Ideas and Beliefs in Justine Larbalestier's 'Liar'

Whoever said the truth will set you free must not have read the works of Nathaniel Hawthorn and Kate Chopin. It is in Hawthorn’s story “Young Goodman Brown” and Chopin’s “Desiree’s Baby” that learning the truth is not liberating but leads to isolation and bitterness because the truth is too much to comprehend. In “Young Goodman Brown” Brown’s experience of the satanic group in the woods causes him to discover part of his community’s identity with evil and this causes his withdrawal of himself from the community because of his lack of trust. “Desiree’s Baby” problem deals with Armand’s unwillingness to accept the fact that his mother was African American, which leads him to resentful acts and his inability to accept responsibility for his

“If truth were everywhere to be shown, a scarlet letter would blaze forth on many a bosom…” (80).

Truth is possibly one of the most powerful forces in humanity. Truth has the power to set people free, change lives and end them. Because of this, the truth is usually feared and often concealed. In Susan Griffin’s “Our Secret”, the concealing of the truth become a major theme in the advancement of the plot, and also carries the meaning to the work’s title. The title of “Our Secret” refers to the secrets that the individual characters in the story keep from others reference to the fact that humanity is keeping secrets from itself.

The notion of truth or its reverse, untruth, dishonesty and lies is the main concern of Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious

“The Ways We Lie” is an essay written by Stephanie Ericsson, first published in the Utne Reader in 1993. The Utne Reader is an American magazine that publishes pieces from alternative media sources. However, the essay was mostly directed toward people who have told a lie at least once in their life and have may have felt guilty about it. The purpose for the piece was developed using original syntax, logical appeals, and descriptive tropes, the purpose being that one should think twice before telling a lie.

In the essay The Ways We Lie, author Stephanie Ericsson writes in depth about the different types of lies used by most people everyday. While listing examples of them, Ericsson questions her own experiences with lying and whether or not it was appropriate. By using hypothetical situations, true accounts, and personal occurrences, she highlights the moral conflicts and consequences that are a result of harmless fibs or impactful deceptions. In an essay detailing the lies told to ourselves and others, Ericsson points out one bold truth; everyone lies. Through her writing, Ericsson causes the reader to look into how they’ve lied in the past and how to effects others and the general greater good of society.

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

On the other hand, Kathryn Schultz is a journalist and a creator. In Kathryn Schulz’s exposition, “Evidence” numerous analogies was given to portray what proof has on one’s sentiments and activities. Kathryn Schulz investigates why we find it so filling to be precise all the time hence irritating to be mistaken, and how this state of mind toward mistakes erodes our connections. Furthermore, she goes up against us on presenting different stereotypes, from the Salem Witch Trials to multiple choice test of what’s behind the picture, all swans are white, ninety-five percent lawyers are male, and Muslims are terrorists. Drawing on scholars and writers as diverse as Augustine, Darwin, Descartes, David Hume, Thomas Kuhn, and Albert Speer, she proposes

Marry Karr’s The Liars Club is a haunting memoire, depicting a young Texan girls struggle to survive the trials of adolescence in home that finds stability in chaos and comfort in the abusive habits of her parents. Illustrating both fond and painful memoires from her past, Karr paints a complex image of the relationship she shared with her mother; giving readers everywhere the ability to relate and empathizes with the emotional complexity of their mother daughter relationship. This complexity of relationship can be explored in three main ways: the conflicting views Karr formed of her mother, In Karr’s

To lie about something so difficult for those who have experienced it, simply as a cry for attention, is offensive if not violent in itself. Laura likely believed those situations and identifications to be so unsavory, unforgivable, and/or utterly shocking, that she created a story of redemption about people in those situations. Her actions reaffirm what the world believes about those who do not fit into society’s beliefs about ideal people—that they morally deviate and are in need of some tragic road to redemption, and/or a mere spectacle to be used for entertainment purposes only. Such a way of perceiving marginalized people aids in the structure of inequality by telling them that they are morally broken, that they need to be forgiven of their inherent transgressions, that they are not human enough to be treated with respect and not

With the brief synopsis of the story, the contingencies of narratology can now be applied. Unreliability has been a concept of narratology, Bal states that “Characters resemble people. Literature is written by, for, and about people.” (Bal, 1985). The narrartion in Lockhart’s We were Liars begs us to examine the concepts of reliablitiy and unreliability, when distingusihing the events that occur within the text. Lockhart admits that “ it is part of a continuum of YA novels that play with perception and expectations while doing something structurally or narratively unusual,”. In Lockharts We were Liars she utilizes the concept of first person narration “MY FULL NAME is Cadence Sinclair Eastman.” (Lockhart, 4). In presentation of first person

Roxy’s public identity has gone from looking like a white women to a black man. Her clothing, race, and gender have all changed but, nobody would have ever known because her public face is that of a “man”. The public identity can be so deceiving that Tom could not tell that the “man” with a “blackened face” was his own mother. The public identity is often used to avoid getting the private identity into trouble by arousing anyone’s suspicions. The face someone puts out is more often than not a lie, “Then entered the twins-the handsomest, the best dressed, the most distinguished looking pair of young fellows the West had ever seen” (34).

Honesty is regarded as a virtue, especially in relationships, where both individuals are expected to be honest with each other. Conversely, lying in relationships is seen as disingenuous and often destroys the relationship. Yet in “Americanah,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie destabilizes our notion that lies are inherently negative by using a lie to ground a seemingly easygoing relationship between Obinze, the male protagonist, and his mother.

The novel I chose, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart I believe was a huge plot twist and breath taker. I selected this book because I wanted to know, who were these liars, what made them liars, and why would they openly accept that title of liar? I began reading the book, and the part that made me curious to continue reading the book was the first couple of lines. These lines explained by the main character stated that no matter what, the Sinclair family was perfect (8). If this family was so perfect, what happened? I wondered if it was the family’s fault, or an event or another person's fault, which made me continue to read onto the next pages.

Olivia Chadha’s balance of fragile things is, among other things, a novel about identity. However, much of her commentary is rooted in conflict, so it’s no surprise that Chadha’s novel is fundamentally rooted in clashes arising from identity. Chadha comments on the theme of identity, by offering up a simple claim in the form of complex character dialogue and interaction: what composes one’s identity “fragile” and identity is a representation of the aspects of the unstable mixture of various cultures, ideas, and thoughts that one chooses to accept as their own. It is not what others believe it to be, but what one’s own choices that make his or her own identity. Chadha uses uses the protagonist, Vic, to make this point crystal clear and emphasises his interactions with other characters to further this point.