Problem of Reality in "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Real Thing"

Abstract

Ever.since Pilate's taunting question ("What is Truth?") to Jesus, the problem of reality has been the centre of philosophical speculation. It has also led to various isms-conceptual realism of Plato, PlatonicAristotelian kind of realism, nominalism, empirico-idealism, subjective and objective realism, to mention a few-which turned this kind of inquiry into a tautology, if not foolish pedantries. Moreovervthe critics' perplexity over the literaty term "realism" added much to' the misconception and obscurity of the word "reality." So I am not going to define "realism," as many critics have tried, to little purpose. I would rather point out the crucial part reality plays in American literature by analyzing two short stories. Before we go on, it will be necessary to ascertain what I mean by the word "reality." Many critics agree on the complexity and multiplicity of its meanings; "it is a word which can, in the same context, have a multiplicity of meanings." Since reality changes: perpetually according to human consciousness, it has no chance of stable meaning.