Efficacy lies at the heart of human desires for immortality.
Characters throughout literature and art are depicted as wanting to step aside and see what their world would be like without their individual contributions. Differently, however, is the desire of Mr. Wakefield, himself, to actually step outside and beyond the boundaries of his existence to see his own significance in Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story Wakefield. Furthermore, the characters of the two aforementioned works are enlightened through the importance of their actions and their lives. Wakefield is altered through his experience, but has no such consciousness of his transformation. A work of literature affects the reader by appealing to his or her matter of perspective.