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Reality vs. Illusion

I had a hard time choosing at least three essays in which I would analyze to try to find a common theme. There seemed to be nothing in common with any of the couple dozen essays I had to choose from. However, looking beyond the surface I found a theme running throughout “The Fourth of July” by Audre Lorde, “The Rake” by David Mamet, and “Under the Influence” by Scott Russell Sanders. Just by reading the essays I didn’t see similarities between a story about a young black girl in the 1940s going on vacation with her family, a story about a man describing awful childhood experiences within his dysfunctional family, and a story about a boy dealing with an alcoholic father. But looking beyond the surface of each essay, I realized that these three authors’ stories did relate to each other. The essays all have an underlying theme of reality versus illusion. In Audre Lorde’s case, reality versus illusion was in the form of equality. She lived in a place where equality was preached daily, but in fact came to find out that was not necessarily the way things really were. In the stories by Mamet and Sanders, the illusion was that of a perfect family, whereas the reality was not so perfect. I believe everything is a matter of reality versus illusion. These three stories show that through their words and symbolism.

In “The Fourth of July,” Audre Lorde mentions numerous times how her parents ignored racism. If her parents didn’t talk about racism, then they would not be affected by the injustice. Her parents supported the illusion of equality when really there was no such equality for people of their race. When riding on the train to Washington, D.C., Lorde asked her mother if she could eat in the dining car. Instead of telling her the truth, that blacks were not allowed in the dining cars in 1947, her mother simply stated that “dining car food always cost too much money and besides, you never could tell whose hands had been playing all over that food, nor where those same hands had been just before” (Lorde 568). This example of her parents’ willingness to ignore the situation is similar to that in “Under the Influence”.

Throughout his whole life, Scott Russell Sanders struggled with how to deal with his alcoholic father. Never once, though, did he or his mother or brother or sister, mention to anyone outside their family of his father’s ailment. The family chose to hide the problem, in a way ignoring the mere existence of a problem. To the outside, Sander’s family seemed perfectly normal. But that was an illusion. The reality was that his family dealt with a monster every day, and never told anyone. This was a secret, as was racism to Audre Lorde’s parents.

When David Mamet referred to the house he grew up in as the “Model Home” for the development they lived in, it gave a new meaning to the phrase. I find the fact that they lived in the model home very ironic. As a matter of fact, his family was far from being any type of model family. I think a lot of people get their ideas of “model” families from what they see on television. This was the kind of family that Mamet seemed to long
for. Sander’s family was similar in this way too. He certainly did not have the model family that people see on television. He and Mamet were the same in that way. Sanders even said how he thought he could make his father better by “doing all my chores, earning A’s in school, winning baseball games, fixing the broken washer and the burst pipes, bringing in money to fill his empty wallet” (Sanders 734). Those were the things that Sanders viewed as being perfect. Things that the perfect son would do. But those were not realistic. All of those things gave the illusion of being perfect, but in fact were not.

I referred to television as being a culprit of making illusions. Showing how things “should” be. Sanders also makes references to television. He goes on about how “it is a mostly humorous lexicon, as the lore that deals with drunks-in jokes and cartoons, in plays, films, and television skits-is largely comic” (Sanders 734). Obviously to someone who deals with alcoholism, the matter is not funny. He also says at one point that on television, beer promises to deliver the essence of life. Of course that isn’t quite the case. That’s just another illusion.

In “The Rake”, Mamet describes how when his family would go out, all of them were in “good spirits”. This shows how they put on a front for everyone else. Much like Sanders did. Sanders mentioned how he grieved behind a “phony smile”. All of these examples show these illusions that their families lived with their entire lives. Never once did any of them let the realities of their household escape past the front door. Something that stood out to me in “Under the Influence” was when Sanders said “In the United States alone, some ten or fifteen million people share this ailment, and behind the doors they slam in fury or disgrace, countless other children tremble” (Sanders 734). Millions of people deal with this disease every day, but none of them admit it. Every one of them hides behind the walls of their house, away from the outside world. Maybe if people came out and spoke more freely of these things, more people would get help.

Going back to “The Fourth of July” by Audre Lorde, the illusion exemplified in this essay is again, equality. How though was the country equal when black people could not even eat ice cream in the same place as whites? The reality was that the country was not equal at all. Here, in the nation’s capital, were all the statues that were supposed to stand for freedom and equality. But instead, racism was the reality. Until the end of her family’s visit, Lorde did not know of her parents’ secret.

In “The Rake”, Mamet described a scene in which his sister overhears her grandfather, stepfather, and mother, who seem to be having some sort of altercation. Turns out that her grandfather just simply can not tell her mother that he loves her, which she is upset over. Just three simple words could have solved the situation, but her grandfather remains silent. Much like Mamet’s grandfather, Lorde’s parents do the same thing. “My mother and father believed that they could best protect their children from the realities of race in American and the fact of American racism by never giving them name, much less discussing their nature” (Lorde 568). Her parents refused to talk about racism and the injustices of America. If only they had discussed racism and the facts with their children, maybe Lorde would not have been so shocked or angry. People seem to hide from their problems more than they are willing to face them. Hitting them straight on though seems more logical. No long would their problems be hidden. I think the reasoning behind this is because most people are too afraid of reality. To most, illusions are easier to deal with than real life.

I could not believe that Audre Lorde had never realized the racism around her. She was only a young girl, but still, how does one not notice the signs, the stares, the comments, as I am sure they got plenty. The same goes for Scott Russell Sanders. He mentioned that he had never heard the word alcoholism. He had convinced himself that his father suffered from demons. He hoped that someone his father could receive an exorcism or something of the sort to free the demons from his body. Unlike Lorde though, Sanders knew something was wrong, he just didn’t know what the name was. Lorde on the other hand was completely oblivious to anything that might be wrong. She lived the illusion that her parents set up for her.

Symbolism was a large part of each of these three essays. In “The Rake” one of the first symbols set forth was the kitchen table. Mamet went on to describe how the table to them “was associated in our minds with the notion of blood” (Mamet 69). Much like the table brought bad feelings to Mamet and his sister, the Liberty Bell and Lincoln Memorial did the same for Audre Lorde. These monuments were supposed to be representative of freedom and equality. But in fact, the D.A.R. refused to let Marian Anderson sing at the Lincoln Memorial because she was black. Lorde’s parents did not stop at the Liberty Bell on the way to Washington D.C. because they knew it stood for false pretenses. Symbols are just illusions.

So many things seem to be something that they really are not. Everyone has illusions of themselves that no one but they know the reality to. Most people find that hiding behind illusions is easier than being truthful or exposing reality. To many, illusions are security blankets that keep them in their comfort zone. The difference between reality and illusion is what people see. “The Fourth of July”, “The Rake”, and “Under the Influence” all show the same theme of reality versus illusion. The authors show the theme through their symbolism and use of memories.