The Truth Behind the Story

The unicorn is purple. This statement is branded fantastical because unicorns do not exist (spoiler alert). However, short stories, though on the outside seem unbelievable, are a fountain of facts at the core. Stories are usually written to convey a message or entertain an audience, but only when compared to the news today is the similarities between the stories and news discovered. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Dark Romantic stories such as “The Minister’s Black Veil” and “The Birthmark” and Kate Chopin’s Realism based stories such as “Desiree’s Baby” are examples of that relationship, and though it may be hard to see, short stories are often as real as the news today.

“Desiree’s Baby,” a short story with a dark undertone, written by a realist, Kate Chopin, seems a little far-fetched; but, after reading an article with a headline of, “Adopted Son Goes 17 Years Thinking He’s Chinese… Finds Out He’s Actually Korean,” Chopin’s story hits closer to home. “Desiree’s Baby” talks of an African American child whose parents, Desiree and Armand, are assumed to be both non-African American. Thinking that Desiree is of African American descent because her family history is unknown, Armand kicks her and their child out of the house. At the end of the story, Chopin reveals to both the reader and Armand that it was in fact he who was of African American origin writing, “I thank the good God… that our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery" (Chopin). The idea that the main character does not know of his past, especially one of such distinct significance, is mind boggling and seemingly unrealistic. However, in an article by koreaboo.com that references a Reddit thread, a child is raised as a Chinese boy, only to find out from his parents that he is in fact Korean. The father of the child states, “Now I have a seventeen year old son who thinks he’s Chinese.” This family’s story and the plot to Kate Chopin’s story are very similar: a boy grows up unknowingly living the life of a person of a different culture, then is told by his parents that he is of a different heritage. “Desiree’s Baby” might not be a typical household situation, but it is as realistic as the news nowadays. But, Kate Chopin is not the only author that writes short stories that are factual like news today--Nathaniel Hawthorne does also. 

“The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a Dark Romanticist, speaks of how a minister is shunned by his entire town because he wears a black veil. This story seems a little extreme in terms of the reactions of the townspeople who “quaked” (Hawthorne)  and “trembled” (Hawthorne) at the sight of the minister, but the idea is all the same: there is a person excluded from society because of his/her actions. This same idea is expressed in the article on The Telegraph titled “Lance Armstrong Says He Would Still Dope if He Could Start All Over Again.” Lance Armstrong, a world-renowned cyclist, got stripped of his seven Tour de France titles for doping. However, because of his attitude toward the situation, with him even saying, “If you took me back to 1995, when doping was completely pervasive, I would probably do it again,” he was shunned by the world. Only after a period of time had passed, he said, did he feel that it was “getting close to the time when he felt like he could be reintegrated into public life.” These two writings both speak the same truth. Short stories such as “The Minister’s Black Veil” are as factual as the news is today. Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of “The Minister’s Black Veil” also wrote another short story, “The Birthmark,” which also spouts realistic situations as seen in the news.

“The Birthmark” a tale of lovers that want to get rid of the wife’s one imperfection--her birthmark, is reflected in modern day news with stories of people being brainwashed into doing something that they think benefits them and others, but ends with a horrible outcome. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark,” the wife at first thinks of her birthmark as good quality, saying to her husband, “It has been so often called a charm that I was simple enough to imagine it might be so” (Hawthorne). But, because her husband kept looking at her with “horror and disgust” (Hawthorne), Georgiana decides that removing the birthmark would benefit both her and make her husband happier, resulting in her death. This short story is close to reality. In the article by aceshowbiz.com “Former ‘Biggest Loser’ Contestant Slams Reality Show, Says She Was Brainwashed,” a former contestant, Kai Hibbard, on the show “The Biggest Loser” talks about what happened during the filming of the show.
 She relayed, “You’re brainwashed to be there. I was thinking, ‘Dear God, don’t let anybody down. You will appear ungrateful if you don’t lose more weight before the season finale.” However, the outcomes were not all as beneficial as they seemed to be. She described her health problems, “My hair was falling out. My period stopped. I was only sleeping three hours a night.” Those long-term health problems and Georgiana’s death are both the result of another party brainwashing the contestants and Georgiana respectively into thinking that the situation will be beneficial. “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is as real as the news that is read today. 

Short stories are looked at to be just that--stories; however, when looked at with a broader perspective, short stories are not that far from the news around the world today. The human race has never been stagnant with its actions, and so within the world today, there are many incidents found to be unbelievable and rare. Though short stories may only be meant for entertainment purposes or to express an opinion, their connections to what happens in reality is strong. Katie Couric and Nathaniel Hawthorne might not have as many differences as one would think.