Watzlawick's multiple realities in The Hunt for Red October

¶ … Real is Real by Paul Watzlawick and the Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy

Many of the principles that are detailed in Paul Watzlawick's non-fiction book, How Real is Real, are exemplified in the Tom Clancy's best selling novel, the Hunt for Red October. Despite the fact that one book was written for an academic audience and the other was intended for the purposes of popular culture, it is actually quite interesting that many of the concepts that Watzlawick discusses in his work of literature are made clear within Clancy's. In particular, Watzlawick's notions of communication and the ambiguous nature of it, which sometimes appears as outright deceptive, are demonstrated in a number of different instances within Clancy's novel. Furthermore, such communication is frequently presented to provide alternative views of reality, as an analysis of the works of both authors indicates.

In general, Watzlawick's book offers up theoretical issues that Clancy's novel provides examples of. One of the central ideas found in How Real is the notion that more than one reality exists. Because of this fact, the author believes that it is problematic for anyone to assume that what he or she perceives as reality is the same as that of someone else. The following quotation from Watzlawick's book certainly proves this point. "…our everyday traditional ideas of reality are delusions which we spend substantial parts of our daily lives shoring up even at considerable risk of trying to force facts to fit our definition of reality instead of vice-versa (XI)." The "considerable risk" that occurs at the expense of believing in delusions is exemplified in the relationship between Marko Alexandrovich Ramius and Political Officer Ivan Putin in the Hunt for Red October. Both men work on the submarine Red October, and appear friendly towards one another as a casual analysis of their communication with each other demonstrates. However, there is an inherent danger in believing that Putin's reality is Ramius, and vice versa, as the following quotation shows.

"As I told the Main Political Administration," Putin clapped Ramius' shoulder again, "Red October is in the best of hands!"

Ramius and Kamarov both smiled at that. You son of a bitch! The captain thought…you will not live to eat those words…" (Clancy 6).

This quote demonstrates that what appears to be a joke between both of these men in pleasure is really taken as another reason for Ramius to kill Putin, which shows the danger in Putin believing delusion that Ramius likes him enough to joke with him.