Slaughterhouse

In Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five ,Billy Pilgrim is a man who travels through time. He was a solider in WWII and flashes back between his days in the war, his days after the war and his time spent on Tralfamadore. Billy some how experienced trauma that causes him to believe the he is time traveling. Vonnegut allows for the explanation for Billy's unstable mental state to be one of three things. He suffered too much brain trauma in a plan crash after the war, he was traumatized during the war, or something else accrued before the war and the crash that caused his trauma. Throughout, the novel Billy switches between "worlds"(realities) which in themselves creates his own 3 dimensional reality. Through these flash backs Vonnegut displays the realities war holds, allowing him to share his own reality of what war is. Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five,constructs, not only the possibility of Billy's reality, but Vonnegut's reality too.

Beloved

In Toni Morrison's Beloved, the character of Sethe seems to be stuck in one reality. Her past. She is almost held prisoner to it. This constructs her reality in the present. She sees things through her views from the past. She is haunted by the ghost of Beloved, her daughter whom she killed to save from slavery, who transforms into a person and ends up living in Sethe's house with her. Beloved represents the past. She reminds Sethe of the past whenever she is around and then Sethe is consumed by the past. This defines what reality she chooses to live in. Why does Sethe let her past construct her reality? Whatever that reason maybe, the point is that, Sethe's reality is constructed by her past because she allows it to be. Even though, her past is scaring and very traumatic beyond what most will ever experience, she chooses to let it be her focus. Making her past her present reality.

The Stranger

In Albert's Camus's The Stranger Meursault is a strange character who is an outcast of society. This present an the interesting opportunity for two realities to be represented. One from the view of society itself and the other from Meursault. Society places Meursault upon the outskirts because of his lack of emotional expression. Throughout the novel Meursault is a character that is hard to connect with because all that is expressed is his actions and small thoughts. The opportunity to see into his emotions isn't available. From this view Meusalut becomes an outcast to the reader, as well. When he is placed on trial the jury not only declares him guilty for murder but also condemns him because of his "lack" of emotion at his mothers funeral. Society's reality is challenged and that is what makes Meursault's reality clear. He lives his life based on what he feels, not on what society wants or expects of him too feel. Is this message that Camu was really trying to portray through this novel? That life is what you make it and why should that be judged?

Crime and Punishment

Opinions VS. Emtions

Throughout Crime and Punishment, Rodya is in constant turmoil with himself. He battles his emotions against what he believed was fact or reality. Rodya wrote an article on how superior people have the right to live above "the law." Including the right to murder people without having to receive the punishment of committing the crime. Rodya's opinions in this article show a reality that is different from what most believe is moral and acceptable. With this different perception of reality Rodya commits a murder, but then strangely he consumed by the guilt of his actions. This guilt turns into paranoia, and conflict with in himself between his article(his opinions) and what he feels(his emotions). His inner turmoil challenges what he believed to be reality causing him to be in a state of confusion and forcing him to decide what it is that he believes is true. The most intriguing part of the story is the concept, well the question really that it presents; Is reality constructed by opinions or emotions? Can they both combine and make reality, or are they too different? From what Rodya ultimately decides, to come clean for the murder, it shows an example of opinions being too temporary to overpower emotion. Displaying Rodya's reality, based on his opinions, to be easily shattered by what he feels.
Emotions are such subtle things but they hold an incredible power on the way a reality is constructed. They way one feels about any situation shapes their interpretation of that assurance, creating their reality.