Exploring Reality
Exploring Reality is a major theme that is not completely revealed until the end when it is revealed that “Teddy” is actually Laeddis. There are hints that are given throughout the movie that may not be caught until you have seen the ending.
Laeddis has created an alternate reality for himself, where he is not to blame for the death of his wife or children. He and the audience believe that what he is seeing and thinking are real. Then when Teddy starts his downward spiral, the audience begins to question his mindset. This is the right assumption because he is having flashbacks and weird dreams due to withdrawal of a clinical medicine. Through his flashbacks and dreams, there are multiple hints that point to the reality. However, Teddy does not see it, and neither does the audience at first viewing.
The reality that the audience is given is not actually reality. We are viewing the story through the eyes of the one person on the island that does not actually know whats going on. For this reason, Laeddis is representative of this theme.
What the audience should take away from this theme is that we should not make assumptions at first glance, because what we think that we are seeing, might turn out to be completely different.
Laeddis has created an alternate reality for himself, where he is not to blame for the death of his wife or children. He and the audience believe that what he is seeing and thinking are real. Then when Teddy starts his downward spiral, the audience begins to question his mindset. This is the right assumption because he is having flashbacks and weird dreams due to withdrawal of a clinical medicine. Through his flashbacks and dreams, there are multiple hints that point to the reality. However, Teddy does not see it, and neither does the audience at first viewing.
The reality that the audience is given is not actually reality. We are viewing the story through the eyes of the one person on the island that does not actually know whats going on. For this reason, Laeddis is representative of this theme.
What the audience should take away from this theme is that we should not make assumptions at first glance, because what we think that we are seeing, might turn out to be completely different.
This is the scene that reveals that the reality that has been given to the audience, is completely false.