In Pedro Páramo, Juan Rulfo creates a set of characters who live in a different reality than the one that exists within the framework of their world. Specifically, the realities of Pedro Páramo, Susana San Juan, and Juan Preciado are altered to the point where their quests for meaning are developed and shaped by their varied perceptions of the events occurring around them. Additionally, these altered realities are not completely psychological states of mind - the town of Comala is actually filled with supernatural elements that contribute to the unstable nature of reality and bring people who are just discovering Comala ( Juan Preciado and the reader) to wonder. what is real and what is not. The alteration of reality, mostly unintentional, can damage or enrich the individual's search for meaning. A central character in the plot, without the reader ever having a glimpse of his mind, Pedro Páramo exists in a reality where he is the most powerful person. Media Luna has always been his and his control has always extended beyond its borders and into the population of Comala despite the fact that he has done very little to earn his position or arrogance. In Fulgor Sedano's second interaction with Pedro Páramo and his first interaction where Pedro Páramo is in a position of authority, Fulgor says, "[who] did the boy think he was to talk to [me] like that?" …So first of all, this kid, who had never set foot on Media Luna or done any work, was talking to [me] like [I was] an employee” (19). As the most powerful person in the isolated town of Comala, Pedro Páramo finds himself in a perilous position: no one can control his power. There is no one he can consider equal. This leads him to face society ...... middle of paper ...... to find his father, without being able to find peace or meaning. Living in an alternate reality provides additional context to a character's research. for the meaning; it can be used to strengthen or weaken a character's resolves. These different realities exist in part because of the changing structure of time and Comala. Rulfo doesn't take into account how long a person has lived, instead he looks at the effects the person left behind. For this reason, reality is not a constant. The impressions or "whispers" that a person leaves behind after their time in Purgatory or Comala Hell create a complex web of relationships that contribute to alternative perceptions of reality. Works Cited1. Rulfo, Juan. Pedro Paramo. Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. New York: Grove, 1994. Print.2. Paz, Octavio. The labyrinth of loneliness. New York: Grove, 1961. Print.