A Person's Life Story

The Secret Chord demonstrates that the story of a man's life must be all encompassing and include not only their great deeds but their great failings. Natan convinces David to chronicle his life story not only so the people can remember his great deeds and the work he accomplished in establishing his kingdom, but so that they will know and remember fully the essence of the man that was their leader. Natan says, "When all who knew you in life are but bleached bone and dust, your descendants, your people, will crave to understand what manner of man you were when you did these deeds, first and last. Not just the deeds. The man" (14). David is convinced that the proposition is a good one, that he should be remembered fully. He knows that this means that some secrets and some sin must be...