Many people in the world are pretenders and liars. Even in the early stages of life many children pretend to be a distinguishable figure. Whether it is a princess or a superhero, these children create false images of themselves to feel important or confident. Although everyone has his or her own reason for doing such a thing, many do it for their own personal gain. Countless amounts of people can relate to this (including myself) because many have told lies or pretended to be something they are not multiple times in their lives. Even as adults, people still lie and pretend. Not only do they create false statements to build images for themselves, they create images in which they can look upon in a positive way. Whether it is to win over the heart of a woman, make good friends, or even get revenge, lying is used for personal gain everywhere in the world. Brock Clarke once said “Sometimes the lies you tell are less frightening than the loneliness you might feel if you stopped telling them.” The lies one tells are used to create false images to gain securities and a completely new life. These lies improve self-esteem and make people feel they are more important than they actually are. Without lies people would feel alone, unimportant, and even boring because they will continue to live their dull, normal lives. With lies, people build walls of confidence and live with integrity, not fearing isolation and abandonment in the world. Three examples of literature where lying is used for personal gain are “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Even though these books contain examples of liars, each character uses lying for different intenti...
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...le to feel good about themselves because they are masked with lies. Characters such as Jack Worthing, Algernon Moncrieff, Jay Gatsby, and Edmond Dantes all lied for various reasons. They avoid loneliness by using lies to create false images. Whether it was for friends, love, social status, or revenge, each character committed the sinful act of lying to create false images and accomplish their goals. Without lies, each character would be alone and helpless in the world. Brock Clarke once said “Sometimes the lies you tell are less frightening than the loneliness you might feel if you stopped telling them.” Many people, young and old, can relate to this quote because they have told lies or pretended to be something they are not. The truth is many are afraid of being alone in this big world. People tell lies to feel bigger and more important than they actually are.
As John Ruskin once said, “The essence of lying is in deception, not in words.” This essence is debated in “The Ways We Lie”, written by Stephanie Ericsson, and “Doubts about Doublespeak”, written by William Lutz. In “The Ways We Lie”, Ericsson talks about the different ways people lie on a day to day basis. By comparison, in “Doubts about Doublespeak”, Lutz discusses the different forms of doublespeak that many individuals frequently use. Lutz considers doublespeak as a language that distorts the meaning of words in order to deceive another person, and only “pretends to communicate” (83). Although both authors agree that lying is about the use of deceptive language, Ericsson describes this use of language as occasionally being necessary,
In “The Ways We Lie”, Ericsson describes the different types of lies: white lie, facades, ignoring
22). People mindlessly respond to avoid their true emotions. Truthfully, I was not fine, but exploding inside with nervousness. However, I didn’t attempt to burden anyone with my lack of confidence, so I told this untruth. Even though white lies may be harmless, they can lead to other deceptive lies labeled by the authors as gray, red, blue and colorless lies. Why do we tell lies? Interestingly, according to the (Banaji and Greenwald, 2013), “evolutionary biologists have proposed that Homo sapiens is indeed hard-wired to tell lies,” (page 25). Furthermore, we want to appear favorable to our friends and family and this may pressure us to justify our lies. According to (Banaji and Greenwald, 2013) it is referred to as “impression management,” by social psychologists (p.27). Thus, lies allow others to see us as we want to be seen, such as I wanted the group to see me as a confident person who could handle obstacles and superbly interact with
Everyone has a poker face. Everyone has a bunbury. Everyone keeps secrets, and everyone lies. The question is, how does one tell if another is truthful about their intentions? There are many different cases in which one will lie about who they really are, but there is no telling when it is okay and if they can be forgiven. In many different stories that were read in Late British Literature this semester, we have characters that keep secrets from friends and loved ones. The simple truth is, people’s words are often different from the truth.
Telling the truth can have some consequences, but a lie can cause more damage in a relationship once it has been figured out. People believe that by just lying, a problem is solved, but problems start when lies are told. Lying destroys relationships and truth builds honest relationships which, can last forever. In both F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Rob Marshall’s Chicago, characters lie because they feel that it is easier. However, lying leads to a downward- spiral. The society we live in can either lead us to a complicated relationship with the truth or easygoing. The problem with constantly telling lies is that it starts off with one, then leads to another until everything you say is a lie. Being truthful
The article, “Is Lying Bad for Us,” accurately describes the intentions of a “liar.” The author says, “Though liars do not tell the truth, they care about it, while the bullshitter does not even care about the truth and seeks merely to impress” (Gunderman). This statement proves that lying should not be viewed as out of the ordinary, or unacceptable, and that liars should not be viewed as bad people. Lying can be shown as a way of protecting or caring
In their essays both Buckley and Ericsson analyze the different ways we use lies to help and hurt our self in our every day lives, and how this effects American culture. Ericsson shows the way lies can , as she puts it, “ lubricate the daily machinery of living”(128). Buckley, on the other hand uses examples of lies as a way to deny himself; and do exactly the opposite of Ericsson. But they both show how we as Americans use lies these ways and others so much that most of us may not realize it.
Shulevitz, Judith. The Liberation of Lying: What Wolff gets and the frauds don’t. 2008. Retrieved from
Ericsson argued that “telling the truth all the time is nearly impossible” (159). Lies are part of everyday life, like drinking coffee for breakfast. For Barkley, lies became a stifling part of his life. The two authors explained how lies can impact a society.
The art of deception is known to lie in various places: superheroes, lies, appearances, and within one's self. It is very well known by everyone. It holds a common ground for a complex characters, and an unknown yet unnecessary piecework for characters of a simple, static nature. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is about a small girl named Scout who finds herself in the midst of racism and deception. The novel as well as reality is sporadic about usage of deception. A certain contradistinction defines the collective population. Therefore, synchronization of people is uncommon. This disarray of people is played in a convincing portrayal of characters in the novel. Harper Lee's characters, who are both fallacious in appearance or have a forthright portrayal, reveal her contemplation of deception.
Viorst opens her article by explaining social lies. She describes these as lies to avoid hurt, such as lying to a cousin by pretending to enjoy dinner. Judith believes they are necessary and acceptable; without them, relationships would be icky and short. By being honest and not telling white lies a person can come off harsh. Furthermore, Viorst thinks that not telling social lies is arrogant.
This paper will discuss the facts about lying and point of view of different philosophers on the act of lying. Lying is the act when a person provides a false statement or it also refers to the untruthfulness of the person (dictionary.com). The reasoning for lying may differ according to the situation. It may also depend on the characteristic of the person lying. Different philosophers have different opinion on lying and based on their theory and arguments, lying can be either good or bad based on the situation.
“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true” (Kierkegaard)- Misleading oneself by accepting things as true or valid when they are not is a common phenomenon of nearly every human being, especially when faced with life changing of threatening situations. Self-deception can therefore be considered an option to escape reality in order to prevent oneself from dealing with the weight of a situation. Basically, those strong influencing psychological forces keep us from acknowledging a threatening situation or truth. However, oftentimes people do not realize that they are deceiving themselves, for it is mostly the action of the subconscious mind to protect especially the psychological well- being. This psychological state is depicted and in Ambrose Bierce’s short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”. He shows that people try to escape reality and seek refuge in self-deception when confronted with life-threatening situations, through characterization, alternate point of view, and the fluidity of time.
Why do people lie? There is not one specific answer to this puzzling question. Millions of people lie every day for many reasons. Whether it is to cover up insecurities or to protect yourself, lying is a habit that people often retreat to, to mask their feelings. In The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is a sixteen year old teenager who constantly lies in situations where he does not have to, in order to cover up his insecurities and to create a false identity for himself due to his low self-esteem.
The theme of Appearance versus Reality comes in the form of lies, deception and disguise. From this essay, I realised that people’s characters are affected by events that appear in a way that is untrue.