What is truth? – Pontius Pilate’s question.
And how mysteriously Jesus answered him – Every one that is of truth heareth my voice.
Once I thought I understood this exchange but no longer.
In setting forth this story of the Mulvaneys, of whom I happen to be the youngest son, yet, I hope, a neutral observer, at least one to set down what is truth. Everything recorded here happened and it’s my task to suggest how, and why … I will include as many “facts” as I can assemble th rest is conjecture, imagined but not invented. Much is based on memory and conversations with family members about things I had not experienced firsthand nor could possibly know except in the way of the heart. (p. 14)
Joyce Carol Oates depicts an idyllic American family, respected by the local community ‘living the dream’. Mike Sr. built up his own business and eventually procured the large plot of land to house his four children and wife and their many, many pets. We Were The Mulvaneys indicates the title something lost about their identity. The story is told through the pen of Judd, the youngest child, who later works for the newspaper.
From the outset of the novel the narration is flawed. Judd claims he wants to record the truth, however, by doing so he has to include untruths as he cannot possibly know every single detail – especially those about his sister who refuses to relay the full details about the night of the prom. Judd’s own observation about how he has to fill in the gaps in his knowledge with educated guesswork is self-reflexive. Any narration in fiction is fictional – it can never encompass truth as by its very genre it is rendered untruth. Autobiography comes close to truth but a fictional character cannot write an autobiography for us to read, it is always through the pen of its creator: the author.
With this tiny paradox in mind, each interchange between the characters takes on an anecdotial facade. The story of how Corinne and Mike Sr. met was an often repeated tale which Judd records as though he was present. Repetition of facts creates in Judd false memories about his family allowing in his mind for him to exist in a world long before he was even conceived.
Judd states in the opening of the novel: “I believe in uttering the truth, even if it hurts. Particularly if it hurts.” (p. 3) which suggests a masochistic attitute towards story-telling. However as the novel progresses Oates demonstrates through the eyes of Judd the damaging effect concealing the truth from family members has on the family as a whole. The uprooting and abandonment of Marianne is never discussed at the time and Judd is completely unaware that Marianne even wanted to return to High Point Farm for the first Christmas. However this detail is revealed in an exchange between Marianne and Patrick after Patrick has moved away to university. Judd is not in attendence and so the ‘fact’ comes from Judd’s own ‘conjecture’.
An exchange between Patrick and Mike Jr. Judd did overhear himself presents the philosophical paradox of spoke truth: “What you say is always less than you know … So every statement is a lie, we can’t help it.” (p. 96) as it would be impractical to speak every known related fact to support every statement. Writing the truth is somewhat simpler as you have the reader’s attention and can lay down every fact in the structure of an argument or essay.
Truth is resolved, for Patrick at least, at the end of the novel: “what relief in having access to detailed weather facts twenty-four hours a day 365 days a year, you only have to switch on a tiny button to hear so solemn and incantatory a recitation of simple unassailable facts beyond all human subjectivity” (p. 454) Though Mike Jr. claimed it is impossible to speak only in truth Patrick managed to find a source of unending truth which provides him with peace.
Judd finds his truth in his writing. His job description is to “put out a ‘good, decent, truth-telling paper’ and that’s what I’ve been doing and will continue to do.” (p. 6). However when subjective writing is mixed with fact, the truth can be distorted beyond all recognition as is evident every time one watches a news segment, no matter how well credited the source. News is a business and exciting news sells.
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References
Oates, Joyce Carol. We Were The Mulvaneys. London: Fourth Estate, 2001.
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