A Fake Fact

Not real. Fake. When one hears the word fiction, these terms generally come to mind. Fiction is not fact, and therefore has no significant value in our everyday lives. Is this true? Is fiction so unimportant that if we were to eliminate it completely we would remain unchanged? What we often fail to realize when we think of fiction is the true value that lies in the text. The value that does indeed impact the way we think and our perspective on a situation. A value that cannot be measured or tested, simply understood.
Stories question reality and inspire us to change. The House of the Scorpion, written by Nancy Farmer, gives insight into the most powerful weapon of all: words. In this society, clones, exact duplicates of humans, are said to be filthy beasts. Exact duplicates of humans, that are considered to be no better than a wild animal, all because people were taught to treat them like this from a young age. “No one can tell the difference between a clone and a human. That’s because there isn’t any difference. The idea of clones being inferior is a filthy lie.” (Farmer 245). Words, no matter the truth behind them, impact us daily, even when we don’t realize. Persuasive advertisements, magazine articles, and pictures in the media are just a few examples of the immense power words have over our lives. This fictional story is a reflection of reality in the sense that it makes you think about truth, and makes us question how we treat people. Fiction can cause us to change our behavior if we learn that we are acting in a morally inappropriate way, according to outcome and events of the story. “…if you really want to teach people something, you need to tell them a story.” (Meltzer 2).
Are the words we speak the truth? Or are they merely answers and ideas one told us at a young age? The House of the Scorpion causes us to ponder such questions about humanity, all through the carefully chosen, fictional words of this novel.
“I love that the world of make-believe lives so darn close to the real one.” (1). I love that inside a story lies our own society, even if altered. I love that stories show our moral values, the difference between right and wrong, and how we can change for the better. The House of the Scorpion illustrates this concept beautifully. The main character, Matt, who is a clone, realized, with the help of the few who loved him, that the world he was living in was built on the basis of a lie. A lie that dehumanizes clones in order to murder these innocent beings for their own health benefit. Such themes from our past can relate to the inhumane treatment of clones, including racial and religious discrimination, both caused through a vicious cycle of lies passed down from generation to generation. “‘When you’re small, you can choose which way to grow. If you're kind and decent, you grow into a kind and decent man.’” (Farmer 70). In other words, the knowledge you inquire when you are young has a deep affect on who you are, however, it is up to you in the end to uncover your own ideas and values. This novel excelled in expressing ideas from our past while stressing the impact that fiction can have on our moral beliefs that I believe Brad Meltzer would have thought to be quite successful.
So don’t tell me that fiction is useless, pointless, simply fake. Don’t tell me that stories don’t bring hope, or cause change, or that fiction is a meaningless past time. Now, when you hear the word “fiction,” do you think “not real,” or do you think “hope,” or “morality,” or truth? You don’t need facts, figures and data to have truth. Science tells us facts about our world and what it is made up of. Fiction can tell us about ourselves and our own values.
But don’t trust me. For all you know this entire piece of writing could be fiction.
Fiction.
Truth.