---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What good is my truth? My truth means…"
description: "\"“What good is my truth? My truth means nothing. What if this guy with the gun comes from a planet in a whole different solar system? What we call rain ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b7/don-delillo-294_solar-system_what-good-is-my-truth-my-truth-means-not_2488417.jpg"
---

#  What good is my truth? My truth means nothing. What if…

![“What good is my truth? My truth means nothing. What if this guy with the gun comes from a planet in a whole different solar system? What we call rain he calls soap. What we call apples he calls rain. So what am I supposed to tell him?” “His name is Frank J. Smalley and he comes from St. Louis.” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b7/don-delillo-294_solar-system_what-good-is-my-truth-my-truth-means-not_2488417.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b7/don-delillo-294_solar-system_what-good-is-my-truth-my-truth-means-not_2488417.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b7/don-delillo-294_solar-system_what-good-is-my-truth-my-truth-means-not_2488417.jpg)

> ““What good is my truth? My truth means nothing. What if this guy with the gun comes from a planet in a whole different solar system? What we call rain he calls soap. What we call apples he calls rain. So what am I supposed to tell him?” “His name is Frank J. Smalley and he comes from St. Louis.””

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote explores the futility of trying to convey personal truth to an incomprehensible other, highlighting communication breakdown across radically different perspectives.

**In simple terms:** Truth can be meaningless when the listener cannot relate.

Key Takeaway

Recognize limits of communication.

Themes

communication misunderstanding existentialism

Mood

confused thoughtful

Type

philosophical literary

When to use this quote

- cross‑cultural dialogue
- science fiction scenarios
- philosophical debates

Key Concepts

relativism language barriers identity

Questions to Reflect On

- How do we adjust our message for radically different audiences?
- When is it better to accept silence?

A Different Perspective

Assumes the other is truly alien, which may not apply to human interactions.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Solar system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solar-system/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/)

## Related quotes

> [My gripe is not with lovers of the truth but with truth herself. What succor, what consolation is there in truth, compared to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/my-gripe-is-not-with-lovers-of-the-truth-but-with-truth-herself-what/)

[Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/)

> [Please don't ask me to go with you, because if you do, I'll go. Please don't ask me to tell Frank about us, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/please-don-t-ask-me-to-go-with-you-because-if-you-do-i-ll-go-please/)

[Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/)

> [“I found goodness in the place that I once believed to be evil; and found evil in the place that I once always knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/i-found-goodness-in-the-place-that-i-once-believed-to-be-evil-and/)

[C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/)

> [If you seek what is honorable, what is good, what is the truth of your life, all the other things you could not imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/if-you-seek-what-is-honorable-what-is-good-what-is-the-truth-of-your/)

[Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/)

> [If fun is good, truth is still better, and love best of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/if-fun-is-good-truth-is-still-better-and-love-best-of-all/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [Someone said I'm too good for you . But the truth is I think you're to good for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/someone-said-i-m-too-good-for-you-but-the-truth-is-i-think-you-re-to/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [You can't serve the public good without the truth as a bottom line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/you-can-t-serve-the-public-good-without-the-truth-as-a-bottom-line/)

[Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/)

> [Evil is, good or truth misplaced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/evil-is-good-or-truth-misplaced/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [A lie told well is just as good as the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/a-lie-told-well-is-just-as-good-as-the-truth/)

[Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/)

> [A good thing which prevents us from enjoying a greater good is in truth an evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/a-good-thing-which-prevents-us-from-enjoying-a-greater-good-is-in/)

[Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/)

> [Things that are good are good, and if one is responding to that goodness one is in contact with a truth from which one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/things-that-are-good-are-good-and-if-one-is-responding-to-that/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [“A successful search for Truth means complete deliverance from the dual throng such as of love and hate, happiness and misery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-successful-search-for-truth-means-complete-deliverance-from-the/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Truth only means something when it's hard to admit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/truth-only-means-something-when-it-s-hard-to-admit/)

[Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/)

> [If you spend a lot of time lying to people, you think a lot about what the truth means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/if-you-spend-a-lot-of-time-lying-to-people-you-think-a-lot-about-what/)

[Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/)

> [“Within certain limits terminology is always arbitrary. But the definition of being-true as unveiling, making manifest, is not an arbitrary, private invention of mine;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/within-certain-limits-terminology-is-always-arbitrary-but-the/)

[Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/)

## More by Don DeLillo

> [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“As I listened I thought a featureless baggy man was striking me in slow motion with a well-polished stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/as-i-listened-i-thought-a-featureless-baggy-man-was-striking-me-in/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“She is beginning to think it is possible that all creation is a spurt of blank matter that chances to make an emerald planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/she-is-beginning-to-think-it-is-possible-that-all-creation-is-a-spurt/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“Those who have abandoned belief must still believe in us. They are sure that they are right not to believe but they know belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/those-who-have-abandoned-belief-must-still-believe-in-us-they-are/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“The plane had lost power in all three engines, dropped from thirty-four thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. Something like four miles. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-plane-had-lost-power-in-all-three-engines-dropped-from-thirty/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“Grass: I live in a great steel tower that reflects the blazing sun. People catch fire just walking by. The more bodies that pile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/grass-i-live-in-a-great-steel-tower-that-reflects-the-blazing-sun/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“Marriage is something we make from available materials. In this sense it’s improvised, it’s almost offhand. Maybe this is why we know so little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/marriage-is-something-we-make-from-available-materials-in-this-sense/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever. The true life takes place when we're alone, thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-true-life-is-not-reducible-to-words-spoken-or-written-not-by/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [I've come to think of Europe as a hardcover book, America as the paperback version.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-ve-come-to-think-of-europe-as-a-hardcover-book-america-as-the/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [There is a set of balances and rhythms to a novel that we can't experience in real life. So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“There is no lie in war or preparation of war that can't be defended. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-no-lie-in-war-or-preparation-of-war-that-can-t-be-defended/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

[Explore all 699 Don DeLillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

## More Solar system quotes

> [“Such, in outline, but even more purposeless, more void of meaning, is the world which Science presents for our belief. Amid such a world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/such-in-outline-but-even-more-purposeless-more-void-of-meaning-is-the/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [To settle space, we will have to develop the ability to harvest and utilize the resources of the solar system, such as ores, ice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-tumlinson/to-settle-space-we-will-have-to-develop-the-ability-to-harvest-and/)

[Rick Tumlinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-tumlinson/)

> [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/)

[Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/)

> [No one, it has been said, will ever look at the Moon in the same way again. More significantly can one say that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/no-one-it-has-been-said-will-ever-look-at-the-moon-in-the-same-way/)

[Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/)

> [It's time for the human race to enter the solar system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-quayle/it-s-time-for-the-human-race-to-enter-the-solar-system/)

[Dan Quayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-quayle/)

> [It used to be said that Pluto is a misfit. But now we know Earth is the misfit. This is the most populous class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/it-used-to-be-said-that-pluto-is-a-misfit-but-now-we-know-earth-is/)

[Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/)

> [A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That's where we live. That's home. We humans are one species and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-tiny-blue-dot-set-in-a-sunbeam-here-it-is-that-s-where-we-live-that/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [Then, I realized that there is an indigenous presence in the Solar System. It's us. So, then, I got to wondering what would happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-zettel/then-i-realized-that-there-is-an-indigenous-presence-in-the-solar/)

[Sarah Zettel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-zettel/)

> [“Yes. They spread out to cover the entire solar system. We’re trapped”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/yes-they-spread-out-to-cover-the-entire-solar-system-we-re-trapped/)

[Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/)

> [Music can be all things to all men. It is like a great dynamic sun in the center of a solar system which sends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-stokowski/music-can-be-all-things-to-all-men-it-is-like-a-great-dynamic-sun-in/)

[Leopold Stokowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-stokowski/)

> [“The total amount of energy from outside the solar system ever received by all the radio telescopes on the planet Earth is less than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-total-amount-of-energy-from-outside-the-solar-system-ever/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [“THE DANCE OF ANGELS Suzy Kassem He spins and spins and spins To remove all three layers of him And with devout discipline He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-dance-of-angels-suzy-kassem-he-spins-and-spins-and-spins-to/)

[Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/)

> [“Pluto was part of their mental landscape, the one they had constructed to organize their thinking about the solar system and their own place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-brown/pluto-was-part-of-their-mental-landscape-the-one-they-had-constructed/)

[Mike Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-brown/)

> [Titan is the one place in our solar system whose geographical and atmospheric diversity and complexity are rivaled only by the Earth's. It's very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/titan-is-the-one-place-in-our-solar-system-whose-geographical-and/)

[Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/)

> [For most of us, the thought of traveling to another galaxy probably seems like science fiction. But the truth is, the foundation for humankind's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-glover/for-most-of-us-the-thought-of-traveling-to-another-galaxy-probably/)

[Victor J. Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-glover/)

[Browse all 484 Solar system quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solar-system/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“What good is my truth? My truth means nothing. What if this guy with the gun comes from a planet in a whole different solar system? What we call rain he calls soap. What we call apples he calls rain. So what am I supposed to tell him?” “His name is Frank J. Smalley and he comes from St. Louis.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Don DeLillo"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-good-is-my-truth-my-truth-means-nothing-what-if-this-guy-with/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Solar system"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-good-is-my-truth-my-truth-means-nothing-what-if-this-guy-with/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b7/don-delillo-294_solar-system_what-good-is-my-truth-my-truth-means-not_2488417.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b7/don-delillo-294_solar-system_what-good-is-my-truth-my-truth-means-not_2488417.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b7/don-delillo-294_solar-system_what-good-is-my-truth-my-truth-means-not_2488417.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What good is my truth? My truth means nothing. What if this guy with the gun comes from a planet in a whole…” — Don DeLillo",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Don DeLillo",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“What good is my truth? My...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-good-is-my-truth-my-truth-means-nothing-what-if-this-guy-with/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-good-is-my-truth-my-truth-means-nothing-what-if-this-guy-with/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
