It was interesting in class that many of our “lies” had some value of truth to them. I am guilty of this because as I ran through my own memories to find a truth, I distorted others to create a lie to share with everyone. I think that because our lies had this truth factor, it was harder for the class to distinguish between the fact and lie because both were conveyed in a possible manner.
In Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce, Peyton Farquhar’s “escape” is somewhat believable because it follows from the “true” setting which is described in great detail in part I. As a reader, we know that Peyton is about to be hung, there is a stream below, woods along the sides and a sergeant with his troupe stationed around Peyton. Therefore, falling into the stream, feeling suffocated and being shot at are all possible scenarios that could follow from the initial setting. From part II, the reader also learns that Peyton is “...chafed under the inglorious restraint, longing for the release of his energies, the larger life of the soldier, the opportunity for distinction,” (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/375/375-h/375-h.htm). So, his imagined great escape also comes from a truthful desire of Peyton's for grand adventure. Since we learn this fact before his adventure begins, we believe that Peyton would fight for his life and walk for hours through the woods. Bierce’s close account of Peyton’s actions and emotions also make the escape more believable because-how could he make all of that up? The reader, or I at least, gets pulled in by the story so that the last sentence, the truth, comes as a shock.
Therefore, it seems to me that the truth is the best tool to convince someone to believe a lie.
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