Essay On The Truth Is A Cave

IN THE BLACK MOUNTAINS

Neil, the narrator of Truth, is half man and half dwarf. His small size seems to be compensated for by some abilities that normal humans do not have (speed, silence, ESP). Neil is haunted by the murder of his daughter ten years earlier, and has been searching ever since for her killer. He also has been searching for some gold that he has heard about, gold hidden in a cave. Hiking in the high country, he comes across an unusually fine house, inhabited by a former reaver (space alien). The
reaver's name is Calum MacInnes. The reader immediately senses that from the moment Neil meets Calum, Neil's quests for justice and for gold will be inextricably linked.

Page 2 The Truth

Neil persuades Calum to guide him to the cave. They meet a fortune teller who makes several (accurate) predictions about both Neil and Calum. As their journey progresses, on a rainy evening, they take refuge in a lonely croft cottage, inhabited by a cruel man who terrorizes his young wife. Not trusting him, they leave before dawn. Eventually, they reach the seashore and are ferried to the Misty
Isle by a ferryman who warns Neil not to seek the gold. A day later, they camp under the Man and Dog rock, but Calum tries to kill Neil. He does not succeed, and they resume their journey.
For the first time, they have an in-depth conversation, and Calum admits he once left a young girl tied to a bush; she was not found in time and died there. Neil realizes that he is with his daughter's murderer. They reach the cave, and Neil enters it at dawn. He encounters a shadowy being that, like everyone else, warns him against the gold. Neil also realizes that in any case, if he tries to take the gold out of the cave, Calum will kill him for the gold. So Neil leaves the cave without the gold. Calum becomes angry, they fight, and they fall together down the mountainside, landing on a high ledge. Calum's leg is broken. Neil leaves Calum to die on the ledge, and begins his climb up the mountainside to safety. After which, Neil returns home; his journey is finished.
The characters that matter in Truth are Neil and Calum. Calum has been hopelessly corrupted by his earlier capture of some of the gold. He does not actively seek evil, but evil finds him because he does not care enough about the good. In contrast, Neil is not perfect—for instance, he misjudged his daughter and to that extent helped cause her death—but he is wise and honest: “I do not believe in accidents. If you can walk the path, you must arrive at the cave.” (Neil p. 1). In other words, if one keeps one's priorities straight and one's heart pure, they can achieve any goal however difficult.

Page 3 The Truth

The fundamental conflict in this story is between Neil and Calum, with Calum plotting to kill Neil after Neil has gotten the gold. Neil finally realizes that he must kill Calum. There is also conflict between the two travelers and the cruel man in the croft cottage; as well as internal conflict within Neil
between his desire to bring back the gold for his king, and his better judgment. The latter, fortunately, does prevail: “'Why do you not have gold?' he [Calum] asked me [Neil] ''There was no gold there for such as I,' I said..” (p. 16)
The nonhuman aspect of Calum is a reaver, a space alien who does not understand Earth. In contrast, the nonhuman half of Neil is a dwarf, an alternative form of human being. He belongs to this earth; Calum does not. Calum's reaver nature only adds to his indifference to others' well-being : “I said, 'You took the gold from here.' (Neil p. 12) 'And they meant nothing to me, once I had them.'” (Calum p. 12) The narrator's (Neil's) dwarf nature seems more attuned to the sights, sounds, smells of this world, and the well-being of others in this world; “She said I was wise and kind, and I would always provide for her. And I have.” (Neil p. 10)
This story has elements of Faust and The Devil and Daniel Webster but with a few twists that update the classic theme of “If you're going to sup with the devil, you'd better have a long spoon.” The bleak landscape, terse dialogue, and half-human beings all work together to accentuate the theme of self-discovery as a dangerous but necessary journey, the primary theme underlying the story's thesis. “If you walk toward the truth, you will reach it, whatever path you took.” (Neil p. 6) It took Neil ten years of searching, but eventually he found both his daughter's murderer, and the cave full of gold—and left them behind to return to his beloved wife, the real joy of his life.