The significance of the statement “but the truth will out,” (88) represents Gene’s attempt at convincing himself of a lie; that he hasn’t really done anything wrong, and the truth will not come out. This also represents how Gene is not ready for manhood. After the incident with Quackenbush Gene returns to his dorm. Brinker who is across the hall, enters Genes room and begins to question him. Gene recalls that “my voice sounded too strained even to my own blood-pounded ears … then these words came out of me by themselves ‘but the truth will out,’” (88). The language Knowles uses in this section shows Gene’s nervousness which he won’t admit to Brinker or himself. Knowles also uses the tool of Gene’s sarcasm to show Gene’s attempt covering the truth. Yet, deep inside Gene seems to know the truth will come out as he impulsively states “the truth will come out” without trying. Gene is so lost, that he feels that lying will help him feel better about his past. This also ties in to why Gene decides to enlist for the war - to escape his problems and guilt at Devon. The lie Gene is living shows that Gene clearly isn’t ready to accept the truth of the incident and its consequences. This acceptance is needed in order to grow into a man, for Gene must learn responsibility for his actions. He mentions that darkens tends to surround him., so he feels that the war is a place he will not mind. However Gene shows nativity in this moment as he doesn’t think about the extreme violence that is the war. Overall Gene is not ready to live in a more truthful reality, and therefore not ready for manhood either. This causes Gene to make irrational decisions.
How do you think Gene will react when he realizes that the war is more serious than he initially believed?
Have you ever tried to lie to yourself? How does this tie into guilt (like Gene’s)?
I believe that the phrase, "...the truth will out" shows that Genes knows that the truth will eventually come out (Knowles 88). Gene says this phrase almost without thinking, as he realizes that he won't be able to hide the truth for much longer. When he first went into the Butt Room, he thought that he could lighten the mood to try and convince the other boys that he didn't do anything to Finny. Knowles uses the word "out" as a verb and the word "truth" as the subject. Knowles does this to show how Gene has been trying to hide the truth, but now he won't be able to control what happens. Brinker confirms that no matter what Gene thinks, he knows the truth. He confirms this by saying, "Ah-h-h. The truth hurts, eh?" and "Rest assured of that my son... the truth will out" (Knowles 88). The truth is so overpowering that not even Gene can keep it to himself.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Cam and Sanya, but also I think that Gene is trying to play along with the joke, even though he knows that real truth will eventually reveal itself. When Brinker suddenly starts to question Gene about what happened, Gene recalls that he "began moving books with a rapid pointlessness" (Knowles 88). This shows how nervous Gene is that Brinker will actually figure it out, so he tries his best to hide his fears and keep the joke going by saying "the truth will out" (Knowles 88). However, this ends up backfiring on him and makes the situation worse for himself.
ReplyDelete