Truth Vs. Fiction

How can you determine the truth from a lie? Is it even possible? I used to think that a true story and a made up story were obviously different and easy to tell apart, but after reading The Things They Carried I realized that this is not necessarily true. There are a lot of things that can change a true story to a fiction story, little details can be left out or untrue details can be added in, still making the story party true, but not all.

                In the video we watched in class about Tim O’Brien he stressed the point that most of the things in his book were based on a sliver of the truth, but had many added details and people that made it untrue. After watching this video and hearing him talk about his book it really made me question the validity everything ive learned and every story ive heard. How can I be positive that what im hearing or reading is 100% true? It really makes you think.

                I really liked the book The Things They Carried, it was a good book, but when I found out that what I had read had all been a lie and never actually happened it made me mad. I read this book believing these events to be true and believing that all that actually happened to him. I felt his emotions along with him and I had great admiration for him for being able to go through everything he talked about in his book. So to find out that it was all a lie was very disappointing.