(385 words) What is an “escape from reality”? This is when a person builds his own illusory world and replaces reality with it. Such people, as a rule, are too vulnerable and nervous, therefore they need protection from what frightens or does not suit them. But sometimes the defense turns into a trap, from which it is not so easy to get out. Consider examples from the literature.
In the story of A.P. Chekhov, “The Man in the Case,” the main character ignores everything around him, even the weather. Despite the heat, he is always dressed in a warm coat, and in his hands is a large umbrella. Belikov stubbornly does not want to reckon with reality, so even he teaches the languages of the dead, that is, those that are no longer there. His whole worldview goes against what people consider the norm. For example, he severely reprimanded his colleagues for the fact that the teacher dared to ride a bicycle. This is inadmissible, in his opinion, but what, in fact, is the problem, he cannot say, therefore he always says: “No matter what happens”. Apparently, the hero secretly dreams of a secluded life in the sarcophagus, where even daylight does not penetrate. He came to this "ideal" when he died. The whole town then sighed with relief, because Belikov not only himself escaped from reality, but also tried to take away all the other townspeople from it. His behavior is a good example of an escape from reality.
Another similar situation was described by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin in the tale "The Wise Squealer". The hero was very afraid that he would be eaten in the wild, so he imprisoned himself in a cramped hole, and secretly got out just to get some refreshment. And so a joyless and fearful life was held captive by illusions! It seemed to the fish that she would be safe in this way, but such security cost her all that for which they generally live in the world of fish. She did not try neither procreation, nor adventure, nor the search for good food. Piskar died, realizing that he had lived in vain, because he was reconciled with reality only before death. His example is a clear demonstration of where the flight from reality leads and what it represents.
Thus, the flight from reality is a person’s departure into the illusory world, where he hides from what really surrounds him. This phenomenon is often found in people prone to excessive susceptibility and nervousness. They cannot accept the world as it is, and invent a replacement for it, deeper and deeper bogging down their own imagination. This run does not lead anywhere, so such a person ends his life on a minor note.
