Truth in The Man That Was Used Up

I wanted to bring up the topic of truth. I know we’ve talked about this in class already with other stories such as The Tell-Tale Heart and Pym, which I think is why I’ve been closely looking for this idea to pop up in Poe’s stories. In The Man That Was Used Up I found this theme throughout the entire text. In the first paragraph I got the feeling that the narrator was unsure of what was happening when he met the General. Poe says:

“I cannot just now remember when or where I first made the acquaintance of that truly fine-looking fellow… Some one did introduce me to the gentleman, I am sure - at some public meeting, I know very well - held about something of great importance, no doubt - at some place or other, I feel convinced, - whose name I have unaccountably forgotten.”

I read this and was curious about the reliability of the narrator. Not until a little further into the text did I understand that the mystery of this man Brevet Brigadier General John A. B. C. Smith (did anyone else find this name excessive??), captured the narrator and perhaps made all other detail of that night superfluous. Going through the story when everyone was telling the narrator about the General, I was getting frustrated, as others have mentioned, about the repetitiveness of their comments. They wouldn’t answer a question but they would continue to repeat whatever it was they had heard. I assumed that no one had ever really met the guy or maybe they would have disclosed his secret. This made me more interested in him and what would be revealed at the end. The ending was very interesting, not really what I expected, but again, a little on the questionable side. At this time could one really have all the bodily attachments he did and still be alive??

Raquel posted that she thought it may be saying something about colonialism and I didn’t see this when I was reading, but I really like that answer. Surely Poe was making a comment about a situation that requires one to give in order to get. But this is a bit much, don’t you think? Would you be willing to make the sacrifices that the General did? And how do you think he (the General) really feels at the end of all this? I guess in order to progress as a people someone has to make the sacrifice but I wonder if it's really a choice that they would make for themself if the pressure wasn't there.