“Like the Sun” by N. K. Narayan tells the story of Sekhar, a schoolteacher, who resolves to tell nothing but the truth on one given day every year; this day of truth is only known to him. On the chosen day, he answers truthfully to all queries directed toward him. He believes that “truth is like the sun—no human being can ever look it straight in the face without blinking or being dazed.”
Meanwhile, “The Open Window” by Saki (H. H. Munro) tells the story of Framton Nuttel and the visit he pays to the Sappletons, a family he is getting acquainted with for the first time. At the Sappletons, he meets a niece that is an incurable liar; she concocts a story of a certain terrible tragedy that befell her aunt a few years before, and Framton, not knowing anything of the Sappletons, falls for her story...
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hook, line, and sinker.
Thus, at the intersection of the Venn diagram of the two stories can be found the following themes:
- Honesty: Sekhar in “Like the Sun” tells the truth to his wife, colleague, and the school headmaster. Meanwhile, Mrs. Sappleton’s niece is dishonest to Framton and her family.
- Effects of honesty or the lack of it: In “Like the Sun,” Sekhar learns that “the truth requires as much strength to give as to receive.” His wife is unhappy with him after he truthfully tells her that her cooking is not good, and although his school headmaster tells him that he appreciates his honest critique of his music, the headmaster revokes their earlier agreement to postpone the marking of certain scripts and insists that Sekhar must correct the scripts and hand them over by the following day—a possible punishment for his honest critique of the music.
Meanwhile, in “The Open Window,” the niece’s lie costs Framton a possible friendship with the Sappletons.
A theme that is only found on the “The Open Window” side of the Venn diagram is that of rural calm. Framton’s doctors recommend to him a visit to the countryside to calm his nerves. Also, Framton finds it strange that a tragedy, such as that suggested by Mrs. Sappleton’s niece, could happen in “such a restful spot.” However, the calmness of the environment is disrupted by the lies told by Mrs. Sappleton’s niece.
Finally, a theme that is only found on the “Like the Sun” side of the Venn diagram is the internal conflict that accompanies the decision to say the untempered truth. Sekhar struggles with his decision to tell the headmaster the truth about his music. He is “unhappy that he cannot speak more soothingly” to the headmaster about his music. Meanwhile, the niece in “The Open Window” is unconcerned with the effects of her lies on her victims. She lies to amuse herself; for her, her fabrications are a source of entertainment.
In making the Venn diagram, here are the things that can be put in the center where the two circles intersect:
- Themes of Truth - Both stories revolve around what is done with the truth
- Price of telling/not telling truth - What is said by the main characters who interact with others and how it affects these people
- Reaction to the use of truth - Other characters react strongly to the voice of what they believe is the truth
- Both Sekhar's and Vera's results are negative.
On the left side - "Like a Sun":
- Sekhar feels that people "must give and tell absolute Truth whatever may happen." He sets aside a day to be truthful all day
- Sekhar maintains his integrity even when his administrator asks him for an honest opinion about his musical ability. Although he hurts the man's feelings, the administrator expresses his gratitude for telling him the truth, but he retracts his deadline for Sekhar to finish grading papers.
- Sekhar, humbled, feels that having "to grade papers in one night is a small price to pay for the luxury of Truth."
On the right side - "The Open Window"
- Vera, Mrs. Stappleton's niece, having been sent to entertain Mr. Framton, decides to create a tall tale to frighten the nervous little man. This tale she embellishes with some true details--
"Out through that window, three years ago...her husband and her two young brothers went off for their day's shooting."
But, she embellishes this truth in order to frighten Framton,
They never came back....they were all three engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog."
When the men return, Framton is so terrified that he runs out. Then, when questioned by her aunt, Vera unashamedly again fabricates another tale.