Have you ever gone to sleep after having a particularly emotional day? What about if you were expecting a particularly impactful tomorrow? Think about your dreams. Were they poignant and fixated on a single fear, exhilarant, or idea? If the dream became to much, you might try to wake up. But Imagine if it was a dream that for all intents and purposes could continue indefinitely. Wouldn't you prefer something a little more mundane?
It is understandable why the main character would choose to relive the same experience repeatedly for most of his trip, I'm sure that whole psychoanalysis thing was not comfortable. Most of us agree that at the end he actually does leave the ship, due to the fact that he we see his unusual actions from the perspective of his ex-wife, I think we were probably meant to think so.
For argument's sake let's say that the main character was still being fed the same manufactured "dream", even at the end. If the dream suddenly became more complex, diverse and suspiciously like reality from the main character's pov, should we assume he has woken up? Since this story showed how tricky and "mind bending" the concept of perception is, I think we could just as easily conclude that his mind had adapted to his state and fabricated a super convincing reality outside of the ship's control. I also want to bring the idea of lucid dreaming into this. Lucid dreaming seems to happen when a person is in a near meditative state. When a person, through practice, is able to let go of some of their anxieties or stressors during their dreams, they often report being able to change the dreams to their liking. Perhaps after years of the same "dream" he could become able to control it.
I don't think Philip K. Dick was trying to make this point at the end, it was probably more along the lines of how the main characters mind was so conditioned to the "dreams". However, I just wanted to add something to the giant basket of things that makes the distinguished line between reality and false perception blurrier.
Really interesting take Aislinn! The idea that maybe he never really did wake up from this lucid nightmare he has been under and instead has somehow complexified the lucid state he's under. I like that you brought up going to sleep on an emotional day, as if he might've gone under in a certain mood that would later impact the cryosleep.
ReplyDeleteLove the pictures! You know, the prevalent theory about dreams is that they help us prepare for what our unconscious mind thinks might be a future scenario. Makes the anxiety thing a little more understandable, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteDoes lucid dreaming seem to you to require letting go of stressors? Or is it just a matter of training?
what the heck
ReplyDeleteThe lucid dream theory at the end was super cool and now I see the story in a whole new light, and the story is now another layer deeper into complexity