Deceptions

What makes things real? It seems like a cut and dry idea, things are either true or they are false. Or at least that is what we try to think. It is so much easier to believe that there are only two choices in life. However that is far from reality. William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” and the selected readings from Carol Maso display important themes that touch on what we consider and interpret as real. “Twelfth Night” is a famous comedy and is not extremely hard to understand. Carol Maso’s readings however were not so simple. When comparing both works one realizes that the lines of reality and illusion are often time blurry if non-existent.
Carol Maso is a famous fiction writer who currently teaches at Brown University. There is something timeless and inspiring about fiction works because it allows the readers imagination to truly run wild. Maso’s first reading was called “Mothering During Wartime.” Immediately I was confused. It was not written as a poem but some of the words rhymed. The phrase “repair…hair” was referred to many times. The sentences seemed to be placed randomly together and it read very choppy. As a result I had a very hard time understanding what the reading was about. I understood it described mothers concerns and potential hopes during a war but I never understood the heart and soul of the piece. Random images or phrases popped out to me such as the mother and child ate the sunflower seeds, which they originally saved for the birds, for dinner. But the next sentence to follow was completely random and I had a hard time understanding the point. Perhaps that was the point, to make no sense to get the listener to think. Maso’s next reading “Young H. Saved from Infamy” was a tad more relatable. This was a portion from a novel about a woman named Ava who was in a narcotic daze while dreaming the scenario, which was read. It told the story of a young boy only called H. H was described as a sullen young man with a purposeful stride. Maso continued to read about H and it was next to impossible to follow. The words jumped around and didn’t form complete thoughts that I could not understand. The story seemed a skewed coming of age tale. Again, portions of the text popped out at me such as “it was hard being young and wanting to be a part of the light.” I think every young person feels a sort of anticipation. This was probably the main point I was able to gather from the work. In the end H was revealed to be Hitler. Immediately what the listener previously perceived or assumed was gone. Astonished and confused faces filled the hall as Maso took a short break before her next reading. That reading was the one that most appealed to me because it was able to explain Hitler without saying who he was. The name “Hitler” assumes all sorts of connotations and assumptions. Although it was clear H was a disturbed character no one could have guessed that awkward boy would turn into Hitler. It really proved that what we perceive is not always accurate.
Maso’s next reading was entitled “intersession of the Saints” and told pieces of what the real experiences of the saints would have been like. This also was not a reading that was clear or concise. Each sentence would explain a new saint in strange terms It gave the saints more relatable characteristics and argued that saints were indeed people like everyone on earth is now. The image that stuck with me was the description that faith was like a pendulum. Sometimes the faith goes away but it always comes back. This image was strong in my mind, or at least before the next image was shoved in. The last essay that Maso read was about the future of fiction. She explained that what we have now will be records of what was. The image that stuck with me however was “our lives eclipse the darkness.” All of Maso’s readings were hyperactive and all over the place. I usually appreciate and strive to understand the different points of views or presentation styles. Unfortunately I am not sure if I fully understood everything Maso was trying to convey. She is clearly intelligent and a fabulous writer and maybe what I got out of it was the point. Although Maso did not discuss the city at length she did however draw a few points that were insightful. She explained that after 9/11 she felt all the cities were delicate and that she wanted to “hold them in her hands.” This was better explained when she told how one man was in a news station right before the second plane hit, and saw the plane at a distance and it looked to small that he wanted to reach out his hand and move the plane before it hit. Seeing something form a distance that appears to be so small is frustrating when the gravity of the situation sinks in. It appeared to be a small image from a distance and yet we will forever be impacted.
William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” read a little more conventional then Maso’s work. In a comedy full of interchangeable identities it appears that reality is almost inconsequential. Olivia, without realizing Sebastian was not Viola married him. Yes, they were siblings, and yes it is a comedy, but they are clearly not the same person. The idea of Viola to Olivia was the main reason she was interested. Likewise Orsino only liked the idea of Olivia. Orsino upon hearing that “Viola” (but really Sebastian) married Olivia he was enraged. However, mere moments later, he was fine about the fact it wasn’t Viola but Sebastian. Orsino was more angered by the fact someone stole what he wanted than the actual fact of losing the person. All of these confusing mix-ups only bring up the question of what appearance is. The clown was able to drive Malvolio mad as a result of changing his voice. Malvolio insisted that Olivia was in love with him and truly believed it. All were deceptions. And yet everyone took them as reality. Interestingly enough everything became all right once the siblings unveiled themselves. The clown brings up another interesting facet to the play. Viola even realizes that although he plays the fool he is the more intelligent of people. Many people assume that the wealthiest are the most intelligent because on some level they must have earned their status. This idea is proven extremely wrong in “Twelfth Night” as the clown has little or no wealth and yet sees beyond the false identities.
Although both readings have little or nothing in common they both share the idea of false appearances. That element can be seen within Baltimore. Many times people make assumptions about people and places. But what would happen if we really looked within? Would we realize there are more saints among us than we thought? Would we find love in unexpected places? Or, might we realize that our entire perception of reality is wrong.