For many situations there is both a perceived version of the situation and a real version of the situation. Usually, these two versions vary somewhat. Some people will be able to honestly understand what happened, but the majority are unable to see the truth of a situation. Instead, they see an inaccurate representation of the defined situation. Such, Such Were the Joys of George Orwell, The Overspent American by Juliet Schor and The Firmament of Time by Loren Eiseley, show how the truth of a situation is hidden by a facade. In George Orwell's Such, Such Were the Joys, Crossgates School is perceived as a prestigious private school, when in reality its true operations take place as a deceptive and disappointing institution. Orwell first explained how the institute's standard of living was of a lower quality than that of the lower classes. The narrator, who came from a poor family, reported that he had “stepped up in society by attending [Crossgates], and yet the level of comfort was in every way much lower than in my home, or indeed, than it would have been at my house. a prosperous working-class home” (Orwell 434). Crossgates was thought to be a luxurious place to reside, where school children would have first-rate accommodation. Instead, the Crossgates boarding situation lacked any hospitality and had a lower standard of living than would constitute a lower class. The Crossgates ascetics were also despicable. The institution gave off a pungent odor, as well as allowing the children to live in a state of malnutrition. Orwell recalled that "it was not easy for me to think of my school days without seeming to breathe a whiff of something cold and foul-smelling" (Orwell 436), as was "often repeated to us at Cr......half of the paper ...... and two. Facades often triumph over the truth. However, if we want society to progress, we must recognize that living a life of illusions will not get us there words of American academic leader Edward Levi, “The very concept of reason appears as an artificial attempt to separate intellectual powers from the frustrations, emotions and accidents that cause events; the concept of reason is seen as a façade to prevent change . "Works Cited Eiseley, Loren C. The Firmament of Time. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 1999. Print.Orwell, George and Richard Halworth Rovere. Orwell's Reader: Fiction, Essays and Reportage. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, 1984. Print.Schor, Juliet B. The Excessive American: Why We Want What We Don't Need. New York: HarperPerennial, 1999. Print.