Horses Of The Night Analysis

Illusion Versus Reality

Illusions tend to drift an individual away from their sanity, causing them to negligently live their lives according to false, misleading and fantasized beliefs. Reality, on the other hand, is the state of the world in which it exists. The theme of reality versus illusion, and how one copes with conflict, is excessively depicted in Margaret Laurence “Horses of the night,” through the protagonist, Chris. He experiences several external and internal conflicts associating with his grandfather and chris’ environment. In relation with external conflicts, Chris encounters internal and external conflicts between society and himself, his need to obtain a rich life to uphold his reputation in society takes over his mind, and the reality becomes a blur of colors which he does not seem to see. His inability to deal with reality is established throughout the text, as he inadvertently faces life with a narrow-minded quality. Laurence suggests that when one faces life with a faux interpretation as well as live up to society’s standards, they make decisions that will best preserve their reputation, even though it is not a reality.

Chris, the protagonist is born into a period of the Great Depression and sets unrealistic and unattainable goals. His attempts at escape leaves Chris in state of that which is a broken psychologically. Chris faces multiple internal and external conflicts that get in the way of achieving his dream. Conflicts involving his Grandfather and his environment as well as internal conflict regarding himself. All of these aspects are enough of a disincentive to keep Chris away from achieving his dream of becoming a civil engineer, and only exist as a backbone of aspiration other than a