Fiction and Reality, Essay Example

Fiction and reality are often very similar. Fictional stories such as Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha are so detailed and so personal that they seem like reality, although they are not. Meanwhile, many stories that are called non-fiction contain lies, errors and half-truths. This is particularly true of political biographies. Steve Schmidt’s book Game Change,for instance contradicts pieces of Sarah Palin’s own Going Rogue. Some of these differences may be explained by a difference of opinion or perspective, but some “non-fiction” books are deliberately dramatized and contain as many fictional elements as non-fictional parts. James Frey’s A Million Pieces is one of these.  Originally hailed for being brutally – perhaps even shockingly honest, Frey’s book attracted the notice of Talk Show Host Oprah Winfrey. Indeed, Winfrey said that she and her colleagues had stayed up late reading the story. They had, she said, not been able to put it down (The Man Who Conned Oprah).

Oprah’s notice was largely responsible to the books rise up the Best Seller’s list. But as the book became more noticeable, so did the falsehoods contained in it. Frey did not have the sort of criminal record that he said he had. Nor did he seem to have a role in the deaths of two girls as he had claimed. Normally, finding out that someone is not as bad as he claims to be would be good news, but some of Frey’s readers felt betrayed by his dishonesty. Frey has since moved on to writing fiction and his other books have been largely successful. Yet Frey and others who bend and twist non-fiction writings may do damage to the genre (The Man Who Conned Oprah).

Nevertheless, being able to distinguish between fiction and non-fiction is important, and those who had the courage to investigate Frey’s work and to expose his dishonesty have helped keep the genre from becoming as polluted as it might have otherwise been. One or two false works in the non-fiction section do not make the other works untrue. The distinction is also important for authors who do not wish their works to be taken seriously. Being able to say their works are fiction can prevent writers from facing lawsuits.

Works Cited

“The Man Who Conned Oprah.” 8 January 2006. The Smoking Gun. 31 July 2010 <http://www.thesmokinggun.com/jamesfrey/0104061jamesfrey1.html>.