Analysis Of The Book ' The Ways We Lie ' By Stephanie Ericsson

Lying has is a part of our culture, and it seems as if not a day goes by where you do not lie at all. Our world could not exist as it does, if we lived in a society in which lying did not exist. However as humans, we are prone to lying, because of our need to protect ourselves, or the ones close to us, that we turn to lying in order to either make our lives easier or to avoid problems. Humans have adapted over time into societies where lying is an evolutionary advantage, which has made it a part of our DNA. Even children, as soon as they can talk, are using deception as a way to get what they want, and these children have not even had a chance to learn to lie. Lying also continues throughout our entire lives, because it is not something that we can help, it is a part of who we are. When evaluating the argument Stephanie Ericsson makes in “The Ways We Lie”, regarding the reasons we chose to lie, however it is also important to consider extending the argument to include the idea that lying is not only a daily occurrence, it has also become imbedded into human nature.

Stephanie Ericsson, through personal anecdotes in her essay “The Ways We Lie,” reveals that no matter how big or how small, a lie is a lie. Throughout the essay, she defines the different ways people lie and explains to the reader the significance of the lies they tell. At the same time, she gives examples in which she lies because she believes that “we lie. We all do.” This keeps the readers from thinking she is criticizing everyone, but herself. As she sees it, we need to take in consideration the consequences of the lies we tell before telling the bank “my deposit is in the mail” when it isn’t. Such use of personal anecdotes support the theme and strengthen the essay because they establish pathos which move the audience to realize the impact

There comes a time in every persons life where they feel a burning sensation to lie, but is it worth it? Don’t they feel the shame and the guilt of that lie? On average, people lie between ten to two hundred times a day. But doesn't all of that lying come with a lot of conflict and trouble? The more that you lie the more conflict arises by avoiding truth then if it were to be faced head-on.

In today’s American society, lying has become something that we are accustomed to using almost every day without even realizing it. In “The Ways We Lie”, Stephanie Ericsson, screenwriter, advertising copywriter, and writer, elaborates on the act of lying and how it is used by everyone on a daily basis. She comes up with a list of the common, different kinds of lies that we all have told. Furthermore, the text goes in depth about the significance of lying and how it is an essential part of every human’s life. Ericsson’s essay effectively conveys this idea through the use of pathos, logos, ethos, personal examples, rhetorical questions, and analogies which helps the reader better understand the reasoning behind lies and how it affects our

Lies have been around for as long as people have been. We all lie, whether it is to protect someone we love of to cover up something we don’t want others to know about, it is still lying, and we all do it everyday. Lying has become the new normal for our modern society, so much so, that some of us have lost our morals completely. It is just so much easier and quicker to just lie to someone than to tell the truth, and now you can never tell who is lying to you or who is telling the truth. People use to have morals about lying and many people would feel bad about it and teach their children to never lie, but now in today’s society they just pop out of our mouths like they're nothing. We will never stop lying because it’s easier to live a lie

As the story opens, already the reader is confronted with the topic of concealing the truth. The narrator speaks

She elaborates upon the fact of how we lie so often that it has basically become a normal thing for us to do daily. Stephanie Ericsson’s essay effectively meets its purpose through the use of rhetorical questions, anaphora, analogy,

After reading both stories, I found that I enjoyed Stephanie Ericsson’s, “The Ways We Lie” the most. This story was very interesting and made me think of many different things. I did not realize that there were so many different ways to lie. I was guilty of doing a few of them. After reading the section about the white lie, I realized that I do this sometimes without even noticing it. Ericsson gives the example of when your friend may look terrible one day, but you tell them that they look nice just so they would feel better. Most people, along with myself, do not see this as a bad thing because you are doing something good for someone else, but either way you are still lying. As I continued reading, I was also shocked about a few parts, especially

Lies, they're everywhere, are they worth the trouble? Throughout these three articles, “It’s the truth”, “Honestly tell the truth”, and “Rejecting all lies”, the authors precisely analyze who agrees, and who doesn’t agree with lying, and why. Lying may be the first thing to come to mind when in a bad situation, but does anyone realize how much damage it can cause towards the other person or to the liar themselves?

In Eriksson’s article she shows the reader that lies come in all shapes and sizes. Whether it be a good lie like a white lie or a bad lie like being delusional. She backs up her definitions of lies with examples from her own life to teach you about them. She ends by saying that lies shouldn’t be accepted anymore or we’ll all get so used to it that it’ll become the social norm, she says “Our acceptance of lies becomes a cultural cancer that eventually shrouds and reorders reality until moral garbage becomes as invisible to us as water is to a fish.” (Ericsson, Stephanie. The Ways We Lie. 1992. Print.). It used to be that a good person never lied but now everyone lies it’s just the sad truth. The only good people left in this world are the ones that refuse to lie. It’s gotten to the point where the lines between being a good person or a bad person are getting blurred. We’ve tricked ourselves to believe that having integrity means you can lie every once in a while, which is just false. Being honest and having integrity are one in the same. Integrity to me means being honest all the time, not lying when you can get away with it or you think someone needs it. There are some people that say lying builds character, I think that’s just false. Being Honest and having integrity is one of the best things in the world. Although some people will lie to make themselves seem like better people but ultimately just let you down.

In Stephanie Ericsson’s essay, “The Ways We Lie”, she describes the many ways we create miscommunication individually and as a community. Lies that affect us individually are lies we commit between ourselves and a small group, like, “your hair looks great” to a friend, knowing you meant the opposite. Meanwhile, lies that affects society is on a more severe consequence scale – Adolf Hitler, world famous anarchist, persuaded his soldiers into believing obliterating the life of massive amount of Jewish believers had a good cause, when it actually disrupted society itself. Her main topic is how we are consumed by lies and deceptions abused by oneself and society. She categorizes each lie which she later elaborates the different consequences they

. .] I said I was busy,” (1-4). She then goes on to show how those lies not only did not incur immediate negative effects, but also proved somewhat beneficial to her and her family. By illustrating such a situation for the audience, Ericsson emphasizes the irrevocable role that lying plays in society while also initiating contemplation regarding the possible pros and cons of seemingly innocuous lying. Further on, as she deconstructs lying into specific categories, Ericsson provides contrast to her first anecdote with a narrative regarding a charlatan-esque friend who “seduced others into an illusion” that he was intelligent and trustworthy (11). In doing so, she introduces the audience to the position that lies have larger and more dangerous implications than they may have originally believed. Ericsson unseats her audience in order to make them question any preconceived concepts about lying they

In Stephanie Ericsson’s “The Way We Lie,” Ericsson categorizes the various types of lies and their ramifications, whereas in Anton Chekhov’s “The Lady with the Dog,” the writing touches on the selfish lies that both Dmitri Gurov and Anna Sergeyevna tell to sustain their adulterous relationship. Although the extent to which lying is selfish depends on the motives and circumstances for the lie, and whose interest it benefits, I claim that not only are most lies selfish, but they are also morally wrong because they can cause irreparable damage to relationships and the trust between people.

We all know lying is bad and usually strive to tell the truth to others, but rarely ourselves. Sometimes people lie without meaning to because they truly believe they are telling the truth. These people are brainwashed into reacting certain ways in certain situations. They were lied to as children, told they were fine after being hurt, couldn't do something random because it was impolite, rudeness is intolerable in any circumstance, and many other lies. When these lies were told during the developmental period of the child's life they caused the child to misinterpret their own beliefs and lie to themselves once they reach adulthood. “We all put façades up to one degree or another” says author Stephanie Ericsson, these façades can so totally convince others of who we are they begin to convince us as well. However no matter

When I was a younger boy, I thought lying was only what the bad kids did. I thought that if I lied, it was an act of law-breaking. However, I soon learned that to lie was no grave crime, for there was no law or official rule stating anything of the like. Lest I be in some sort of judicial situation, I was not held to be honest at all times; however, to be honest was, if anything, a moral and generally more helpful thing to do in most circumstances.