Reality vs Truth

“I can look at things I never looked at. I can attach faces to grief and love and pity and God. I can be brave. I can make myself feel again.

‘Daddy tell the truth,’ Kathleen can say, ‘did you ever kill anybody?’ And I can say honestly, ‘Of course not.’

Or I can say, honestly, ‘Yes.’” (172, The Things They Carried)

In both The Things They Carried and Cat’s Cradle, there is a clear focus on experience over the happening truth. These novels help us bring to light our misuse of the word truth. True is defined as “in accordance with fact or reality”. While truth may be what we consider to be a fact or the happening truth, truth is also reality, which is not synonymous with fact. In Cat’s Cradle especially, we see that the facts of the lives of the people of San Lorenzo is much different than their reality, all because of their experience or perspective.  What these people tell themselves to get through the facts of their lives creates a reality which is much different, making it the truth.

As the quotation explains, Tim O’Brien can create a new truth for himself based upon perspective and emotion. O’Brien explains that through reliving these moments he can tackle fears and recreate his reality. The epigraph of this novel shows us how relatable this book is based on this reality and creates a truth for readers of similar experience. Reality is not only important, it is the truth.