Your Life Always Tells You The Truth

As Honore de Balzac said, "Beneath every great fortune lies a crime" But unlike the others in the restaurant, Tony comes from extreme poverty and can't even begin to hide behind the trappings of the upper class. Tony's ambition is naked, his ruthlessness is not even thinly veiled, his desperate greed is plain for all to see. That's what Tony is referring to when he says "I always tell the truth, even when I lie.

Think of Tony's earlier line to Manny: The restaurant is filled with other rich, powerful men and their elegant wives. And when Tony says "I always tell the truth, even when I lie," he is talking about what he has in common with these men, and also what separates him from them. That could be an abbreviated way of acknowledging that things are hardly ever completely true -- especially when you factor in how people perceive what you say. There are always shades in between. I think Robert A. Heinlein may have said it best:.

The first way to lie artistically is to tell the truth — but not all of it. The second way involves telling the truth, too, but is harder: Tell the exact truth and maybe all of it…but tell it so unconvincingly that your listener is sure you are lying. The slickest way in the world to lie is to tell the right amount of truth at the right time-and then shut up. If you like his quotes, here are more of them.

The first key to understanding the meaning of this line is to understand that Tony was a literal guy. Tony always said what he meant, directly. He always spoke his mind, he never minced his words and he never hid his feelings.

There was not an ounce of subtlety or nuance in him. The second key is to realize that "telling the truth" was a recurring theme of the movie. It comes up three times. When Tony gains the confidence of cartel boss, Alejandro Sosa. Just before Sosa unmasks and kills the informant Sosa says to Tony: You always tell the truth. When Tony is in the hot tub after the banker informs Tony he has to increase the bank's fees for laundering. Tony is watching the news and complains, "They never tell the truth. It's worth noting that the restaurant scene in question also marked an inflection point in the downward descent of Tony's character in the plot.

After Tony says in the same restaurant scene: The very next scene Tony kills Alberto to save the wife and kids of their hit target — the indelible act which seals Tony's fate with the cartel. And only four short scenes later, Tony kills his partner Manny which sets up the finale.

“No legacy is so rich as honesty.” — William Shakespeare

All that to say this. There is no hidden meaning to Tony's words. Tony was deceptive at multiple points throughout the film. But he never actually lied in a strict technical sense. So from Tony's perspective, he always told the truth. His truth-telling was crucial to Tony's self-identity.

Always telling the truth was how Tony distinguished himself from everyone else in the world the world that was his: The Woman in White. A Story of Crossing Paths. It was more like inviting the stories to come through her, let themselves be told. With our guidance and expertise, we can help bring the storyteller out of you. We can assist you with one or all of your visual storytelling , written storytelling , or social media storytelling needs. Portfolio Website Design Photography Videography. Community The Golden Social Project.

The Way of Kings 4. The Secret Life of Bees 5. The White Album 6. The Green Berets 9. Howard Gardner , professor Harvard University The Boron Letters The Literary Mind The Storytelling Animal Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world. Untangling the Web Rowling , novelist, screenwriter and film producer Works: Sometimes reality is too complex. Stories give it form. Boats on the Rive r Kaspar, Offending the Audience The Famished Road , Wild La monnaie de l'absolu The Sky Is Everywhere A Worn Path The eating part was over.

Nor will it wait. People who are committing and taking risks become the king and queen of my prom. People are their most beautiful when they are laughing, crying, dancing, playing, telling the truth and being chased in a fun way. To squash them down, flatten, them, and with them their words and their voices. Desperately trying to make the horrific sound mundane.

Sure, there were reasons behind it, but that doesn't matter. It's your duty to do so. It's up to them how they take in the information. Telling the truth is as natural to them once more as it was when they were children. The fact that no one cares to listen is inconsequential. Curmudgeons speak up, raise their voices, stand for something too right to be silent about anymore, whatever the cost, despite a world that deals with what it doesn't want to hear by crucifying the messenger.