Everyone has his or her own view of reality but in the end we must all face the truth
- Individual perceptions, deceptions, delusions, illusions, fantasies, escapism
- Bare truth, the authentic, literal world that surrounds them

Questions:
- Why do people have their own perceptions?
- Is it possible for the truth to continue to allude you?
- Why must we all face the truth?
- In what case is it possible not to face the truth?
- What are the consequences of not facing the truth?

Structure:

1. Begin with anecdote concerning the NGV artwork, highlighting how everyone, because of culture, has different perceptions of reality. Many may seek to absolve themselves from responsibility, and in turn, chose to believe in a world that is easier on themselves. Similarly, the Chinese Government and the Tiananmen Square massacre and the discrepancies in death toll estimates. 
2. In effect, the brain is a melting pot of ingredients that forges a reality that is deceptively the same, yet vastly different for each individual. Look at how family, demographics etc. shape our reality. Age and experience limits the way in which people see things. Look at the relationship between Stephen and his father. To the adult, his father is constantly away because he has a very demanding job that consumes much time and effort. But to the child, he is simply never there, boring, and always tired--who knows, maybe he's even a spy. The child cannot comprehend such responsibility, and therefore, turns to an explanation that coincides with the boundaries of a child's rationalising imagination. We do not face reality to make it easier on ourselves.
3. While we all have our own views of reality, more often than not there comes a point in life where the objective, literal world that exists becomes apparent, as the bare truth unfolds. On occasion, cases such as this are necessary. 
4. However, sometimes it is more beneficial to remain in a world of delusion. E.g the Humans of New York Facebook page post recently from Sudan, where a young girl being educated in a centre for those displaced by the conflict in South Sudan photo detailed that they don't talk about the war, they focus on school instead to keep them going. Sometimes the truth can be debilitating, and therefore, if at all possible, must be avoided in order to maintain an internal resilience and will to continue, or at least, a reason for doing so. We don't have to face the truth, particularly when the truth retains the potential to do far more damage than good. 
5. It is very possible to remain inside ones own version of reality. Look at Stephen, who chose to lock his memories away for life. Showed that he did not need to face the truth in order to carry on with life. Was it really living though? He became a recluse with failed marriages and something not spoken about. 

Our view of the world depends on who we are and where we come from

- Own personal construct of reality, individual perception, the lens through which we see the world, views and values
- demographics, family, personality, experiences

Questions:

• What influences our perception of reality?
• What makes the view our own??
• What, outside of personal demographics, can influence reality?
• Can our reality be moulded by external factors?
• What problems arise when the reality is not of our own creation?
• How does our family influence reality?
• How does our culture influence reality?
• If we therefore change, does that mean our view of the world does as well?
• i.e. with memories: can we perceive the past differently, or ourselves, for we do not stay the same person, thus, the defining factors of our reality also alter. 

Structure of expository:

1. Intro with the idea that multiple perception of the world we live in coincide, as each individual constructs their own interpretation of life, and what they value within it etc. 
2. Our reality as shaped by demographics - whether or not we agree with them, or chose to go against them.
• NGV artwork clearly establishing the way in which a cultural conflict is perceived. Where your loyalties derive from your family. 
• Text: Stephen, as a young boy with limited life experience, sees his reality tinged by his blooming adolescence in the form of Lamorna, as we see an awakening of his young sexuality. He labels those at Trewinnick as 'The Juice'. He and Keith, who cannot comprehend an adult concept such an infidelity, believe that instead of engaging in an affair, their mother is a German spy--placed the reality into a fanciful delusion that suits their needs and desire for adventure amidst The Duration. 
3. Our reality as shaped by external factors, and the negatives of this. No longer becomes a matter of our own identity, but a matter of how exposed and vulnerable we are to outside influence and manipulations. 
• Look at influences in the media, the way in which political cartoons, articles, are designed to sway an audience towards a particular sentiment.
• (Emotional Manipulation to Create Reality) Text- Stephen, through his memories portrays himself as a willing follower to Keith's adventures and musings. He views him in a higher position of power and worth, for he is better educated, has a seemingly perfect family, and therefore, Keith has an element of control over their relationship. When Stephen believes to have seen the man in the tunnel, Keith demands of him answers and acts disinterested. Thus, Stephen, as encouraged by Keith's flippancy towards Stephen's own adventure, belittles it and rationalises, is grasping for justification and, in effect, in reduced to feel, as he commonly asserts in the novel, "unsatisfactory". 
4. However, we as people change, and what once defined us as individuals may no longer apply as we pass from adolescence and into adulthood. Thus, our perception, views and beliefs can change dependant on where we are in life, and what we have experienced. The power of hindsight. 
• Text- to exemplify this very aspect of human nature, Frayn utilises the interplay of two narrators, the young and the old, to demonstrate that one cannot relive childhood in the same way it was first experienced. For the attempt to recount, recapture, and replay the past in often overlaid by hindsight.