Is this the real life, or is it just fantasy?

Surrealism is a major theme in late 20th century literature. All of the novels we read and discussed in class this semester have some aspect where reality is skewed. Perhaps the two most prominent examples of this are Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 and Morrison's Beloved. 

In Pynchon's novel Oedipa goes through several scenes that sound as though they are described by a drug induced high (which is slightly in keeping with the post-war time period in which the book was set). These scenes make the audience, as well as the characters themselves, question reality. In the book Oedipa climbs a ruin at a lagoon after stealing a boat--this could be interpreted as something fantastical that can happen in a fiction novel but as Oedipa herself has said, it could simply be one of her hallucinations. The fact that these things happen and it is left ambiguous as to the reality of the situation is an example of surrealism as a theme. Even when Oedipa is having her hallucinations one could argue as to whether even these are real. The audience and Oedipa seem to have no idea.

Morrison's novel offers even more fantastical characters and situations. The idea that Beloved is in fact Sethe's baby daughter (grown up and turned into an emotional succubus no less) is an example of surrealism. The ambiguity as to who or what Beloved really is fits the theme I've been discussing. Even Denver's going deaf after hearing a simple question could be questioned as real or unreal. The book builds off these surreal scenes and characters and even the ending, Beloved possibly being pregnant and disappearing, leaves the audience as well as characters questioning the reality of the events. The fact that at the end of the novel everyone in the town seems to forget about the events involving Beloved also seem to speak to the surreal aspect of the book. It seems to make one question whether Beloved ever existed at all or was only a metaphor or figment of imagination.

The theme of surrealism and defining what is real and what is not is something that we covered in all of the novels we read this semester. The ambiguity as to what is happening helps to keep the reader and characters guessing.