Verisimilitude. In the literary world, it is a term that describes the blending of truth and fiction—the semblance of reality in a work of fancy.
An example of this fine relationship is The Things They Carried. Tim O’Brien’s vivid descriptions of the soldiers, and the physical and emotional burdens they humped through war-ravaged Vietnam, are so profound that we cannot help but think that all of it is real, that the soldiers were real people with real experiences. Although the letters on the cover, A Work of Fiction, jump out at us, we cannot quite convince ourselves that what we are reading is simply a figment of imagination.
Why is this so?
It has to do with the connection between truth and fiction. As Aristotle insisted in his Poetics, literature should reflect nature. It is natural for one to be able to judge truth and fiction based on perspective. When fiction produces real emotions within us or leads us to discover a reality about ourselves or the world around us, it is truth. When truth does not produce real emotions within us or even when it simply doesn't feel true, it is fiction. When truth and fiction are so closely related, “it’s difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen” (O’Brien 67).
Do you agree?
I definitely agree! Also, I like the Aristotle reference you made, it ties in with your topic really well!
ReplyDeleteI agree as well. I like how the last paragraph is very analytic and the use of the O'Brien quote was spot on.
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