Why is Truth Important?

Since the dawn of time, the concept of truth has been significant to the human race. From scientists and philosophers trying to figure out the creator behind the universe to parents attempting to deduce whether their kids are lying, humans have constantly pursued truth in every matter. But why is the truth so important? Why do we care so much about what really happened? Why is telling a false truth immoral? Although a fictional story,  Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner provides a powerful answer to these questions. Truth is important because it is the basis for decisions, the foundation of relationships, and the determinant of identities. 

Even though it may not be obvious, one of the largest influences behind a person’s decision making is one’s knowledge about a certain truth. A person knowing or not knowing a certain fact will directly affect his or her choices. This is highlighted in The Kite Runner when Amir learns that Hassan is actually his half-brother. At that moment, it was already too late for Amir to do anything as Hassan was dead. This scene of shocking revelation is significant because it causes the readers to realize that Hassan would not have been killed if Amir had known the truth all along. Tracing back, the main reason Hassan died was because he was separated from Amir and Baba and never went to America with them. This was due to Amir framing Hassan of theft, which led to Hassan and Ali leaving the house (Hosseini 2003, 104-109). However, Amir only framed Hassan because he was unable to bear the guilt of failing to stand up for Hassan when he was getting raped. If Amir had known that they were related by blood, a concept heavily emphasized in the Afghanistan culture, it would have been just the push that Amir needed to courageously stand up for his half-brother. This would have led to Amir not having to suffer the guilt of being a coward, so Amir would not frame Hassan. Hassan would have fled to America with Baba and Amir, preventing the tragic death of Hassan and his family. Even if one was to argue that Amir would still not have the courage to stand up for Hassan despite knowing about their relationship, Hassan, who was the story’s most loyal character, would not leave the family if he knew that Baba was his actual father. Thus, this shows the tremendous power of truth as a person makes almost all decisions based on the truths that are presented. 

Besides being an influence on a person’s decisions, truth is also at the heart of all relationships. To be more specific, a relationship only blossoms when there is honesty between both parties. This is shown in the relationship between Soraya and Amir. Although it took Amir more time, both Soraya and Amir were able to tell each other their darkest secret and largest fear. In return, this enabled both of them to support each other during hardships. Amir was there to comfort Soraya when people were talking badly about her at her cousin’s wedding and Soraya was there to encourage Amir when he was scared of not knowing what to do with Sohrab (Hosseini 2003, 178-179 & 324-326). On the contrary, by choosing to hide the truth about Hassan and Amir’s relationship from his sons, Baba was unable to have an open relationship with either of them during their childhoods. Baba was never able to show his love for Hassan as a father, which made their relationship a distanced one. At the same time, Baba rarely showed his emotions or inner conflicts as he was trying to hide them from everyone, including Amir. Because of this, Amir constantly felt alienated by his father which damaged their relationship as father and son. Therefore, this goes to show the profound impact that truth has on relationships.

Mot only does truth play a huge factor behind decision making and relationship quality, it also serves as a crucial element to one’s identity both in the eyes of the people and one’s self. Baba’s identity throughout the story is the best example of that. In the eyes of the public and the readers at first, the truth was that Baba was a man who had only done good in his life and made no misdeeds. As a result, Baba was perceived as an honorable, generous, and courageous man. However, to Baba himself, the truth was that he had made a serious mistake and needed to make up for it. Consequently, he would have most likely identified himself as a theft trying to gain redemption rather than a man of goodness. Furthermore, when the public learns about certain truths about an individual, it has the potential to completely change the individual’s identity.  For example, when the readers and Amir finally learn the truth about Baba’s secret, Baba’s identity drastically changes for the worse (Hosseini 2003, 222-223). This explains why Baba never revealed the truth to anyone besides Rahim Khan and Ali. He did not want to lose the virtuous reputation that he had among his people. Hence, all of this goes to show how a person’s identity both to the public and to one’s self is built upon the truths that are presented. 

Although The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a novel, its message about truth is a vital lesson for all readers. Truth is significant because it influences our everyday choices, determines the fruitfulness of our relationships, and ultimately defines our identities to the public and ourselves.

Works Cited

Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2003.

Reflection: This was one of the more challenging essays I had to write this semester. At first, I did not really know how to answer all the questions while still having the thesis. At the same time, I was unsure how to explain why truth is so important and how the book actually depicts truth’s significance. However, after reading some sections of the book again, I slowly saw some patterns or some points that the books subtly highlights about truth. With those observations, I was able to make a plan and write. However, I spent quite a few hours just thinking and staring at the computer before even writing or brainstorming.

Click here for the writing process!