Television versus Reality

The theme of television versus reality is evident throughout the novel. To Chance, reality and television are interchangeable. By watching TV, he creates other worlds and actually becomes part of them. According to Chance, people are made real by the mere fact that someone is watching them. When the Old Man dies, Chance's reality is profoundly altered in many ways. Not only will he have to leave his home and deal with the world outside, he will also finally be exposed to other people, people that have never seen him before.

Chance's knowledge of the world is limited to what he has seen on television. Once he is forced to leave the only home he has ever known, Chance relies on this knowledge to determine how he will act and react to people and situations. In Chapter 3, Chance deals with EE and Benjamin Rand using what...