Zach Hunnicutt

Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1102-034
30 April 2015
Escapism: A Door to Freedom?
When you are given the opportunity to let go, and be still, take hold
of it. Take it, and let it take hold of you. Let it do its job and replenish your
spirit, your drive, your focus. Let it redirect your mind, let it take hold of your
thoughts for you. Let it allow you to breathe.
-Kym Klass, author/journalist
Think back to a time when life was difficult and everything you needed
to do seemed to be impossible. Maybe you had three exams to study for in
one day, maybe you overslept and had to be dressed for a presentation in
less than ten minutes, maybe you forgot to pay your bills on time for the
past three payments, or maybe a close relative passed away. Whatever the
situation, how did you feel? Did you want to forget everything and run away
to be alone? This feeling isnt uncommon, believe me. Almost everyone
would choose to avoid the stress in life and enjoy the company of
themselves during certain times. This feeling is often referred to as
escapism, or in other words, the need to escape from ones unpleasant
reality. Although it may sound like an unhealthy habit and that people

should grow up and face their own reality, escapism could potentially have a
positive impact on a persons life.
Now you might be wondering why I chose escapism as the topic for my
inquiry project. The idea sparked as I was reading Markus Zusaks, The Book
Thief. The main character Liesel, a German girl who had been living with her
adoptive parents for a few years, had a passion for reading books. The time
period was during World War II, and bomb threats began to become more
frequent in the town of Molching, Germany. During one of the bomb threats,
everyone on Himmel Street crowded into their neighbors basement because
it was declared safe enough to be a bomb shelter. Fear was present in that
basement, and it began to overcome both children and adults; panic started
to surface. As a baby started screaming and crying, Liesel, without thinking,
began to read aloud from The Whistler. She didnt know what caused her to
start reading, but a voice in her head said this is your accordion. It was
that exact line in the novel that gave me my topic for this paper. Liesels
method of escapism was reading, and she did it because she was scared and
needed to focus on something other than what was happening in that
basement. That is why I am curious to know if everyone has their own
method of escapism, and what makes them turn to it.
Escapism is much more common than one might think, because there
are a variety of different ways a person could escape their own reality.
Granted, not all methods of escapism may be viewed as healthy and
appropriate, but each person has a right to be happy. However, a majority of

the methods I have uncovered seem to be useful for those who enjoy them.
A few examples of both healthy and unhealthy habits include, but are not
limited to reading, video games, drugs/alcohol, becoming lost in your own
imagination, or just being outside in nature.
The first method of escapism that I conducted research on was the use
of video games and virtual reality. "The Good and the Bad of Escaping to
Virtual Reality", an article written by author Monica Kim, gives some
interesting details about the use of video games to escape reality. Oculus
Rift, an electronic head gear, allows users to immerse themselves into a
virtual reality more so than any game console would; even allowing the user
to change genders (Kim). There is even talk that by 2030 virtual reality will
have become so real that a majority of peoples time will be spent in them,
and there could potentially be virtual humans (Kim). Communication
between people will be done with the use of the internet, and face to face
communication will become obsolete.
When a video game starts to take up a majority of a persons time,
there could potentially be certain negative consequences. For example, a
thirteen year old boy from China committed suicide after playing 36
consecutive hours of his favorite video game. His reason was that he wanted
to join the heroes of the game he worshipped so much (Kim). Im all for
having virtual reality and enhancing video game experiences, but sometimes
people can get a little carried away. I am the type of person that enjoys
playing video games to blow off steam, but I have not immersed myself to

the point where it becomes real. When a person becomes too immersed into
a video game they seem to have a hard time returning to their own real life.
When this type of occurrence happens, suicide or even murder can arise.
Reading is another method of escapism that people enjoy doing.
Personally, I am not a huge fan of reading unless I am interested in the book
at hand. For example, I thoroughly enjoyed reading all seven books in the
Harry Potter series. I would get lost in the novels and wish that I could join
Harry, Ron, and Hermione at Hogwarts. Anna Edwards, author of the article
Does Harry Potter Magic Away the Stresses of Modern Life? Adults Seek
Refuge from Reality in Children's Fantasy, talks about how adults have
recently been re-reading old childrens stories in their free time. The purpose
for adults to be reading such fictional stories could be because they are
trying to take refuge from the stresses of their everyday life (Edwards).
Charlie Higson, a childrens book author, believes that the reason for adults
to be re-reading childrens stories is nostalgia. I agree with both Edwards,
and Higson in that adults are reading childrens books as a form of escapism
from their everyday lives, and that maybe they are having an urge to
reminisce on their past.
It may be hard to believe, but escapism does not have to be practiced
by sole individuals. In fact, there was a movement in literature that was a
type of mass practice of escapism. In an article titled Escaping Reality,
eighteen-year-old journalist Esraa Hegazy talks about her own personal
reasons for escaping reality. She mentions that every time she is feeling

down or depressed she tends to lose herself in her imagination. The most
interesting section of her article, was when she mentions the age of
Romanticism in literature. If it werent for escaping reality and getting lost in
ones imagination, the Age of Romanticism might not have been created
(Hegazy). During the Age of Romanticism, poets and writers were able to
break away from the act of writing about realism and instead focus more on
writing stories about their personal thoughts and imaginations. After reading
this article I was amazed at how escapism was able to create a new genre in
the world of literature. Escaping reality does not necessarily have to be done
with the use of material objects, it can be as simple as slipping away into
your own imagination. Because in your imagination you are free from the
judgement of others, and the possibilities are endless.
As I mentioned earlier, not all methods of escapism are viewed as
healthy and appropriate. Drugs and alcohol are a very common and
effective way that teens and adults are using to forget their problems.
People Use Drugs to Escape 'Reality': Life Is Hard and Then You Die, an
article written by Orlando Sentinel journalist Charley Reese, talks about the
drug abuse problem in the United States as an effect of drugs being used to
escape reality. People use drugs to try and escape the pain of their own
existence (Reese). I agree with Reese to an extent. I believe that most
teens turn to drugs as a way to escape family stress, and even academic
stress. However, I dont believe that that is the only reason for teens to
become involved in drug use. Other reasons may include peer pressure, and

curiosity. Peer pressure can be a scary thing among teenagers, because they
seem to do anything it takes to fit in. If one individual has friends that do
drugs, the only way for that person to feel accepted would be to succumb
to peer pressure and start doing drugs themselves. As far as curiosity goes, I
believe that some teens try drugs just to see what the feeling is like, but all it
takes is one time for a person to become addicted. Thats why, for some,
drugs start out as a temporary relief from whatever pain they are feeling, but
eventually drugs will become the problem at hand. This method of
escapism, along with video games, is a great example of what happens when
escapism can take over a persons life.
Sometimes the reason for escaping reality doesnt have to be due to
stress, the only reason you might need is because you want to. A blog titled
How Escaping Reality Helped Me Appreciate it More was written by a
woman in Los Angeles, California. She was fully content with her full time
job, and didnt have anything to complain about. The only thing she wanted
to do was experience nature, and have a break from her regular day to day
schedule. Olympic National Park in Seattle, Washington was the perfect
place for her to escape. The author says, I just found that time moves too
quickly when youre busy and sometimes daily distractions pull you in
different directions, slightly driving you off course (HOW ESCAPING REALITY
HELPED ME APPRECIATE IT MORE). Being in nature allowed her to experience
the little things in life that tend to be overlooked. Another woman had the
exact same mind set about escapism, and her name is Kym Klass. Klass, a

single mother, is author of the article Escaping Reality: Time to Renew,

Replenish, Refocus, and had the same reason for wanting to escape reality.
Her escape was when her and her daughter went on vacation to Panama City
Beach. As she sat on the beach and watched the waves crash over and over
again onto shore she realized that an escape was all she needed to clear her
mind (Klass). Using escapism as a way to clear and refresh your mind is why
Klass, the author of the blog, and I recommend escapism as a necessity for
anyone, even if you think you dont need it.
Its interesting how escapism can be achieved with the use of such a
broad spectrum of techniques; ranging from reading a book to taking harmful
drugs. I have discussed each method that I have researched, but there is
one that has left me still feeling puzzled. Reza Saberi, author of the book
Insights and Intuitions: Reflections on the Nature of Existence, has created
a collection of her observations of people around her. One of her focuses is
on how people choose to spend their free time during the day. A persons
leisure time is the best time of their life, and that it shouldnt be wasted
(Saberi). Leisure time should be spent doing something productive, and
should not be spent shopping, drinking, smoking or even watching TV
(Saberi). The only explanation Saberi could give for why people choose to
waste their time is that: Perhaps they want to escape from themselves.
How does a person go about escaping themselves? I myself do not know,
but I really think that it is worth thinking about.

In the beginning I asked whether or not everyone had their own way of
escaping the world around them to be in the company of themselves, and I
can honestly say; yes. No matter what the reason or method may be, every
person has their own door to escape through. Let escapism take hold of you,
let it replenish your drive, and let it redirect your mind. The only advice I
have for you is dont immerse yourself too deep into whatever your method
of escapism may be. You may have a difficult time trying to return to the
real world, or even worse you may find yourself not wanting to come back at
all.

Works Cited

Edwards, Anna. "Does Harry Potter Magic Away the Stresses of Modern Life?
Adults Seek Refuge from Reality in Children's Fantasy." Mail Online.
Associated Newspapers, 23 Sept. 2011. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
Hegazy, Esraa. "Escaping Reality." TeenStuff Feb. 2006: n. pag. Web. 23 Mar.
2015.
"HOW ESCAPING REALITY HELPED ME APPRECIATE IT MORE." Web log post.
Gild Society. N.p., 13 Sept. 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.
Kim, Monica. "The Good and the Bad of Escaping to Virtual Reality." The
Atlantic. Atlantic

Media Company, 18 Feb. 2015. Web. 12 Mar.

2015.
Klass, Kym. "Escaping Reality: Time to Renew, Replenish, Refocus." N.p., 13
Oct. 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.
Reese, Charley. "People Use Drugs To Escape 'Reality': Life Is Hard And Then
You Die." Tribunedigital-orlandosentinel. Orlando Sentinel, 10 Sept.
1986. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
Saberi, Reza. Insights and Intuitions: Reflections on the Nature of Existence.
Lanham, MD: U of America, 2003. 104-06. Print.