the world as seen by himself.

Events are a fundamental component in developing a defined reality. Our socio-economic status and personal factors complement its constantly evolving nature. As a result the endeavour to find a singular definitive reality is implausible and we must allow pre-existing ideas to be opposed. Furthermore the impact of our experiences may vary, but they will remain forever trapped inside the 80 billion neurons in our brain, waiting to be called upon.

edit: going to go ahead and throw in that any mark/10 would be beneficial as well if you can just briefly read over.