Mr. Romaris
ENG 3U
Deception and the World of Truth
Disguises can come in many forms, some of which are so carefully constructed one may not even realize that it is a disguise or, they can also be obvious to the person to whom you wish to hide. Eric Wright’s “Twins” and Nelson Bond’s “Vital Factor” are short stories whose central theme of appearance versus reality is seen through the analysis of the plots and its’ characters. Subsequently, both the murderer and Wilkins are not whom they speak, having a single minded focus can both save the wife and deceive Crowder, and using much time to conceive a master plan goes corrupt for the husband and Crowder.
Through the analysis of the stories “Twins” and “Vital Factor”, deception plays a very important role in the methods used by both the husband and Wilkins. It is evident, through the comparison of these stories, that the husband and Wilkins never reveal or hint anything about their plans, rather they just seem to be doing it hoping that their schemes will arise into a reality. In the short story “Twins”, the appearance is that the husband’s devious and fool proof plan works and he kills his wife, but in reality, she discovers her husband’s real intentions, which eventually leads to her killing him instead. Using his identity as a writer as well as a loving husband, the husband leads his wife into his murderous plan, convinced that he is going to get away with it. This is apparent when the husband proudly says, “It’ll work all right. It’s going to work.” (Wright 216) The husband’s overconfidence leaves him vulnerable to the few mistakes he leaves behind. The appearance in “Vital Factor” is that the character, Wilkins, is just a brilliant engineer who has the plans to build a fantastic and working flying machine. In reality, Wilkins is an alien who uses Crowder and his money to fund his project to get home. As a wandering alien, Wilkins finds himself using others to get what he needs; a