Telling the truth is a value that I grew up with. My parents did not use hyperbole in their speech. When they spoke, I knew I could rely on what they said and “take it to the bank.” Which is why, at the beginning of my educational career, I was very unsettled when a parent at the school of which I was principal confronted me with a lie. Let me elaborate.
A stellar teacher on my staff informed me that a student in her class had cheated on an examination and that she was going to give him an “F.” After seeing the incontrovertible evidence, I endorsed her action. The day after the student received the failing grade, I received a call from his mother asking for a meeting with me the following day. She informed me that her husband and her son would be attending the meeting.
The next day, the father opened the meeting with a line I cannot forget: “My son never lies.” I knew immediately that the meeting would “go south” from there on. From my years dealing with high school students, I knew that sometimes even good kids do very bad things. I initially surmised that the father was extremely naïve or extremely stupid. The teacher broke out in tears when she saw that the father believed the boy and not her. It was an affront to her professionally to be accused of fabricating the cheating episode. I obviously sided with the teacher and we did not change the failing grade.
Several weeks later, the father confessed to me that he knew his son cheated. Regrettably, he had been away from home on a business trip when the incident occurred; and he wanted his son to feel that his father unreservedly trusted him, no matter if the facts suggested otherwise. The entire event was very sad because he implicitly taught his son that lying for the protection of one’s image is justified. Truth was sacrificed.
In Knives Out, the key plot device that unravels the mystery behind the death of noted crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is the compulsive truth telling of Marta Cabrera, Harlan’s long time caregiver. Benoit Blanc, the sleuth who is charged with ferreting out the killer, tells Marta after she pukes when uttering a falsehood: “You have a regurgitative reaction to mistruths.” Marta cannot tell a lie, and so for her truth always prevails.
Here are the circumstances surrounding the murder. Harlan has just celebrated his 85th birthday, after which he is found dead at his home. It looks as though he has committed suicide by slitting his throat, but has he? Many stand to profit from his demise, specifically, his dysfunctional family members and people who have worked for him for many years.
The police investigate the case, and they are assisted by world renowned Detective Blanc, who has a reputation for solving the most impenetrable of crimes. By interviewing all family members and household employees, Blanc discovers they all have motives for murdering him. Marta Cabrera’s compulsion to tell the truth becomes the means by which Blanc finds out the identity of the real murderer.
Rabbi Shlomo Jarcaig writes about how critical is truth telling to the Jewish character. The Torah and Talmud tell us more than simply not to lie. There is a further commandment: “Distance oneself from a false word” (Exodus 23:7). This means we have to actively distance ourselves from falsehood.
Rabbi Jacaig makes a fascinating observation based upon the very shape and form of the Hebrew letters for truth. He writes: “When describing the difference between truth and falsehood, the Talmud (Shabbat 104a) notes that the three letters that spell the Hebrew word for truth, emes, are the first, middle, and last of the Hebrew alphabet, and all have two legs upon which to stand (like a capital A). The letters are far apart from each other because the truth is not easily found in this world; nevertheless, truth, like the letters that comprise its name, stands forever strong and unwavering.”
Knives Out is a riveting whodunit in the tradition of Agatha Christie mysteries. Beneath the surface theatrics is an important message about the value of truth in human discourse.
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