Earl Schumake
November 17, 2011
EDU 361
What is Truth: Nothing but the Truth Response
It really hit the fan today. . . . It’s going to take a while to think out.
Actually, I don’t feel so great. In a way, the whole thing is stupid.
But everyone says I was right. And I was.
—From the Diary of Philip Malloy
To tell the truth is to be in accordance with facts or reality. Each and everyday,
the conscience decision must be made by humans to do the “right thing” and tell the truth.
The fact of the matter is in today’s society of personal gain and advancement, the truth is
often distorted and skewed. Personal gain has a cascade effect on the distortion of the
truth and eventually destroys the clarity between truth and falsehood. The sobering
realization is that the truth no longer holds value in society today. Thus, the individuals
strong in the convictions of honesty become the marginalized. Avi explores this theme
and the repercussions of falsehood in Nothing but the Truth. Nothing but the Truth is a
documentary-style novel that addresses such issues as relations among students, teachers,
and schools; the complex nature of truth; and the exploitation of “hot button” issues
by politicians and the media.
The novel revolves around the external conflicts between appearance and reality,
and between truth and individuals’ self-interest. The plot begins as a relatively small
conflict between Philip Malloy and his homeroom and English teacher, Margaret Narwin,
but begins to take a turn for the worst. New conflicts arise: the external conflict between
supporters of Philip’s “patriotism” and school officials; the internal conflict within Philip,
caught between the public role forced on him and his personal needs; the internal conflict
1
within Margaret Narwin, caught between her love of teaching and the resulting
pandemonium. While everyone has a personal investment in the developing story, the
real victim of the story was in essence the hero in my opinion. I identified with Narwin
because she did her job while marinating her integrity and passion. This same passion
and integrity also consequently lost Narwin her job, because she chose to do the right
thing in a selfless manner. The resolution of the story is very unsettling as Narwin ends
up resigning and Philip has to attend another school.
The presentation of Nothing but the Truth is what makes it an interesting. The
story is formatted as a series of diary entries that together work as a newspaper article to
tell the story. This unconventional formatting dramatizes the story and helps the reader
get more of a personal sense for the situation as well as identify on a deeper level with the
characters. The presentation of the story also makes the story hard to read at times, as it
leaves the reader with a question about gaps of time. Overall, the story is very straight
forward and concise.
During the course of reading this story, I found myself startled with all of the
themes that are covered. When a person’s moral conviction is superceded by the need for
personal advancement, we have truly failed the system. It’s hard not to envision that if
this situation were to occur today, it would be magnified tenfold because of the social
networking which has become ingrained in our daily lives. It’s also unsettling to think
that being a teacher leaves you extremely exposed to the public. Narwin’s personal life
(never being married) was put on display and used as a weapon against her character. I
was appalled at how the administrators as well as the other teachers responded in wake of
2
the allegations. Understanding that everyone has a personal agenda taints the unity of a
teaching staff.
Nothing but the Truth accomplishes exactly what it set out to do by forcing the
reader to see the gritty, unethical side of the teaching experience. A lesson I will forever
take away from this story is that I will continue to do the right thing regardless of politics
and personal agendas. While qualifications for teachers are about the proficiency of that
person in their discipline, I believe it goes much father then that. A teacher should not
only have the required skills, but be a person with a strong sense of integrity and
conviction. I believe being a teacher places you in a position of power as well as duty.
Each student deserves that the teacher must uphold not only the students but him/herself
to the highest moral standard. Nothing but the Truth helps reinforce that notion and
makes readers all across the nation stop and question what exactly is going on in the
education system today.
3