Lies, for the most part, involve a liar providing untrue information to another individual in the hopes of eliciting what would otherwise be an unlikely response from the deceived. Many people take for granted how much strategizing must be done in order to lie well since it is a well-known habit amongst all persons. However, when lies are key to an author’s narrative, he or she must account for the deceiver’s nature, history, motives, and end goal while simultaneously considering the same aspects in the deceived. As a reader gets to know the personality of a character, he or she begins to judge the lies they tell as noble or ignoble. For example, in Henry James’ The Spoils of Poynton, Fleda Vetch comes across as a moral, self-sacrificing liar, while Mark Twain’s character Tom in The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson reads as an immoral, self-serving liar. When analyzing their lies, it is evident that their authors considered not only likely methodology, but also why they would feel the compulsion to lie in a given situation.
Beginning with Fleda’s lies, which she tells on two separate occasions to Mrs. Gereth when she is questioned directly as to her emotions regarding Owen, which involve thoughts that “she would never give [him] away. He might give himself—he even certainly would; but that was his own affair…he would never guess her intention.” (James, 29-31). In Chapter IV, when she is asked if she would consent to marriage if Owen were to ask her, she replies, “Marry him if he were to ask me? Most distinctly not...Not even to have Poynton…Because he’s too stupid!” (James, 40). Despite Fleda sounding harsh out of context, there has been testimony in the preceding chapters that she is an understated, submissive, friendly, c...
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...illing Luigi in a second duel. Deciding that “[n]either of them shall be elected,” the Judge decides he must let the rest of the town in on their shady past “from the stump on the polling day. It will sweep the ground from under both of them.” (Twain, 149). Tom has managed to convince his uncle that the twins carry inside the prodigal and ignoble traits that he himself carries, to put himself into the estimable position they once held, and even an unexpected raise in his allowance. Tom has not simply lied to his own benefit; he is in fact hoping that those who feature in his lies will come to suffer from them, managing to, “[sleep] the sleep of the unjust, which is serener and sounder than the other kind.” (Twain, 150). Fleda tortures herself as she plans a lie, as she is telling a lie, and after every lie, while Tom just congratulates himself on a job well done.
Deception as an element can be presented in various forms. One may choose to hide their true self for specific intriguing motives in life. A theme identified in "The Possibility of Evil" by Shirley Jackson and "A Bolt of White Cloth" by Leeon Rooke is appearance can be used to deceive ones true self and morals for an intriguing motive. In both short stories, that were examined, both main characters use their exterior appearances to deceive their true morals, they deceive the people around them and lastly their deeds show their true intentions which distinguish their compelling motives which are viewed through a sense of morals.
Fake, deceiving, ungenuine, all these words describe a true phony. Both narrators of the books, The Great Gatsby and The Catcher In The Rye fit the characteristics of a phony. The narrator in The Catcher In The Rye, Holden Caulfield, is phonier than Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby, because he’s a hypocrite, lies about his age,and lies about how he feels.
In “The Pardoner’s Tale,” Geoffrey Chaucer masterfully frames an informal homily. Through the use of verbal and situational irony, Chaucer is able to accentuate the moral characteristics of the Pardoner. The essence of the story is exemplified by the blatant discrepancy between the character of the storyteller and the message of his story. By analyzing this contrast, the reader can place himself in the mind of the Pardoner in order to account for his psychology.
Deception is present in Tennessee Williams’s drama ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, William Shakespeare’s Tragedy ‘Othello’ and L. P. Hartley’s novel ‘The Go-Between’; the writers choose to use characterisation to explore the theme in depth. Often the protagonists of each text are the primary offenders of deceit, though some supporting characters mislead as well; although Iago is the antagonist of ‘Othello’, he is incomparably the most deceitful character in the entire play. Similarly, Williams uses Blanche to develop the plot by misleading the other characters and even herself at times, though arguably, unlike Iago, Blanche is presented as a character who lacks the motivation to hurt anyone. Conversely Leo, although the protagonist and narrator of the novel, is not the most deceitful character – Ted Burgess and Marian Maudsley not only coerce him into the deceit, but they themselves are presented as masters of the game they play, however, this essay will focus on Leo as he is a unique symbol of deceit; he is unaware of the consequences of his actions.
Lies play a central part in the play as the story is based around lies
Deception causes characters to feel pain and to have lowered self-confidence. It also causes people in real life pain. Therefore, deception versus reality needs to be recognized in real life and its effects on people can be seen from characters in Great
Identifying a lie can at times prove quite troublesome. Some individuals may occasionally claim to spot deception simply by noticing the behavior of someone accused. This gut feeling is by no standards definite, and could be in fact mistaken. On the on other hand, one possible way to expose a lie concerns the revealing of an idea that is most assuredly true, such as with an article that has been written down. Documents usually are quite accurate, for once an idea is put on paper it becomes quite hard to retract. In effect written words relate to the truth, and if understood by the viewer they may expose the lies of those around him. Taking this a step further involves putting truthful, paper into the hands of someone else, perhaps in the form of a letter or note via the post office. In his drama A Doll House Ibsen included three articles of mail to symbolize the truth, and thereby to reveal some of the lies perpetrated by Nora.
When initially asked about the morality of lying, it is easy for one to condemn it for being wrong or even corrupt. However, those asked are generally guilty of the crime on a daily basis. Lying is, unfortunately, a normal aspect of everyday life. In the essay “The Ways We Lie,” author Stephanie Ericsson makes note of the most common types of lies along with their consequences. By ordering the categories from least to most severe, she expresses the idea that lies enshroud our daily lives to the extent that we can no longer between fact and fiction. To fully bring this argument into perspective, Ericsson utilizes metaphor, rhetorical questions, and allusion.
To truly understand the exact context in which deception and betrayal were used in the novel, one must first start with Polly Wilson. Polly was lied to more so than any other person, her naive and uncalculated nature played as an influencing factor which allowed the severity of the situation escalate into a climactic turning point. A culmination of very specific and detailed lies lead to the untimely demise of Polly Wilson at the hands of John. One quote spoken by John Wilson, “Geese” (Page 78, line 18), sets up the story’s climax
...us on deadly revenge. In each case, a retribution that is carried out in a cruel and callous fashion. The men fulfilling these actions are cold, calculating, and contemplative. They have painstakingly endeavored to seek retribution against what has plagued them: Fortunato and his insults to the Montresor and the old man’s piercing, chilling eye for the man from “The Tell-Tale Heart”. Driven to the point of madness by their own obsessions, they plot to murder their offenders. The tales are told each by the man who has indeed committed the crime. Each man’s insanity becomes more and more clear as they narrate confession; the Montresor with the unfailing ease with which he dictates his account and the man from “The Tell-Tale Heart” with his jagged and rough delivery. Their distinct mental instability calls into question to reliability of the report they give.
In much of The Things They Carried, stories are retold time and time again. One reason for this is the idea of keeping a story’s story-truth alive. In “Good Form,” O’Brien differentiates what he calls story-truth from happening-truth. Story-truth seems to give us a better understanding of O’Brien’s sentiment in a particular story even though the story itself may not be true at all. On the other hand, happening-truth is what actually happened in the story, but may not contain as much emotional authenticity as story-truth. According to O’Brien, story-truth is therefore truer than happening-truth. Relating back to storytelling, O’Brien retells stories continuously to maintain their sentiment and emotional value. Without this continuous repetition, this sentiment fades away and the emotional value of the story is lost.
character Polonius in Shakespeare’s Hamlet fits the description of one who tries to deceive others
William Shakespeare attained literary immortality through his exposition of the many qualities of human nature in his works. One such work, The Merchant of Venice, revolves around the very human trait of deception. Fakes and frauds have been persistent throughout history, even to this day. Evidence of deception is all around us, whether it is in the products we purchase or the sales clerks' false smile as one debates the purchase of the illusory merchandise. We are engulfed by phonies, pretenders, and cheaters. Although most often associated with a heart of malice, imposture varies in its motives as much as it's practitioners, demonstrated in The Merchant of Venice by the obdurate characters of Shylock and Portia.
Throughout William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet’s behavior and actions cause readers to question his sanity. Hamlet’s character can be interpreted in many different ways. It could be said that he is indeed insane, or it can be disputed that he, as he made known, is simply putting on a good act. The complexity of knowing Hamlet’s true character derives from the fact that we, as readers, are unable to read Shakespeare’s or Hamlet’s minds. Therefore, judgments could be made solely by reading and interpreting his behavior and coming up with a satisfactory conclusion. Taking into consideration incidents such as Polonius’ murder and Hamlet’s contemplating suicide, it is natural for individuals who perform such acts to be categorized as crazy. Ignoring Hamlet’s actual actions, and paying keen attention to what altered his character, one can debate that Hamlet is not at all insane. It is important to consider the situations which triggered Hamlet’s different actions. By giving discreet thought to Hamlet’s position and what he endures, one will realize that he is not demented, but he is actually an angry, betrayed and emotionally devastated fatherless son.
What are lies? A lie is defined as follows: To make a statement that one knows to be false, especially with the intent to deceive. There are several ways that lies are told for instance, there are white lies, lies of omission, bold faced lies, and lies of exaggeration. No matter what type of lie that one chooses to tell many people believe that lies do more harm than good.