Recognition is the final step of realization. A realization can take many forms: it can be frivolous or life-changing, it can come gradually or in a single elucidating moment, it can be intensely personal or universally applicable. No revelation, however, merits the title of ‘realization’ until the moment of recognition, the moment in which the subject can, in retrospect, see a series of events or a set of knowledge – which may or may not have seemed significant at the time – as the stepping stones to a greater understanding.

In Albert Camus’ The Stranger, Mersault reaches the realization that death is inevitable, and no difference exists between dying by execution and dying by natural causes. His lucidity and self-analysis in his final moments starkly contrast his previous indifference and apathy; his new clarity of thought stems from his ability and willingness to recognize the meaning – or lack thereof – of his life events thus far. No new events occur in Mersault’s final moments, but his ultimate recognition of the implications of his past completes his final realization.

On a slightly disparate vein, Chuck Palahniuk tells the story in his novel, Fight Club, of the protagonist’s (who is never named) life and interactions with a man named Tyler Durden, ultimately concluding in a final realization toward which the protagonist reels over the course of the novel. Similar to Mersault, the protagonist’s realization immediately precedes the time he believes he will be killed. His mental clarity in his final moments allows him to recognize, in retrospect, that every occurrence in his life has been a stepping stone, a clue – and finally, with this recognition, his realization is complete: he and Tyler Durden are the same person, he has a split personality.

Realizations are reached every day – in life, in literature, in the movies – but no thought can be a realization until the subject recognizes it as such.