Evaluating the truth is an impossible task to attempt because the truth is not a fixed concept but rather a matter of perspective that constantly varies. When considering the distinction between the truth and lies, we must consider what the truth means to us individually. While details may change from one story to another, and be falsified when attempting to create a story that applies to the masses, the emotions felt by the readers are constant.
In Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle he writes, “My book is going to emphasize the human rather than the technical side of the bomb” (page 7), when the narrator discusses his unfinished book, The Day The World Ended. This line is incredibly important because it applies to the truth in every work of fiction. The truth of a book doesn’t lie in the small details that create the plot, characters, and setting. These are nothing more than “shameless lies” (page 5). It does, however, lie in the overall emotional response provoked in the reader. The author, therefore, invariably places emphasis on the human or emotional side of the story, rather than the tiny details (technicalities) that create the overlying idea.
In any work of fiction, the characters, plot and setting are mainly “harmless untruths” which the author includes to create a connection between the book and the reader. Details invented by the author, while usually untrue, have the capability of being true. This gives the reader a false, but stable framework in which to imagine the story. In Cat’s Cradle, and Slaughterhouse Five as well, Vonnegut employs the use of a fictitious town named Ilium, New York. The town as described to the reader has the feel of a real town. It is, however, nothing more than a ‘shameless lie’. The events that comprise the plot of a novel also have the capability of being true. In a book, if a writer describes a budding romance, he is writing a ‘shameless lie’ because this particular romance is completely fabricated. The budding romance, while an untruth, provides the reader with a feeling of ‘truth’ because it could happen, and has happened numerous times throughout history, in slightly different forms. The ‘truth’ of the story lies in the fact that it is relatable to numerous readers who have encountered a similar relationship and therefore, experience the emotions it evokes.
So while any story may be fictitious, if the reader can relate to the emotional side of the story, or the overlying idea the story conveys, it will have an element of truth to it. The truth of a story, therefore, lies not in the technicalities but rather in the human side of the story as the reader relates to it.
I agree completely that the truth of a story does not lie in the setting, characters, or plot, but in the themes.
ReplyDeleteIn English classes we always try to identify the themes of the book we are reading. In fact I think I have had teachers call themes "universal truths." A character may not be real, but the way he responds to his situation may be the way a real person would respond. Objects and events in the story may be ficticious, but what they represent are often real ideas or concepts.
Vonnegut is known for his satire and commentary on society. The truth of his novels is what he communicates about his view of society and what we as readers connect with our own ideas about the world and humanity.
A dangerous reading of this novel may be to write everything off as simply lies. I think you are absolutely correct to acknowledge that the 'truth' we are looking for doesn't depend on what the narrator's actual name is. Instead, it is emotional elements of humans loving one another and understanding that happiness isn't bound by these large truths. By living through Bokononism, humans are not meant to understand, they are meant to be happy.
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