The Illusion of Truth
Buddha once said, "There are only two mistakes one can make along the road of truth; not going all the way, and not starting." This quote means that you cannot go wrong with telling the truth unless you don't tell it completely or you don't tell it at all. This message becomes apparent in an excerpt from "League of Denial" and Edgar Allan Poe's poem "Tell Tale Heart", as well as in personal experiences. What is truth? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, truth is "the real facts about something". Facts can often be clouded by opinions, which makes if hard to find the truth. Truth, in my opinion, is what you make of a situation. Everyone has a different vision of the truth, so there can't be one truth. The following paragraphs will reveal the messages of truth of façades in "League of Denial", guilt in "Tell Tale Heart", and understanding lying in personal experience.
The truth can be hard to accept and can send a person into a period of denial. Often times the truth is hidden away. Sometimes to harm us, and sometimes to help us. It's not always easy to tell the difference. For example, in "League of Denial" the authors explain one of the controversies surrounding the NFL, chronic traumatic encephalopathy or simply cte in their players. Researchers expected the NFL to be open with their finding, but instead the NFL denied the research and called it unreliable. Once the topic became a concern of the public, the NFL came up with their own research. First they denied it and now they welcome it, sounds suspicious. This exemplifies the quote. The NFL first completely lied and next they accepted it but didn't tell it all.
Sometimes we don't realize the truth is being hidden from us and we are swayed by charm that covers it all like in Edgar Allan Poe's poem, "Tell Tale Heart". The narrator kills a man and hides his limbs in the floorboards. When he leads the investigators in he seats them right on top of the hidden body parts, but somehow he leads them to believe he is innocent by openly inviting them into the house. Like most lies, the truth is eventually uncovered one way or the other. In the case of "Tell Tale Heart" the narrator admitted the truth himself out of guilt. An average person can find themselves in the same situation and it can lead to trouble. Why go through all the trouble to lie when you can just tell the truth? The consequences of lying may be more severe than those of telling the truth.
Throughout a lifetime, people find themselves in situations where they can either tell the truth or lie. Some people may pick to lie in fear of facing the consequences of telling the truth. I have experienced situations in my life where I had the choice to tell the truth or lie. For example, I have told my mom that I washed the dishes an hour ago but in fact I did not and soon after went to go clean them. I lied to get out of trouble and in fear of my mother's wrath. On the other hand, if she found out I lied the consequences would be much worse than if I told the truth. So in spite of lying giving you temporary haven, it is best to tell the truth.
This essay ventured into semblances, remorse, and understanding consequences. In "League of Denial" the author reveals that people can appear to be something they're not. In "Tell Tale Heart" the narrator admits to his faults out of guilt and In my personal experiences I learned that it is human nature to improvise in order to avoid fault. In conclusion, it is human nature to lie even though we are aware the consequences may catch up to us.
The truth can be hard to accept and can send a person into a period of denial. Often times the truth is hidden away. Sometimes to harm us, and sometimes to help us. It's not always easy to tell the difference. For example, in "League of Denial" the authors explain one of the controversies surrounding the NFL, chronic traumatic encephalopathy or simply cte in their players. Researchers expected the NFL to be open with their finding, but instead the NFL denied the research and called it unreliable. Once the topic became a concern of the public, the NFL came up with their own research. First they denied it and now they welcome it, sounds suspicious. This exemplifies the quote. The NFL first completely lied and next they accepted it but didn't tell it all.
Sometimes we don't realize the truth is being hidden from us and we are swayed by charm that covers it all like in Edgar Allan Poe's poem, "Tell Tale Heart". The narrator kills a man and hides his limbs in the floorboards. When he leads the investigators in he seats them right on top of the hidden body parts, but somehow he leads them to believe he is innocent by openly inviting them into the house. Like most lies, the truth is eventually uncovered one way or the other. In the case of "Tell Tale Heart" the narrator admitted the truth himself out of guilt. An average person can find themselves in the same situation and it can lead to trouble. Why go through all the trouble to lie when you can just tell the truth? The consequences of lying may be more severe than those of telling the truth.
Throughout a lifetime, people find themselves in situations where they can either tell the truth or lie. Some people may pick to lie in fear of facing the consequences of telling the truth. I have experienced situations in my life where I had the choice to tell the truth or lie. For example, I have told my mom that I washed the dishes an hour ago but in fact I did not and soon after went to go clean them. I lied to get out of trouble and in fear of my mother's wrath. On the other hand, if she found out I lied the consequences would be much worse than if I told the truth. So in spite of lying giving you temporary haven, it is best to tell the truth.
This essay ventured into semblances, remorse, and understanding consequences. In "League of Denial" the author reveals that people can appear to be something they're not. In "Tell Tale Heart" the narrator admits to his faults out of guilt and In my personal experiences I learned that it is human nature to improvise in order to avoid fault. In conclusion, it is human nature to lie even though we are aware the consequences may catch up to us.
Melting Ice
Ice cold. The floor sends a chill up my spine. I vowed to never leave my room again, but I don't have a choice. I get up and dress. Carefully sliding a blue mask over my face trying to cover my scar I hum to myself. A happy tune to such an unfortunate day. The blue mask conceals my face and my identity, as well as my past. I am Zyra, the banished son of the chief. About a decade ago my world was split in two, literally. I don't remember much of what happened. I obviously have a lot of questions, but questions are forbidden, so are books. All books were burned during the Yliessan war. The arts in general are all completely outlawed. No theatrical performances or music are tolerated and are punishable by, well you know. Our government is rules by my ruthless father. Life isn't fair but it still goes on.
Today I was drafted from the Right Sector for a search patrol team funded by the government. We are to spy into the other sector taking notes on how they live and things like that. After we turn in our notes they report it to our sector trying to convince everyone that it could have been worse, but to be honest, we're just as bad. The Left Sector is accused of being filled with envy but ours is full of hate. We call them the Flame Nation and they call us the Ice Tribe. It's rather lonely to be in a completely new surrounding with complete strangers. The only familiar face is the moon and the crackling of the fire on our camp ground. Our plan is to sneak in the night to a warehouse where we will be staying and try to blend in by morning. In hopes of being sent home I rudely interrupt with saying "Yes fool proof. There's no way that this sector has realized we send people every year to the same exact warehouse." The leader of the group looks me dead in the eyes. "What was that?" "I said that there's no way-" "I heard what you said." "Then why'd you ask?" I'm definitely going to be sent home. "You see maggots, these are the kind people we are trying to avoid. Stay away from them at all costs, stupidity is contagious." Everyone scoots away from me and the leader carries on. Well if that didn't get me sent home then nothing will, that is, unless I run. And with that I ran faster than ever into the Left Sector oblivious to what was next.
Foreigners everywhere, but I guess now I'm the alien since I'm from another land. This is not my home. Filthy. Millions of bugs crawl around every building. Pavement starts to unwind from the first road. This must be the palace. I walk up to it in hope of seeing a near by horse to steal. I notice that the palace is built from crumbling bricks. I realize an eye is spying on me through the bricks. A jester. "Who are thee?" "I'm just passing by." "Who are thee?" "I'm just passing by from the Right Sector. A sinister smile creeps onto his face. He rolls a a pair of dice that fall at my boots. A small engraving of a lightening bolt is on the upward face. I look up and there he is pointing his two fingers at me. "What are you doing?" I yell in a panicked voice. The corners of his mouth slowly form into a pucker. "Who are thee?" "Zyra, the banished prince." He shoots.
Today I was drafted from the Right Sector for a search patrol team funded by the government. We are to spy into the other sector taking notes on how they live and things like that. After we turn in our notes they report it to our sector trying to convince everyone that it could have been worse, but to be honest, we're just as bad. The Left Sector is accused of being filled with envy but ours is full of hate. We call them the Flame Nation and they call us the Ice Tribe. It's rather lonely to be in a completely new surrounding with complete strangers. The only familiar face is the moon and the crackling of the fire on our camp ground. Our plan is to sneak in the night to a warehouse where we will be staying and try to blend in by morning. In hopes of being sent home I rudely interrupt with saying "Yes fool proof. There's no way that this sector has realized we send people every year to the same exact warehouse." The leader of the group looks me dead in the eyes. "What was that?" "I said that there's no way-" "I heard what you said." "Then why'd you ask?" I'm definitely going to be sent home. "You see maggots, these are the kind people we are trying to avoid. Stay away from them at all costs, stupidity is contagious." Everyone scoots away from me and the leader carries on. Well if that didn't get me sent home then nothing will, that is, unless I run. And with that I ran faster than ever into the Left Sector oblivious to what was next.
Foreigners everywhere, but I guess now I'm the alien since I'm from another land. This is not my home. Filthy. Millions of bugs crawl around every building. Pavement starts to unwind from the first road. This must be the palace. I walk up to it in hope of seeing a near by horse to steal. I notice that the palace is built from crumbling bricks. I realize an eye is spying on me through the bricks. A jester. "Who are thee?" "I'm just passing by." "Who are thee?" "I'm just passing by from the Right Sector. A sinister smile creeps onto his face. He rolls a a pair of dice that fall at my boots. A small engraving of a lightening bolt is on the upward face. I look up and there he is pointing his two fingers at me. "What are you doing?" I yell in a panicked voice. The corners of his mouth slowly form into a pucker. "Who are thee?" "Zyra, the banished prince." He shoots.