Lessons in Under a Cruel Star & The Things They Carried

You don't have to look hard to find that Under A Cruel Star by Heda Kovaly, and The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien have a lot in common. They tell their own stories, but a lot of their experiences can be closely related when looked at carefully.

In a more general sense, we can examine both books and their seemingly true stories. We consider them true stories anyways, but really, what is truth? The dictionary defines "truth" as "A statement proven to be or accepted as true." I emphasize the last part that says, "Accepted as true". Because when you think about it, what do you know that is absolutely true? It's hard to think of things. I could think, "Well, it's true that I was born from my mom and dad", but maybe that is just what I think and perhaps I was adopted. Perhaps a truth would be that I am in the library right now, but then how do we know that this is, in fact, the library. Truth is merely a perception of what one sees things to be. Maybe someone who sees colors differently would say that the shirt you have on right now is green, when in fact someone standing right next to them says that it's definitely blue. What is truth? Well I told you, but how do you know I'm telling the truth?

"Up to now, everything I told you is from personal experience, the exact truth, but there's a few other things I heard secondhand. Thirdhand, actually. From here on it gets to be... I know what the word is."

"Speculation." (O'Brien 113) This tidbit of conversation between Rat Kiley and Mitchell Sanders is a good summary of what truth is. It's speculation, perception, opinion. It's something that really can't be proved, simply believed.