What Is Reality: Flow My Tears

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The way we look at ourselves, and the way others look at us, can sometimes be two completely different things. Phillip K. Dick, in his novel Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said, makes the reader wonder whether one’s reality is the absolute truth, or if it can be influenced by how other people view reality. This idea is quite mind bottling, and something I think can be applied to everyday life. When you look at yourself in the mirror, what do you see? Do you see yourself the same way that everyone else sees you? I think that in Flow My Tears, Jason asks himself this question a lot, and it changes how he acts both on the outside, and in his own mind. As soon as he realizes he is not who he used to be, his persona completely changes, making him a completely new person. He lived his life with the expectation that no matter where he goes, everyone will know who he is. Suddenly, that perception of life is flipped upside-down. It seems that we naturally learn to live up to expectations that we set for ourselves, and we could never imagine that being any different then what we know. For example, if a teacher learns to expect people to respect him, and suddenly he completely looses all respect from his students, his personality can be completely thrown off, and he suddenly doesn’t know how to live life anymore. The way we live is not only affected by how others view us, but also how we view ourselves. Self-perception is a huge part of your outward appearance. People who are confidant, with who they are, appear to be more confident. People who are not confidant, with who they are, seem a lot less confident. This is shown throughout all of Flow My Tears. Jason Taverner is extremely happy with his life, and proud of whom he is. This is shown in the way he performs and acts on his show. As soon as he looses his reason to be confident, he becomes unsure of whom he is

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