Imperfection and Complexity of Truth in Everything Sad Is Untrue

About This Lesson

Through guided close reading and annotation, students closely analyze a passage from Everything Sad Is Untrue to explore the concept of imperfection and the complexity of truth in the narrative. By reflecting and participating in discussion, students will practice and apply their literary analysis skills to explore how the passage questions the idea of perfection, revealing more complex realities within life and history that are often missed or ignored. 

Essential Questions

• What does it mean for something to be “true”? 
• In storytelling, who decides what is true? And why does it matter?
• How can the stories we tell connect us to or separate us from ourselves and others? 

Facing History Learning Outcomes

• Critically and ethically analyze thematic development and literary craft in order to draw connections between the text and their lives.

Lesson Plan

Activity 1: Introduce the Passage and Context

Ask students to reflect in their journals on the following questions after reading the lines from the novel:

The artisans . . . all knew that only God was perfect—the only one who could listen to and speak the perfect truth. To remind themselves, and to show their humility, they would purposefully include one missed knot in every rug, one imperfection. . . .  

But that’s the whole point of the Persian Flaw—it’s there to remind you of all the other flaws, and even the flaw that makes you unable to see them in the first place. (p. 250)

• Why might people engage in practices or behaviors that remind them of their flaws or imperfections? What might be the benefits and consequences of such a practice?  
• What purpose might this information about the Persian flaw serve at this point in the novel? 

Activity 2: Engage in Close Reading and Annotation

Distribute the Student Handout: Close-Reading Lesson 5 and direct students to the relevant passage: pp. 257–258, from “The truth is, in the” to “The two memories of.” Ask students to read the passage silently, encouraging them to use the annotation guide and to underline or highlight phrases that stand out to them, particularly those related to flaws, perfection, and the complexity of truth.

Activity 3: Participate in Small-Group Discussions

Divide the class into small groups and provide them with the following discussion questions:

1. What is your “golden line” from this passage? Share one or two sentences that resonate with you and explain why.
2. What is the “Persian flaw” that Daniel refers to? How does he challenge the idea when he says that there is “no such thing” as a Persian flaw in the context of life and history?
3. What might Daniel be suggesting when he states, “The truth is that everything has a hundred thousand flaws”? How do you think this perspective challenges the idea of perfection? Is this idea comforting or unsettling? Explain.
4. Daniel mentions that “every story is nestled somewhere within another story.” How might this idea connect to, challenge, or extend your ideas about what is true in relation to memory and storytelling?
5. What does Daniel mean when he says, “The closer you get to history, it’s like the closer you get to the weave of a rug”? What do you think he means by this statement? How might this metaphor help us examine the concept of truth in both history and storytelling?
6. How might your cultural and familial background affect your beliefs and opinions about truth? In what ways does reflecting on Daniel’s perception of stories and storytelling extend or challenge your ideas about what is true and what is fiction?
7. What questions or ideas about the influence of cultural background on our thoughts and opinions does this passage raise?

After the discussion, ask each group to share their insights with the class. 

Activity 4: Write a Personal Reflection

Have students individually reflect on the following prompt in their journals: 

• Think of a time when you discovered that a person, idea, or object you once saw as “perfect” actually had many flaws. Describe what happened, how you felt, and what you learned from this realization. 
• In your response, you may want to consider how this experience challenged the concept of perfection for you. Do you believe it’s helpful or harmful to hold ourselves and others to such high standards? Use specific examples and explain your thinking.

Challenge students to consider how their reflection connects to the passage they analyzed or the book as a whole.

Activity 5: Debrief in a Whole-Class Discussion

Bring the class back together to discuss the following prompt:  

• Is there such a thing as a perfect story? Is there such a thing as a completely true story? Why or why not? How might the ideas of perfection and truth in storytelling relate to each other?