Summary Of White Lies By Natasha Trethewey

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book Reading Ellen White by George R. Knight. I found some sections of the book to be particularly interesting. I learned different ways to interpret Ellen White’s writings. When reading at a surface level some of her writings can seem to contradict each other. It is important when reading her messages to know how to interpret what she is saying to get the full meaning of the writing. While reading through the book I came across some good points that I hope to apply to my life as well as with those I come in contact with.

Secondly, the speaker of the poem can be described as underprivileged, and this is shown throughout the entire poem. For example, line 1 of the poem it states "some are teethed on a silver spoon” and line 5 it states "some are swaddled in silk and down”. This shows that the speaker is not the same as the person who is teethed on a silver spoon or cared for very carefully. This inclusion also shows that the speaker was not born into a wealthy family and so the speaker must fight for what they need pertaining to themselves and the family.

First is “the white lie,” which is basically telling a harmless lie instead of the truth, if the truth is destructive. She writes, “Telling a friend he looks great when he looks like hell can be based in a decision that the friends needs a compliment more than a frank opinion” (165). Furthermore, she explains that it is the liar deciding when is best to say the lie, because it is an act of subtle arrogance for anyone to decide what is best for someone else. Like she tells

When she labels each lie and elaborates the different consequences each lie may cause, the reader is forced to acknowledge that lying derives from other forms of lies. For example, when Tim broke his mother’s brand new television he decided to tell his mom a ball came through and destroyed the TV. When Tim was confronted he committed out and out lie with the combination of omission. He first said someone else hit the ball at the TV which was half of what happened and a total lie. For what the consequence may have been, after he committed out and out lie he immediately resulted in the use of omission.

Racism is dislike a person, or it is a fast judgment for the way that person 's looks, and without known anything about the person, indeed, the main reason behind racism is the lack of education. Racism is a true problem, existed hundred years ago in America, in fact, Americans showed hatred against other people especially immigrants. Some citizens of the United States of America believe the racism’s issue is resolved and it is over, also they think we all live in an equal rights era, while others believe the opposite, they believe the racism is still exists but in different forms and ways. In the book “The Heart of Whiteness”, published in 2005, by Robert Jensen, who was raised in a privileged community, he expressed himself as a white person, and the feeling of living in white supremacy. In all honesty, Jensen’s book is the most honest book I had ever read, it brought up the race problem genuinely, and the difference in treatment between the white people and the African-American people, also Jensen included some of his personal stories and experience. In the book “ The Heart of Whiteness”, Jensen aimed at white people, also he cited many points on how it is like to live in white supremacy, and the feeling of mixed emotions about the past, then what is the action white people should make. Me personally thinks the main three points that i experienced with my white friends are: White privilege. Second point is the guilt feeling towards the racism, and finally, the feeling of

In “The Ways We Lie,” Stephanie Ericsson draws on her experience as a screenwriter and self-help author to examine the usage and effects of lies in modern society. Written during a time of presidential indiscretions and published in a magazine centered on cultural trends, the piece delineates lying into specific categories and describes each one’s prevalence. Ericsson makes use of a matter-of-fact and forthright tone which contributes to credibility and reflects her confidence in discussing such morally grey topics. Throughout the piece, she explicates the implications of lying by making use of personal anecdotes, supporting quotes, and rhetorical questions.

First of the so called white lies are the lies permitted to everyone, and those even thought to children. We have all heard this in a certain time: “Ohh but it’s just a little white lie, he will never know”. Of course as a lie you are still hiding the truth and sooner or later it will come out, thus there are other negative attributes to a lie and even to those small and innocent as a white lie. White lies according to the author, are lies that we are intended to not damage someone else feelings. So far we

FIX IT -In this article is about the writer who is a poverty young white child who was not wasn't privileged as a kid. Gina Crosley grew up in the poor of poor and was taken back when she was reading an article we have read earlier by Mcintosh about how we all have white privilege. Crosley felt as if how someone who grew up with her certain circumstances had any White Privilege but after reading the Mcintosh article she understood. Crosley has said, ‘it's impossible to deny that being born with white skin in America affords people certain unearned privileges in life that people of another skin color simple are not afforded”. This is something that was an interesting fact to me that even a person who is less privileged than most can see the White Privilege they still have even at the lowest of the privilege scale.

“Everyone lies in this world, one way or another.” The dictionary definition of a white lie is a harmless or trivia lie, especially one told to avoid hurting someone feelings. Stephanie Ericcson’s definition of a white lie is that it’s a common everyday lie, “the white lie assumes that the truth will

Not only do other works contradict Stephanie Ericsson’s idea, but she herself contradicts it. In her essay she supplies several examples of white lies and how deception possibly benefits others. Ericsson admits to lying numerous times out of self interest, but just because she lies does not mean other people are affected negatively. A prime example of benevolent lies occurs when Ericsson informs the audience when she lies: To not bring unnecessary pain to others. Deceiving her her friend who invited her to lunch by claiming “I’m busy”(Ericsson, 1) when she is really just not hungry, does not harm anybody. Her friend is satisfied by Ericsson’s response, and Ericsson is spared from hurting her friend’s feeling or engaging in a lengthy discussion.

The first reason is because she tries to be something shes not. For example she has homemade clothes and chooses to say that they are of top brand material. In the text it states, “ I could act like my homemade dresses came straight out of the window of Maison Blanche.” This shows that The girl would tell other's untruthful things just to fit in because she didn't want to share that she lived in a low income area and couldn’t afford expensive clothes. She wanted to Cleanse

Lies is the most substantial word in Natasha Trethewey’s poem, “White Lies,” because it helps establish the character. “White Lies” is about a little girl, who lives among people of the opposite race, who involuntarily lies. She tells these lies to anyone to fit in.

In her poem, “White Lies,” Trethewey’s theme in the story is discrimination and her struggle with her personal identity in America. Being born bi-racial, Trethewey explores racial identity that she experienced during her childhood. She was born in 1966 in Mississippi to a black mother and a white father. At this time, interracial marriages were not legal in Mississippi and were seen as shameful in society. Trethewey was very light skinned and had the desire to be white. The poem delivers the author’s experience with bigotry while living in the South (Bentley). This created an atmosphere of a racist society where the white community was superior over the African Americans. Growing up during this period, Trethewey felt like a lost little girl struggling with trying to find herself. In The Washington Post, Trethewey said, “Poetry showed me that I wasn’t alone” (Trethewey). This meant that writing poetry helped her to realize that she was not alone in this world of judgment, there were others facing the same issues that she was. The tone of her poem was sadness because of the prejudices she faced. To her, poetry was a place that could hold her grief (Bentley). Throughout her poem, “White Lies,” she desired to tell lies about who she was and how she lived. Her childhood was filled with thoughts and hopes of being white instead of being bi-racial. She states, “The lies I could tell, / when I was growing up” (Trethewey l. 1-2). These lines imply that she could easily lie to cover

Even though her mother was a light skin black woman, she did not want to live her life as a lie, by living as a white woman. Her mother embraced her blackness, which forced her to find work as a maid; her employers did not treat her with the same dignity as a white woman would receive. After seeing what her mother went through for accepting her blackness and living her life as a black woman, she knew that was not the life she wanted to live.

In lines 1-6, she explains that she is aware of those who contributed to society, because they have accomplished great things, things that she cannot take away from them. She states she will not discuss them because her “mean pen are too superior things” (Bradstreet 3). Bradstreet uses “too” to reference her work as being also superior. She wishes to leave it to them to talk about history without criticizing their worth and the same should be done for her. She adds the word “obscure” (Bradstreet 6), to acknowledge her lines are hidden using a form of symbolism. Symbolizing that most women are hiding their truths. Her point goes into further detail in stanza 2.