A Phoney in The Fifty Dollar Bill
In "The Fifty Dollar Bill" written by Donald Hall, the narrator of the story seems to be an honest man, but is he really? I believe for the most part he is very honest—except for when he did not want to be drafted so he bribed his congressman. He had several reasons for wanting to be exempt from the draft. He was always honest, until he realized he had something important that could be lost.
The very beginning of the story starts with the narrator talking to us (the readers) about how honest he is. He tells about how he is well respected both in his profession and in the community where respect "is not accorded easily" (Hall 957). He is saying since he is a lawyer, respect is hard to earn. He tells us all the things he has never done: "I have never asked the judge who is my best friend to fix a ticket for the son of my liquor dealer. I have never promised a favor to a detective in order to hide evidence unfavorable to my client" (957). He is making it a point for us to believe he is honest. When he talks about other lawyers, he says they "live on intimate terms with dishonesty" (957). This statement implies that he could not handle being dishonest, or that at least he does not "live on intimate terms" with dishonesty. However, the final statement of the first paragraph, "I call myself an honest man," does not really sound like he means what he is saying. He says, "I call myself an honest man," not "I am an honest man."
If the narrator was so worried about being honest, what reasons could he have had to try to bribe the congressman? He had a lot to deal with when the rumors of the draft came around. The narrator was a third-year law student. He only had one more year to complete before he got his degree. His wife was pregnant and about to have their first child. Those two things were very important to him, and he could not take the chance of losing them. Not only this, but he feared his own death. He had a "repeated sequence in his mind’s eye" in which he kept seeing his own death. The dream not only took place while be was asleep, he also saw his death while he was awake.
A major question historians have disagreed on has been whether or not John D. Rockefeller was a so-called "robber baron". Matthew Josephson agreed that Rockefeller was indeed a "robber baron". In the book Taking Sides, He claims that Rockefeller was a deceptive and conspiratorial businessman, whose fortune was built by secret agreements and wrung concessions from America's leading railroad companies (Taking Sides 25).
Absolutely not! Telling the truth in any circumstance will get you a good name. It will mean that you are honest and care about being right! Reverend John Hale said in the last Act, “I quit this court!”(The Crucible Literature Book). Hale discovered he was guilty of all these hangings and instead of admitting that guilt, he just quit the court. Being truthful could have saved this whole witch trail incident in many ways! Having a good name in this play is how you are accepted in this society. The three men are all examples of why you should always find the facts of something instead of believing what you hear from others! Abigail was a liar and when John Proctor proved her guilty, she ran away with Mercy Lewis. This just proves that you can’t ever get away with a lie! Make sure to always keep a good name and a good reputation. If keeping a good reputation isn’t possible then you may risk the chances of rejection. Rejection is a good reason why none of these people would confess their guilt. If John Proctor told others his sin he would be frowned upon. Reverend Parris would not be not be respected as a religious man anymore. Lastly, Judge Danforth wouldn’t be able to keep his job as a judge and would most likely be
Have you ever told a lie to protect yourself or someone you love? People lie for their own purposes. Some people lie for themselves or for their close one. They depend on the lies so much that they do not care that their lies might hurt others. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, almost all the characters lie for their own desires and to protect their own interests. Even though lies are forbidden in their religion, some people are blind to understand the punishment of lying. The concept of lying to save oneself is also evident in “Fear Was Reason For Lying About Shooting, Woman Says” by Mary Spicuzza. The article highlights how a woman hid the truth about witnessing a murder just for the sake of her own life. Another article, “The Truth
This is Delaney’s idea of perfection. A world where everyone tells the truth, and lying is almost never accepted. While Delaney may begin the story as an Idealist, dreaming about what perfection would look like, by When Delaney tries to act the way the “chaps” do in the stories, he is often beaten and ridiculed publicly. Just before the murderer accuses him of stealing Flannigan’s shillings, he tells the class: “‘Back to your desks, the rest of you!’ he ordered.
honest throughout his story, because of the fact that all the things that he agreed to do, he did.
Honesty is a rare trait that few people are able to perfect, but a trait more people should have to make the world a better place. Mrs. Dubois is harshly opinionated and honest leading to Scout learning more about herself, Atticus stays ardent in his morals and beliefs concluding in a new look on black folk in Maycomb, and Tom Robinson is honest with himself enabling him to die with dignity. Honesty is a prominent topic shown through many characters of To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Although a dishonest act may hail from a modest intention, longer fictions will eventually lead to assemblies of lies until the initial motive largely overshadows the original flaw. Conversely, Nick Carraway, the composed narrator of The Great Gatsby, confidently states that he is the most honest person he knows, a result of being surrounded by unbounded toxic characters. For instance, Nick 's immensely wealthy cousin-in-law, Tom Buchanan, is a hypocritical, narcissistic businessman who 's involved in an affair with a presently married younger woman. Furthermore, Jordan Baker, a major interest of Nick’s, is a negligent, manipulative golf champion who 's unconditionally careless for the lives of others. Tom 's judgmental manner, Jordan 's cynical
As explained in “The Ways We Lie” by Stephanie Ericsson, we lie because it benefits us for personal gain. Everyone lies for different reasons, whether to protect yourself or others. The world of “The Great Gatsby” is driven by lies from people who wish to keep their true selves unknown. No one truly knows the true story behind Gatsby and his wealth.
“On the one side was a rising tide of professional criminals, made richer and bolder by Prohibition, which had turned the nation “dry” in 1920. In one big city alone— Chicago—an estimated 1,300 gangs had spread like a deadly virus by the mid-1920s” (“The FBI and the American Gangster, 1924-1938”, n.d.). This quote shows that the prohibition era made criminals richer by the illegal sell of alcohol. Since criminals, such as gangs, were getting money for the illegal selling of alcohol, many gangs started to join the business of bootlegging. Competition became a big thing among the gangs, which was one of the causes to why the crime rates went up. In the following quote, it address the crime activity that occurred during the prohibition
Oates, Joce Carol. “Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying”. The best American Essay of the
In the short story, “The Good Man Is Hard to Find” the grandmother describes a “good man” vaguely. The grandmother pertains the label “good” broadly, putting a shadow over the definition of a “good man” until it loses its meaning completely. She first applies it to Red Sammy after he furiously complains of the universal untrustworthiness of people. Red Sammy states, “Two fellers come in here last week, driving a Chrysler. It was an old beat-up car but it was a good one and these boys looked all right to me. Said they worked at the mill and you know I let them charge the gas they bought? Now why did I do that?” (1,045). The grandmother said he did this because he is “a good man.” She next relates the label “good” to the Misfit. After she identifies him, the grandmother asks, “You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you?” (1,049). Even though he hates to admit it, The Misfit says, “I would hate to have to” (1,049). Because being a lady is such a meaningful part of what the grandmother believes as being ethical, the Misfit’s answer confirms to her that he does not share the same moral principles as she does. The grandmother begins to desperately call him a good man and that he comes from ...
This lack of honesty toward man is shown throughout each characters stories, each unable to talk
"Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known" (Fitzgerald Gatsby 64). So writes Nick Carraway in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, characterizing himself in opposition to the great masses of humanity as a perfectly honest man. The honesty that Nick attributes to himself must be a nearly perfect one, by dint of both its rarity and its "cardinal" nature; Nick asserts for himself that he is among the most honest people he has ever encountered. Events in the book, however, do not bear this self-characterization out; far from being among the most honest people in world, Nick Carraway is in fact a proficient liar, though he never loses his blind faith in his own pure honesty.
Lies are a treacherous thing, yet everyone tells a few lies during their lifetime. Deceit surrounds us all the time; even when one reads classic literature. For example, F. Scott Fitzgerald makes dishonesty a major theme in his novel The Great Gatsby. The falsehoods told by the characters in this novel leads to inevitable tragedy when the truth is revealed.
'Lawyers are all right, I guess - but it doesn't appeal to me,' I said. 'I mean they're all right if they go around saving innocent guys' lives all the time, and like that, but you don't do that kind of stuff if you're a lawyer. All you do is make a lot of dough and play golf and play bridge and buy cars and drink Martinis and look like a hot-shot. How would you know you weren't being a phony? The trouble is, you wouldn't' (Salinger 172).