what is the significaance of "truth" within the context of the novel?

O'Brien is largely a fictional piece of writing yet it is dripping with realism. O'Brien is trying to tell us that fiction and art can be just as "truthful" as non-fiction accounts. Indeed, things that actually happen can lack truth to them as well. For O'Brien, truth is in the heart of human motivations, emotions and imagination. O'Brien feels the best way to convey truth is in a story based on a myriad of personal experiences.