In writing, students often face the frustration of feeling that their articles are always lacking compared to excellent compositions. In fact, writing requires certain skills, and today we will learn a technique—combining reality and imagination.
1. What is the Combination of Reality and Imagination?
The so-called real content mainly refers to the specific, tangible objective things in the article or real events that are currently happening.
The so-called imaginary content mainly refers to the memories, backgrounds, associations, or imaginations related to the real content in the article, or relatively abstract emotions, thoughts, understandings, or theories.
The combination of reality and imagination refers to the organic integration of real and imaginary content, where reality and imagination are interconnected, permeate each other, and transform into one another, achieving a state where there is reality within imagination and imagination within reality.
Next, we will understand what the combination of reality and imagination is through some excerpts from texts we have studied.
Example 1:
Peach trees, apricot trees, and pear trees, none of them yielding to the other, are all in full bloom. The red is like fire, the pink is like clouds, and the white is like snow. The flowers carry a sweet fragrance; with closed eyes, it seems that the trees are already full of peaches, apricots, and pears. Under the flowers, thousands of bees buzz around, and butterflies of all sizes flit about. Wildflowers are everywhere: mixed varieties, some named, some unnamed, scattered in the grass like eyes and stars, blinking away.
[Analysis]This excerpt is from Mr. Zhu Ziqing’s “Spring.” The passage describes the blooming peach, apricot, and pear trees, amidst the vibrant flowers, swarming bees and butterflies. The author associates their lively interactions, the bountiful harvest of fruits, and the competition among flowers, painting a prosperous scene of spring’s blooming flowers. Mr. Zhu Ziqing continuously adds his associations during the description of reality, using words to depict beautiful spring scenes, making readers feel as if they are there. This is the application of association to achieve the combination of reality and imagination in writing.
Example 2:
The most wonderful thing is a light snowfall. Look, the short pines on the mountain are becoming increasingly dark green, with a tuft of white snow on the tips, resembling a Japanese nurse. The mountain tops are all white, framing the blue sky with a silver edge. On the slopes, some places have thick snow, while others still show patches of grass; thus, one area is white, another dark yellow, dressing the mountains in a flower-patterned garment; as you watch, this garment seems to flutter in the wind, making you wish to see even more beautiful skin of the mountains. As the sun sets, the faint yellow sunlight slants across the mountainside, and the thin snow seems to suddenly blush, revealing a hint of pink. Just a light snowfall, Jinan cannot withstand heavy snow; those small mountains are too delicate!
[Analysis]Imaginary writing often employs rhetorical techniques. “Look, the short pines on the mountain are becoming increasingly dark green, with a tuft of white snow on the tips, resembling a Japanese nurse.” The author associates the white snow on the tree tips with the beautiful and lovely Japanese nurse. The snow on the tips is a real description, while “like a Japanese nurse” is an imaginary description, using metaphorical rhetoric. “On the slopes, some places have thick snow, while others still show patches of grass; thus, one area is white, another dark yellow, dressing the mountains in a flower-patterned garment; as you watch, this garment seems to flutter in the wind, making you wish to see even more beautiful skin of the mountains.” In this sentence, “some places have thick snow, while others still show patches of grass” is a real description; “thus, one area is white, another dark yellow, dressing the mountains in a flower-patterned garment” is an imaginary description. This imaginary description employs personification, vividly depicting the scene of the snow on the mountains partially melting. The combination of reality and imagination not only describes the appearance of the scenery but also contains the author’s affection for the winter mountains of Jinan.
2. How to Combine Reality and Imagination
(1) Transforming the Imaginary into Reality
① Achieving this through clever use of metaphors.
Example 3:
My mother’s words were like a gentle breeze dispersing the dark clouds in my heart, revealing a clear sky. The stone in my heart seemed to transform into a light feather, making me feel relaxed.
[Analysis] My mother’s words brought me an abstract feeling that is difficult to express. This passage cleverly uses metaphor to transform the imaginary into reality, turning the abstract into concrete, which not only enhances the expressiveness of the article but also enriches its connotation.
② Achieving this through precise verbs.
Example 4:
Loneliness rolled around in her body.
[Analysis] Loneliness is an invisible, imaginary thing, while “rolled around” is a tangible verb. This sentence employs the technique of transforming the imaginary into reality. It is artistic and expressive.
(2) Introducing Reality into Imagination
① Achieving this through clever use of personification and other rhetorical techniques.
Example 5:
Looking at the tree full of white flowers, my heart trembled. Old Chinese toon tree, how many years of grievances have you endured! In the spring breeze, your tender buds have sprouted countless times, only to be taken away countless times, yet you still silently give. I want to pick a string of the most beautiful Chinese toon flowers and hang them by my desk, using them to remind me how to be a truly good person.
[Analysis] In this text, the Chinese toon tree is real, while its spirit of silent dedication is imaginary. Through personification, the writing enriches the connotation of the subject, enhancing the depth of the article. This method of introducing reality into imagination is most common in articles that express aspirations through objects or emotions through scenery.
② Inserting relevant memories.
Example 6:
Your gentle shoulders bear the growth of us sisters, selfless love, like a trickling stream. I still remember that winter, when I was weak and had a high fever at midnight, nearly fainting. Without a word, you prepared the sled, wrapped me tightly in blankets, and together with my brother, pulled me out of the deep mountains to the hospital, staying by my side for seven days and nights. Oh mother, on our journey of life, you have protected us with your vast maternal love. In the cycle of seasons, you steadfastly guard our home, silently providing a canopy of love for me.
[Analysis] In the discussion of emotions, inserting the memory of my mother taking me to the hospital during my high fever vividly brings to life the image of a mother caring for her child, as if she appears before the reader.
③ Introducing reality into imagination can also be achieved through imagination.
Example 7:
I said to my mother, we will come for a walk tomorrow.
Then a picture appeared before my eyes: as the sun sets, I hold my mother’s hand, walking steadily and comfortably. The wind gently blows, brushing the golden-edged leaves together. The water ripples towards the distance, and birds chase and sing in the sky…
Walking is a communication of love.
I firmly told my mother, we will come for a walk every day!
[Analysis] The author uses imagination to transition from reality to the imaginary, depicting the beautiful scene of walking with mother, expressing the determination to communicate with her, enhancing the expressiveness of the article.
(3) The Interdependence of Reality and Imagination
In writing, we can elevate the given subjects in the title, allowing them to coexist, creating an interdependence of reality and imagination, thereby deepening the theme.
Example 8:
The faint fragrance spreads again. I pick up that white shirt, and once again, I smell the familiar scent of laundry detergent. In an instant, I truly understand everything; my grandmother, through her daily washing, infused the loving fragrance into the washing water, which lingers on my clothes, surrounds me, and penetrates my heart, fragranting my life. My grandmother loved us wholeheartedly with her life; that is the fragrance of love, the everlasting fragrance.
[Analysis] The combination of the real scent of laundry detergent on the shirt and the imaginary fragrance of my grandmother’s love is skillfully merged, with both fragrances coexisting, creating an interdependence of reality and imagination, thus deepening the theme, leaving a lasting impression.
In writing, skillfully using the combination of reality and imagination can enrich the writing’s artistic conception, better highlight and enhance emotions, and strengthen the expressiveness of the composition.
Micro Writing
Please use the method of combining reality and imagination to revise the following composition segment, making it more heartfelt and emotional.
Draft:
Dad loves us very much. He gives us meticulous care and all kinds of protection; he loves us deeply, and in his heart, we are the most important. It can be said that Dad has given us all his love. Oh Dad, my dearest Dad, you love us deeply, and we will always love you.
Summary of Guidance for Middle School Students on WritingGuidance for Middle School Students on How to Elevate Descriptive WritingGuidance for Middle School Students on How to Elevate Narrative WritingGuidance for Middle School Students on How to Make Characters Come AliveGuidance for Middle School Students on How to Skillfully Use Detail DescriptionsGuidance for Middle School Students on How to Appropriately Use Rhetorical Techniques to Enhance Literary QualityGuidance for Middle School Students on How to Structure Sentences for Rhythm and ComplexityGuidance for Middle School Students on How to Quote and Adapt Famous Poems to Enhance Literary Quality
Guidance for Middle School Students on How to Appropriately Use Words to Enrich Language
Guidance for Middle School Students on How to Integrate Various Expression Methods
Guidance for Middle School Students on How to Elevate the Ideological and Emotional Depth of Articles
Guidance for Middle School Students on How to Achieve Foreshadowing and Correspondence
Guidance for Middle School Students on How to Achieve Cohesion and Clarify the Central Theme
Guidance for Middle School Students on How to Avoid Structural Defects in Compositions
Guidance for Middle School Students on How to Achieve Clear Layers in Writing