The world revealed as an illusion, part 1

There is a certain literary trope which I love (when it’s done well). It is the moment in certain works of fiction when the author slyly reveals to the reader/viewer that everything they have been reading or watching is actually an illusion.

This is a very “meta” rhetorical device, because of course it is all an illusion. We know quite well that we are watching a play or a movie, or reading a book.

So this device should not work. Yet it does work, but only when it is done well, by a skilled creator. Tomorrow I will describe some of my favorite examples.

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