Things They Carried Essay: The Power Of The Truth
The Power of the Truth
Novelist Tim O’Brian once said “A lie, sometimes, can be truer than the truth, which is why fiction gets written.” In his novel The Things They Carried, O’Brian argues that “story-truth is sometimes truer than happening-truth” (171). O’Brian opposes the idea of absolute truth, and believes that all truths are subject to change. He believes that a fictional story can be more true than an actual event. However, a story, no matter what story, cannot be more true than an actual event; a “story version” of an event is merely a shadow of that event—a make-up-caked, dramatized, Hollywood shadow. It is impossible for “story-truth” to be truer than “happening-truth.” In The Things They Carried O’Brian creates a daughter, …show more content…
He created a grand staircase on the ship while in reality this staircase was so small passengers had to go up and down single file. A Pablo Picasso painting is featured in the film, although Picasso was not popular during the time of the Titanic, and his work was not widely distributed. The diamond necklace in the film, titled “The Heart of the Ocean,” never existed, much like the love story between invented passengers Rose Bukater and James Dawson. These creations served Cameron’s purpose to paint a theatrical telling of the event, but the movie was just …show more content…
The most powerful aspect of the film The Titanic is not the love story. It is not the grand staircase, or the luxurious dining room. It is not the interaction between characters, or the extravagant “Heart of the Ocean.” The most powerful aspect of The Titanic is that it actually happened. At the end of the film, there were 1,502 dead bodies sinking and in the freezing salt water of the Atlantic. No “story-truth,” no matter how elaborate, could create a greater tragedy than a “happening-truth.” Why not? Since “story-truths” are not as true as “happening-truths.”
Therefore, the notion that a story could ring truer than an actual event is in the wrong. A lie cannot reveal a deeper truth; only truth can uncover truth. Stories provide an escape for the imagination. They allow the reader to imagine a different reality and to glimpse into an alternate world. However, stories are only stories. They are not real. The only way the reader can understand a true reality is to read a true account of that reality. Although this account may be less dramatic than the “story version” of the reality, it is in fact the reality. It is the truest truth; the
Novelist Tim O’Brian once said “A lie, sometimes, can be truer than the truth, which is why fiction gets written.” In his novel The Things They Carried, O’Brian argues that “story-truth is sometimes truer than happening-truth” (171). O’Brian opposes the idea of absolute truth, and believes that all truths are subject to change. He believes that a fictional story can be more true than an actual event. However, a story, no matter what story, cannot be more true than an actual event; a “story version” of an event is merely a shadow of that event—a make-up-caked, dramatized, Hollywood shadow. It is impossible for “story-truth” to be truer than “happening-truth.” In The Things They Carried O’Brian creates a daughter, …show more content…
He created a grand staircase on the ship while in reality this staircase was so small passengers had to go up and down single file. A Pablo Picasso painting is featured in the film, although Picasso was not popular during the time of the Titanic, and his work was not widely distributed. The diamond necklace in the film, titled “The Heart of the Ocean,” never existed, much like the love story between invented passengers Rose Bukater and James Dawson. These creations served Cameron’s purpose to paint a theatrical telling of the event, but the movie was just …show more content…
The most powerful aspect of the film The Titanic is not the love story. It is not the grand staircase, or the luxurious dining room. It is not the interaction between characters, or the extravagant “Heart of the Ocean.” The most powerful aspect of The Titanic is that it actually happened. At the end of the film, there were 1,502 dead bodies sinking and in the freezing salt water of the Atlantic. No “story-truth,” no matter how elaborate, could create a greater tragedy than a “happening-truth.” Why not? Since “story-truths” are not as true as “happening-truths.”
Therefore, the notion that a story could ring truer than an actual event is in the wrong. A lie cannot reveal a deeper truth; only truth can uncover truth. Stories provide an escape for the imagination. They allow the reader to imagine a different reality and to glimpse into an alternate world. However, stories are only stories. They are not real. The only way the reader can understand a true reality is to read a true account of that reality. Although this account may be less dramatic than the “story version” of the reality, it is in fact the reality. It is the truest truth; the