How does perspective shape or alter truth?

The question is 'how does perspective shape or alter truth?'. I find this question intriguing because it allows me too respond in as many different ways as there are writers, every story is given a unique perspective because every writer is unique. This question hits close to home because I was very young when my parents got a divorce, not unlike the majority of children these days, at the time I understood that my parents were telling me it wasn't my fault but I couldn't comprehend why it was  happening anyway. At that age I believed the truth to be that the marital strife was temporary where the actual reality was much more serious, my perspective at the time allowed me to see and comprehend the situation in an adverse way to my parents, yet this didn't alter the 'truth' I saw in the situation.


This summer I read Atonement by Ian McEwan, I believe that novel is perfect for this big question because the conflict in the novel was spurred on by the incorrect perception by a young girl. In Atonement the young character of Birony was attempting to evolve into a more mature character, yet in her hurry to stand up for herself and her sister she accidentally convicts an innocent man of assault. Birony was not attempting to lie but rather her perception of the situation didn't reflect the same 'truth' the reader was granted by the author, despite being slightly hard to sit idly by and watch this unintentional issue play out, it was essential to the story because the reader was then shown how truth and fact are a motif in every day life. Without all the information in most situations it is incredibly easy for conflict to arise in even the most mundane of instances.

Atonement is the perfect novel to begin exploration of this big question due to the fact that without the variance of perspectives from its characters this book wouldn't have a storyline at all.