Many people wonder if it is wrong to lie or if there are some situations where lying is the best option. In the book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon, Haddon shifts Christopher’s outlook on honesty and it changes drastically. Many people, including Christopher, believe in the statement “honesty is the best policy”. However, while Christopher becomes more independent, he realizes that in some situations being dishonest might be the best answer. He used to be unable to lie to people, but now starts acquiring the trait of dishonesty. Christopher used to not be able to lie but, after leaving home he now understands in some circumstances he must lie in order to survive.
Christopher’s initial motto was along the lines
…show more content…
When Christopher’s father comes back home after leaving, he sees Christopher reading his mother’s letters. Christopher’s father was trying to hide the letters from Christopher, but was unsuccessful. When Christopher’s father realizes this he immediately said, “Those are. . . Oh shit. . . Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit." (Haddon 114) knowing that Christopher read the letters from his mother. Christopher’s father said, “I killed Wellington” (Haddon 120) and Christopher could not comprehend whether his father was joking around or being completely honest with him. Christopher’s father tells Christopher the truth about his mother and Wellington after talking about the letters. When Christopher realizes his mother is alive and his father lied to him, he felt betrayed. His father tells Christopher it was for his own good and that he had to keep it a secret from him. Christopher’s thoughts were scattered; he no longer knew whether he could be near his father. The relationship he has with his father is crushed with a simple lie. Christopher’s father who matters to Christopher the most lies to Christopher, and his point of view suddenly shifts when he realizes
Fabricating the truth in Christopher’s father’s case only prolonged the inevitable effects that he so desperately tried to avoid. Lies ruin relationships as it was difficult for Christopher’s father to regain his son’s trust after lying about two tragic incidents. Whichever way you look at it, being honest is important to maintain healthy, longlasting
In “The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time”, Haddon utilizes the idea of trust to his reader through the experience of Christopher. When Christopher finds out about his father lied to him about his mother death, faking that he did it for Christopher, he makes an important decision which is to disobey his father and go to his mother to swindon.
A 64-year-old novelist, Stephanie Ericsson, does a great job explaining the reason and how people lie in her essay “The Ways We Lie.” Her essay is about different types of lies and the consequences of each type of lie which was first appeared in the Utne Reader as the cover article in January 1993. Initially, she seems to say lying is not a bad thing and it should be done in necessary times. However, she mentions different lies and where they should be used. According to Ericsson, people don’t realize how lying affects the lives of others (2). I, myself, consider Ericsson the best author I have ever seen. Thus, she uses first-person perspective and signifies that she is talking about herself in some cases. She targets an audience who are lying
– Chapter 167. In this quote, Ed confesses to killing Wellington which escalates the whole situation. Christopher is forced to accept two conflicting truths at once and although his father lied and hurt him; he still loves him and wants him to be safe and this is an eye-opener for Christopher; that although people can tell lies, it doesn’t mean they don't love you. Another quote which has a lot of power is where Christopher says; “And I said "Yes," because loving someone is helping them when they get into trouble, and looking after them, and telling them the truth, and Father always tells me the truth, which means that he loves me.”
Christopher went to check on his neighbor’s dog Wellington when he looked up to see Mrs. Shears screaming, and calling the cops. After he was found innocent, Christopher decided to launch an investigation on who killed Wellington. When his father found out he told Christopher to leave it alone. Christopher ignores him and asks Mrs. Alexander questions soon their relationship grows and Christopher begins to trust her. When Christopher asked her why his father doesn’t like Mr. Shears she told him that his mother and Mr. Shears had an affair. When his father found Christopher’s book he learned that Christopher knows about the affair and that he was still being a “detective”. His father hid the book from Christopher, when he found the book he also found letters. The letters went sent from his mother, even after she “died”. When his dad found him with the letters he explained why he said she was dead, why he kept the letters from him, and why he killed Wellington. Later that night Christopher ran away from his father to London, England where his mother lives. When he arrived his mother took him in and he explained why he was there because being afraid of his father. When Christopher remembered his A level math class he and his mother move back to Swindon, England, soon Christopher begins to trust his
In discussions on the topic of lying, a controversial issue has been whether there is justification of lying or not. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of if there is ever a time when a lie can be told for the good of someone else. Whereas some are convinced that lies should never be told, others agree that there are certain instances where lying is acceptable because the liar protects the one lied to. In the essay “The Ways We Lie” by Stephanie Ericsson, she explores the types of lies and how they affect everyday people. In Anton Chekhov’s fictional story, “The Lady with the Dog,” he displays two characters, Dmitri Gurov and Anna Sergeyevna, lying for love and to avoid consequence by their spouses. I stand against lying for the benefit of oneself because I think that it has the ability to ruin relationships or friendships and is hard to keep up the lies which leads to creating more lies. Although some people think that there are circumstances that warrant lying, I claim that no one should lie because lies end up hurting both people involved: the liar and the person lied to.
In “The Ways we Lie,” Stephanie Ericsson expresses her own life experience as an example to show, how difficult it is to balance the moral value of living a lie and the consequences of telling the truth in real life. Ericsson expresses her views thoroughly on how “we all lie” for different reasons and for different purposes. In “The Way We Lie,” informational essay, some of the words contradict each other, for example, she explains the impossibility and the consequences of telling the truth all the time, while she explains the consequences of telling a lie without taking a side. She used those statements to build a strong bond with readers by eliminating judgment and creating humble moments. Ericsson’s essay grasped my attention easily and intrigued me so much that, I couldn’t keep my eyes of the pages; the end of each paragraph brought me to have text-to-self connections.
Judy left with Mr. Shears and this caused trouble to Ed, with not knowing what to do, he lied to Christopher. Christopher was lead to believe that his mother had a fatal heart attack and had died later in hospital. Ed was faced with a major decision to make and at the time lying was the only option furthermore seeing the idea that lying was necessary in that case. Christopher would have struggled to understand the concept of his mother leaving with Mr. Shears due to his condition. Later in the novel, Christopher discovers letters that his mother has sent him since she has been gone. Here we see the effect that a lie has on him; he began to feel sick and dizzy. Christopher curled up into a ball and started to have a bad stomach ache, the next thing he says he remembers was waking up and discovering that he had been sick all over him self. Christopher learns a lot from this lie. He goes on an adventure to find his mother as he is scared of his dad; this is because of the lie by omission Ed told. Ed killed Wellington and never admitted it. ‘I couldn’t trust him, even though he had said “Trust me,” because he had told a lie about a big thing’.
Which shows that for some people, lying is a huge deal, while for others it is just stretching out the truth until it breaks. As Christopher uncovers truth and lies throughout the story, he reflects on the nature of honesty and the importance of trust in relationships. As well as also learning about how lying, from his perspective, really shows a person's true colors. One of the most substantial moments that happens in the novel is when Christopher lies to his father about his whereabouts and what his intentions
Christopher has a mindset to what is important to him; he will even disobey his father’s orders to do what he feels is important. “I am going to find out who killed wellington” (Haddon 20). Wellington is a dog that Christopher cares about, and when he finds the dog dead, he vows to find out who murdered the innocent dog. Once he finds out who killed the dog he is horrified of the man. “I had to get out of the house. Father had murdered Wellington. That meant he could murder me” (Haddon 122). When Christopher realizes his father killed the dog he makes the connection that it was the right thing to do. Which leads him to search for his mother to get away from his father and find out the
“Belief in the truth of someone or something.” Trust is probably the most valued thing in human interaction and when Christopher’s father confessed to lying to him, Christopher feels like he cannot trust his father anymore. Although, Christopher, the main character of the novel The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time written by Mark Haddon, has autism and thinks very differently than I do, I can relate to him because a little over two years ago I lost all my friends and was diagnosed with depression making it hard to trust people. To me, parents and friends are supposed to be the people you trust and hope that they will never hurt you, and when Christopher felt betrayed by his father I instantly recollected when I felt that way towards
Everyone lies, no one can avoid it. If someone says they have never lied before, they just did. Lying has been a controversial topic of human nature, whether it is considered “evil” or not. It has often been taught that telling the truth is the best thing to do, but this is not always the thing to do. World War I poets express this idea in their poems, literature has described this issue in plays. Even today there are articles written about this topic. Lying is a habit that has become part of society, however, there are cases where concealing the truth seems to be the most appropriate thing to do.
His father has always told Christopher that “If you don't tell the truth now, then later on...it hurts even more,” (120) this is what Christopher has lived by his whole life. The first setback in their relationship has to with the death of Wellington. After wellington dies Christopher is very motivated to figure out who has committed this murder “I am going to find out who killed wellington” (20) Christopher’s father states after his father picks him up from jail. Once they are in the car Christopher tells his father about his plan to find out who has killed wellington and his father tells him to “just try to keep your nose out of other people’s business.” (20) Christopher then later figures out that his father is the one accountable for Wellington's death after his father tells Christopher that he “killed wellington” (120). This is shocking to Christopher because he has always thought that his father was a very honest and trustworthy person. Later he realizes that this was not the only thing that his father has lied to him about. For many years Christopher’s father told him that his mother dies in the hospital due to heart problems and Christopher believes his father because his father has not given him any reason to doubt him until Christopher discovers the letters that his mother has been writing to his for the past few years. Once Christopher realizes that his father has lied to him about his mother and Wellington, Christopher feels like he is not safe living with his father or even being near him, he thinks he has no choice but to run away to his mother, who is now living in London which only puts more of a strain on their
Trust is very important to human beings because without trust, they would not be able to believe anything. In Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, it follows the life of a boy named Christopher Boone, who finds a dead dog on his neighbor’s backyard and sets out to solve the mystery by himself which ends up leading him to London to live with his mother. There are many ways people use trust, they place trust, earn trust, and maintain trust. It is very important for people to not only place trust on others, but to earn it and maintain it.
There is no correct way to consider lying morally wrong or right, regardless of the severity. Stephanie Ericsson uses powerful metaphors and personal experiences in “The Ways We Lie” to justify the use of our everyday fibs. Using these types of techniques pull her readers in and broaden their judgement without being too bias or vague. Ericsson begins by explaining how she told the bank that her deposit was in the mail even though she hadn't even written out the check yet (120). This already has more than half of the readers feeling relative to her on account of her use of ethos.