Teasing out forum F- Neil Gaiman's "The Doll's House"

I've put a lot of thought into this post while reading....enjoy....

I’ve brought up that it could be that apocalypse is purely bound by humanistic perspective. This being that a life-altering or life-“ending” event categorized as an apocalypse may be subject to argument based on any one individual’s set of life circumstances. For us, living in the U.S. an apocalyptic event could be as “simple” as a massive computer crash or subsequent loss of the internet (circa Y2K scare). However, such an event would be seemingly irrelevant to a remote tribe in the deepest jungles of Africa.

With this thought in mind, I will analyze Dream as both a “man” and as an entity and what apocalypse possibly means to him. It becomes clear that the star-crossed lover at the beginning of the story is Dream who falls in love with a mortal. The loss of his mortal love is devastating to him. A fellow classmate, Jordan Orzolek, brought up a point about Dream being “lonely” that is also alluded to in the novel. From his perspective, he and his kind (or kin) are controlled by us as mortal humans. His crossing over into the realm of the living via dreams is his way of seeking/ finding companionship.

But what wouldn’t Dream be lonely, never to die, yet in a way BOUND (via dreams) to a realm that is destined to perish. Rose becomes his mechanism of transport between the realms and is referred to as a vortex. His perspective on “life” is completely different that those in the human, mortal realm. Today we life a culture where the phrase “You only live Once” is prevalent. Social media has abbreviated the phrase into YOLO. It can represent an adventuresome spirit or a sort of excuse for rash decision making. Regardless, YOLO is not a phrase or philosophy that would accompany Dream or his kind. He understands death yet won’t experience it himself. His view on human responsibility is completely different from humans, in particular, ours in the U.S. In view, it is our duty to make the most of the time allotted. Unfortunately, in today’s culture, we see to it that we make the most in the time given. Be it money, possessions, or moments, today’s culture is one that sees and end but lives in a moment. “Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die”.

Dream was able to observe human change and growth without apparent end through his friend Robert. Robert’s life represents that up and down rollercoaster of a life that is lived without an end in mind. I close with this thought: Is a life lived without an end or big picture in mind or sight an apocalypse in and of itself or is life simply chalk full of one apocalypse after another that shapes us as humans and makes us grow? Possibly this is also subject to perspective. But one thing is for certain, the ability of humans to live in a snap-shot in light of a collaged masterpiece is what separates us from any other species or entity, in any realm and gives us a sense of control. We think we can see the whole picture at once, but in reality, we see but a piece at a time. We are helpless to the changes of time and in a way just a bunch of dolls.