Abstract
Steven Millhauser is a writer of realist fiction. However, his work cannot be limited by labeling it only realistic. Another dimension is added to his short stories. They are full of interpretations. In Flying Carpet, though the story seems to be quite casual, even banal - a child trying to reach the sky on to his flying carpet - there is another way to read it. This story is a way to catch reality and to express a hidden meaning through inter-textuality.
The passage studied here begins with the achievement of the dream of the child: he is flying up to the sky. However, when he reaches this space, he feels a "fear of never coming back". He feels oppressed and begins to look forward to something else: materiality. Through this change of mind, the author includes transcendentalism to his work, which is a new way to look at things. The narrator however still hesitates between the two paths. Does he really want to live in total reality, or does he want something else? Does his flight reveal a will of subversion?
Throughout this passage, the narrator feels a "fear of never coming back" (l.14). This denotes the fear of the infinite, which leads to a loss of identity.
