What is History and Fiction

History is a genre that reflects accurately, or as accurately as possible, on events that occurred in the past. Typically, these works offer the reader with a viewpoint that was formulated by the author's research. The most common form of research historians use is primary sources, as these sources contain accounts of what someone actually experienced firsthand at a certain event. Fiction differs from history in this way, as fiction is a broad genre that consists of some sort of made up plot. However, this genre can also contain plots that could very well be real (i.e., historical fiction). Fictional works are also typically created for entertainment purposes, while history can serve dual purposes as it can provide entertainment as well as information. Overall, the two genres are very different as history is written about a past event, person, or place worth remembering, while fiction is an imaginative work created for the purpose of entertainment. However the genres can also be blended in such a way that both elements of the genres can be seen. For example, some historical fiction works follow a real event but they might contain fictional characters or plot elements. The reverse can also be true, as historical fiction can similarly follow real characters, but the elements of the plot are often made up.

History vs. Fiction: Age Old Battle

In my opinion, history and fiction, depending on the piece, are not that different in comparison. History is the documentation or oral passage (griots) of the significance of an event, individual, or object. Fiction, on the other hand, could be a variety of things. Such as, a slight fabrication of an event that transpired years ago, or a story set around a fictional character(s) who endured hardship within a historically significant event (holocaust).

History is often times regarded as the whole truth, but that certainly can be disputed. Of course there are undeniable facts within history, but there are many aspects of history that are disputable, such as one’s perception of a leader, the overall effectiveness of a military strategy, or the true motive behind the implementation of a policy measure.

In fiction, the author attempts to portray the experience a person would have within a certain situation. For example, in Man In The High Castle, the main characters obviously never existed and the Nazi’s were defeated in WWII. But, the author attempts to depict how the former United States and its constituents would conform to the harsh social policies implemented by the Nazi’s in this alt-history novel.

History and Fiction

      History and fiction seem diametrically opposed. History, by definition, happened. Fiction did not.
History is events, and the objects left behind by people that tell us about the past. Fiction is a story, told to entertain, demonstrate a point (allegory) or illustrate an abstract concept (myths) beyond the current understanding of the audience.
On the surface, this is accurate.
     History is George Washington being Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Fiction is the story about young George cutting down his farther's cherry
tree and not lying about it, which demonstrates his honesty. History is the Romans withdrawing from Britannia in 410 CE. Fiction is the 2004 movie "King Arthur" with Clive Owen and Keira Knightly. 
This is where the phrase "History is written by the victors" rears its ugly head. It is human nature to inflate success, and to downplay (even deny) the accomplishments of our adversaries, especially if doing so makes the storyteller look better. Such stories cross the border between fiction and lying, as they are meant to influence perception of events. Several accounts of battles in ancient Egypt disagree with records from other cultures about who won.
      Somewhere between these two rests "historical fiction". The story told in Esther Forbes' 1943 novel "Johnny Tremain" didn't actually happen. Johnny, the Lapham family, and their silversmith shop never existed, but the wider events that happen around this fictional character during the run-up to the American Revolution did happen, and the personal events of "Johnny's" life are a reflection of things that might have been experienced by a real silversmith's apprentice.

Real History v. Fake Fiction

History is a recollection of human events, and happening that have shaped or influenced people over many generations. As Arnold J. Toynbee said, “History not used is nothing, for all intellectual life is action, like practical life, and if you don't use the stuff well, it might as well be dead.” (ThoughtCo) History is a factual piece that allows future generation to learn from mistakes, and successes. Some history may be made up, but for the most part it is based on real events, and was recorded with the intent to pass knowledge on to a large society.

Fiction on the other hand, is just a story. Many, if not all events in fiction are made up. From the characters, and settings to the everyday occurrences that happen in fiction novels usually are not based upon fact. However, fiction still serves a large purpose in society. Many fictional stories have a lesson that can be learned. A great example of this is in the famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Which shows how ignorance can play no part in a functioning society. I think history and fiction can share some of the same qualities. Not all history is one-hundred percent accurate, and fiction sometimes uses historical figures as characters. This can lead to some confusion, but at the end of the day history is based upon fact, and fiction is meant to entertain.

https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-history-collection-of-definitions-171282

http://www.storypick.com/lessons-for-a-lifetime/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiction

History, who cares?

History and fiction in my opinion tie together. History is obviously an event or lesson that has occurred in the past. To explain it in a more elaborate way, I believe history are building blocks to an unfinished product. They are lessons in a way. We've learned about electricity through the premier lightbulb and that has ultimately allowed us to build off that discovery with advanced innovations. However, we will never know when electricity will find its final use or finished product. We constantly build off history for future innovations.

Fiction is known as a false event or something that is made up. However I believe that fiction could represent a real event. the made up event didn't happen however there could've been an event exactly like it yet some details have been altered.

Where history and fiction correspond with each other is fiction can affect history through misinterpretation or biased reasons. We learn that the United States has won every war with other countries but are the other countries saying that they lost? Both of these terms can work off each other based off personal interpretation.

History & Fiction

To me, History and Fiction are opposites. History is all about stating factual stories of what happened in the past, whether it’s about people, a place, an event, or an idea. Anything that brought controversy to the world and gathered significance, is what is usually brought up in history. Fiction on the other hand, has no truth to the story being told. It can be based off of real ideas, but it does not represent or tell true stories of the past. Writers of fiction create an imaginary story, while historians report on what actually happened. With fiction, the writer’s goal is usually to express something revolving around the human experience. Fear, love, dreams, success, and other elements of what humans live through are told in fiction stories. The goal is to teach some lesson or some story about the influence of life experiences on humans and the influence others have on us and vice versa. With history, these events from the past that are recalled have gathered significance because of the effects these events and people have had on the world. So what History and Fiction have in common is that they both are a story of how people react to the environment around them, except one is true and one is not. Both are usually intended to teach a lesson. 

Fiction vs History

Fiction and history share many similar traits. They can both be ways to understand the past. They are both a byproduct of human beings and the "stories" that they create. The difference is that fiction is a fabricated story and history is a story with some evidence to support that it happened in reality and wasn't just made up. One of my sources says that "even if [newspaper articles] slant the truth they are intended to be read as factual" which makes them nonfiction (www.creative-writing-now.com). Maybe exaggerating the truth becomes history itself so that is why it isn't fiction? Who can say for certain?
Another difference is the root of the words themselves. History comes from a Greek word and fiction comes from Latin. The Greek word Historia was used to mean a person who made judgement based on facts from investigations (http://www.whatishistory.org/). Fictio is the Latin word that fiction comes from and means "molding" or "fashioning" (https://www.britannica.com/art/fiction-literature). From the definitions of the root words it is made clear that history is used to express events that happen in the world based on facts that could be used as evidence in support of those events. Fiction was never meant to have facts supporting whether the events in the fabricated story actually happened or not. The reason the two can be confused is because of the truth that there are documents used as evidence in support of history that were created with the intent to deceive. It is in this area that fiction and history tend to blend together and get confused.

• http://www.whatishistory.org/
• https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fiction
• https://www.britannica.com/art/fiction-literature
• https://www.creative-writing-now.com/what-is-fiction.html