Our Memories and our experiences prevent us from seeing reality clearly

- Stephen: Experience that Keith was always right, therefore could not even imagine, at the first moment that Mrs. Hayward could be anything but a German spy

- However, reality of war; Peter could see reality very clearly. His memory of the war and his experience in it meant that he could not avoid the reality as most people do. It couldn't be glorified. His experience sharpened the clarity.

- Memories are shaped by so many influences, they can have different meanings for different individuals. So for some, memory can actually make reality easier to understand and for others it makes it more difficult and clouds their perception.
--> Stephen as a young man and then through his life - controlled by what Keith had instilled in him as truth. He had blamed himself for everything and felt so, so "unsatisfactory" because he was weedy, weeny and a Wheatley.
--> Keith on the other hand, takes the memories of his abused life and he knows the reality of family violence, never deluded himself that his father was anything other than a monster.

- However as one gets older and more mature they can use their life experiences to help them, and their perception changes. memories are all about the perception. Adults can see things more objectively and see that what seemed really important then is now not as important.The intensity of the moment fades, so experience in life can actually sharpen reality.

	Created by Crystal D'Souza about 11 years ago

English (Whose reality) Note on Spies practice essay plan, created by Crystal D'Souza on 12/09/2013.