Existence is like a creature that hides and then reveals itself. Existence is defined in Webster's New World Dictionary as the "state or fact of being." This existence strives to reach truth which is located beyond space and time, yet truth must be grasped by existence nevertheless. This is accomplished through ritual, which can bring about the capturing of the inconceivable. Edward P. Vargo stated that John Updike uses ritual "to fulfill the great desire …showed first 75 words of 2310 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2310 total…Centaur. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1963. * Updike, John. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 5. Ed. Carolyn Riley and Phyllis Carmel Mendelson. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1976. * Updike, John. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 7. Ed. Phyllis Carmel Mendelson and Dedria Bryfonski. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1977. * Updike, John. Magill's Survey of American Literature. Vol. 6. Ed. Frank N. Magill. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 1991. * Updike, John. World Literature Criticism: 1500 to the Present. Vol. 6. Ed. James P. Draper. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1992.