From age five we are told that lying is wrong. So I would
like to challenge my parents to explain why authors are allowed to lie? Why is TV allowed to lie? Why should I assume everything other people tell me is true?
I would always get into trouble for lying about cleaning up
my toys, or brushing my teeth, but I never told people that one time someone
almost died, but ended up surviving when they actually died.
In “An Occurrence at Own Creek Bridge,” the narrator tells
the story of Peyton Farquhar’s survival and death. The story first goes
into detail of how the main character escapes his death sentence by the army. This
turns out to be a complete lie, he actually dies and the story of his survival
was simply a dream. Why is the author allowed to lie to me? Is it okay for him to tell me that the
character survives when in fact he dies? I find it quite rude.
In the episode of Supernatural, Sam and Dean find books that
tell the story of their lives. These books are all true, with excruciating
detail. The author of the books ends up being a prophet, who dreams about what
will happen next to these demon-fighting brothers.
So, who decides which authors are allowed to lie? Am I
allowed to lie if I write it on paper?
You bring up a very interesting point about the prevalence of lying in literature, and question why it's ok for authors to lie in their literature. However, I'm not sure that Bierce is really lying in his story, but rather implementing a different writing style in which we are not accustomed. He tells his story in an unconventional way, by not placing his events in chronological order. Farquhar slips into different realms of reality, and I think that Bierce tries to convey that through an untraditional style of writing. Also, I think your point brings up the concept of time, and whether the author has the right to manipulate it in order to tell a story. Does an author have the right to do that? Do they want us, as readers, to dig deeper within ourselves to understand the point they are trying to get across?
ReplyDelete