Subjective Reality In “Blow-Up” Anonymous College

Through our art mediums and our language, humans are always seeking ways to reproduce and make sense of our own perceptions. Julio Cortazar's short story “Blow-Up” explores the subjective nature of reality and the ways in which our perceptions distort and misrepresent it. The story follows Michel, a narrator with an obsessive desire to give an objective account of a confusing scene he witnessed at a Parisian park, between a teenage boy, a woman, an old man, and himself. As he tries to interpret what transpired, Michel’s perception clouds over reality and the two become so entwined that he can no longer distinguish between them.

Cortazar uses photography and writing as symbols for our inherently biased perceptions: Michel first uses photography to capture what he saw, then processes it again through writing, with each successive try getting further from reality, leaving the reader to question, what is the reality? Where do we draw the line between reality and perception? Michel sees the boy and woman from various perspectives: first in the flesh, then through the lens of his camera, and once again through the photograph he prints. With each viewing, Michel’s understanding of the scene changes, arguably leading him further away...