Does This Clash With The Theme Of My Story?

The story is supposed to be about a man discovering he isn't real and how he deals with it. The whole idea was supposed to be about the question "what constitutes existence?".

But after a bit more developing, I thought I'd expand upon this and make the whole story super surreal. The main character is now a schizophrenic who skips on his pills, making it hard for the reader to tell whether it's all happening or if it's just another delusion of his.

The problem is this: if the reader doesn't know if he's real or not, does that make the message of the story harder to get across?

It's difficult to tell you because it depends entirely on how you deal with it.

But, no, you're not inherently shooting yourself in the foot here.

I was planning to wrap it up with him concluding that as long as he can recognize his own existence, he's real.

And here I was expecting a Tomato Surprise set up.

Nope, mostly because there's a lot going on in the background aside from his existential crisis.

edited 10th Apr '11 6:22:27 AM by KSPAM

The premise just screams of Mind Screw. I don't like that. I'm an idiot.

That reminds me, I need to fit in a Shout-Out to Neon Genesis Evangelion in the climax. The whole "personal epiphany resolves the plot" just reeks of episode 26.

I actually think you've not only stuck to the theme of your story, but actually made it infinitely more interesting. I'd read the book, that's for sure. Good job!

It might be a good idea to look at Schrödinger's Butterfly, if you haven't already.

I read a lot of the story ideas on this forum, but this is the only one that made me downright giddy with excitement. It doesn't clash with the theme of your story and you absolutely MUST write this, for I MUST read it.

Sounds a bit mind screwy, but nothing seems to clash. And if you're going to conclude like that, maybe the last sentence could be, "I think, therefore I am." for bonus philosophy points.

Bring out the folding chairs and the omniscient white-on-black text, guys.

I don't think that it's possible to clash with a theme. Maybe a message, but not a theme. If your theme concerns itself with existence and all the glorious angst that tags along with it, then just adding more layers and more questions for the reader can't do any harm, surely. To provide a simpler example, if a theme of a work is "alcohol" and somebody is shown having a good time at a party while drinking, it would definitely clash if the message was "don't drink" but it would only contribute to a theme of "alcohol."

In fact, I think it's even better when there are questions. If there is a "yes" or "no" answer provided then the reader can go, "hey, wait, I don't agree. This is how I think it should be done." If there's a "well, maybe," answer, then the reader is given the opportunity to consider both worlds, and there's even a third "does it matter" option (my own personal view on Inception.)

That's it, I'm going ahead with this for sure now. Thank you so much for your encouragement.

And there will be at least one scene during the climax where the protagonist Contemplates His Navel while sitting on a white fold out chair.

Can't wait to read it.