SYMPOSIUM 2020 Katie Jacobson SYRCE - English 273 T H E L A T H E O F Heaven DREAMS AND REALITY “YOU DON'T SPEAK OF DREAMS AS UNREAL. THEY EXIST. THEY LEAVE A MARK BEHIND THEM.” The novel The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin focuses on the idea of dreams and reality. Throughout the novel, the main character George Orr experiences dreams that have the ability to alter the reality around him. The look that I created not only mimics the cover of the novel, shown to the left, but is also a physical representation of how I perceive a dream to be. In general, dreams can range from total imaginative ideas to subconscious anxieties and stresses. The blue background around the eye with the fluffy white clouds is meant to represent the imaginative side of dreams where everything seems calm and heavenly, almost perfect. As a contrast to that, there is the black and white nature of the rest of the image which signifies the other side of dreams, the part that is buried in the deepest part of our psyche and the uncertainty that came stem from that part of our mind. This same idea is portrayed countless times in the course of the story. Orr has many great dreams that alter his life in positive ways like dreaming of a quaint little cabin in the woods that he had only ever dreamed of owning and having Heather LaLeche, another character in the novel, as his wife. However, there are an innumerable amount of unfortunate dreams that produce terrible realities like halving the world population and creating a world with no races, to name only a few. This novel was not only written as a representation of the 1970's but also as a lesson to readers that there nothing is truly perfect so live your it however you choose. FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS PSYCHEDELIC DRUGS “No, this is not a good town for psychedelic drugs. Reality itself is too twisted.”

In the novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas written by Hunter S. Thompson, and loosely based off a true story, the main theme is drug use, psychedelic in particular. The book begins with Raoul Duke, the main character, and his "lawyer" driving in the desert high on the extreme amount of drugs stashed in their trunk. I decided to create a look based off of the psychedelic nature that the drugs give the user. I used the vibrant pink, purple, and green colors that were beginning to become popular in the 70's because I felt like it complemented the idea of "trippy" effects and hallucinations that come from drugs like LSD. Throughout the novel, the author includes crazy hallucinations seen by Duke such as the bats he sees while driving to Las Vegas and after checking into a hotel he sees the staff as heavily distorted figures. This idea of drug use can be related to the concept of escapism that was heavily present in this decade as a result of the events of the 60's. Overall, this novel was interesting and mind-bending to say the least and it accurately represented the decade of the 70's to a tee. FLOW MY TEARS, THE POLICEMAN SAID TOTALITARIAN GOVERNMENT “And to him his public existence, his role as a worldwide entertainer, was existence itself, period”

In the novel Flow my Tears, the Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick, one of the most important aspects of the plot is the idea of the Totalitarian government that overshadows the society that Jason Taverner, the main character, lives in. When he loses his identity and is erased from existence as a famous celebrity he becomes afraid of the possibility of being caught by what is referred to as the Nats and Pols. He talks about the chance that he could be arrested and taken to a forced labor camp if he is unable to prove that he really exists. The look that I decided to create was a mug shot because I think it accurately depicts the idea of police presence both in the novel and in the 1970's as well. During this decade there was an enormous amount of police presence that had stemmed from the events that occurred prior in the 60's like the Civil Rights Movement. The look that I created was also as a representation of how Taverner imagined himself to look like if he was caught without identification. This is significant because to him his looks were everything as an entertainer. I think that this novel is extremely entertaining and humbling because it really makes you think about how lucky we are to have a somewhat stable society to live in compared to that of the story.