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.
While lies are told with the intent to deceive, I say that it is the motive for or behind? the lie that determines whether or not the lie is selfish. When a lie is used to serve only the interest of the liar, and is used at the expense of harming another person, the lie must be considered selfish. Although it seems that lies are commonly perpetrated by bad and dishonest strangers, sometimes the love ones we think we can trust are the ones who deceive us the most. A good example of this is depicted in Chekhov’s “The Lady with the Dog.” The liar, Dmitri Gurov, misleads his wife about his whereabouts in order to hide the various affairs he is having with other women. His wife does not suspect otherwise because she has faith that he will stay true to their oath of marriage. During Gurov’s time in Yalta, yet another excursion to get away from his wife, Chekhov writes, “he had first begun deceiving
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.
The Russian attitude toward love during Chekhov’s time is very patriarchal and is considered normal to marry for practical reasons, parental pressures or other considerations rather than for love. The feelings that accompany love, such as passion and spirituality, are not a societal consideration and this institutional attitude toward human emotion is the catalyst for Chekhov’s story. When a person is deprived of love, he or she builds up a futility of life which consumes the human soul. In Anton Chekhov’s “The Lady with the Dog”, the readers are placed in a setting where the main character Gurov, and his love interest Anna, are given the emotional freedom to feel love toward one another. This freedom is the driving force in the story
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 she went into depth explaining each form of lying, Ericsson showcased the varying levels of severity in lying, through examples written in the text. At the beginning of the essay, she writes about lying to a friend by saying she was busy and couldn’t meet up, even though she just wasn’t hungry. Further into the essay while writing about ignoring facts, she writes about how a Catholic Church hired Father Porter, knowing his history of abusing children, which led to more children being harmed. It’s hard to imagine that both of these instances are defined as lies, and it clearly shows the complicated layers of lying that keep all lies from being harmless or bad. Ericsson even shows a mild and more extreme version of the same type of lie. When describing a facade, she writes about how she puts up a facade by wearing suits to work, even though she prefers to stay in her pajamas until the afternoon. Right after, she describes
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
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.
Ericsson structures her writing through subheadings, and categorizing each lie with insightful examples. The author first tackles the white lie. She writes, “The white lie assumes that the truth will cause more damage than a simple harmless untruth… it as an act of subtle arrogance for anyone to decide what is best for someone else” (160). I believe white lies can only do as much damage compared to the extent of the lie. I tell my mom I’ve done a chore, which I haven't yet, but if she were to arrive earlier I would be in trouble for lying. The lie was intended to be harmless, but I faced the consequences. If I had told the truth I would not have to face as much anger from my mother. Nevertheless, even the smallest white lies end up with negative outcomes. One’s intentions could also cloud the fact that the white lie might harm the other party. The example of the sergeant’s white lie, where he reports the soldier as missing instead of dead, shows how such a small lie can impact
We are told from a very young that we should tell the truth, and that lying is wrong; an immoral action which we should not engage in. Yet lying is a large part of daily life, whether it be our lying to others or others lying to us, around us, or lying in ways that affect our lives. Oftentimes, the lies we tell are for social gain; for the purposes of esteem, affection, or respect. We lie as a way to manage others impressions of us. Studies have found that women are generally more intimate in their interactions, which would suggest that they lie less. However, might women lie more to benefit others, as opposed to self-centered lies? A study by DePaul et al. (1996) set out to answers questions about the frequency of lying, types of lies told,
It is very true that we lie. We lie everyday conscious or unconsciously, anywhere and to anyone. It has become a way of life to many people, when one lies it feels completely normal, actually they don’t feel anything at all. One can be couth lying in any place like work, home and to different person’s friends, family, clients, teachers and even authority. In the preface of the story the author had describe how in a day she had lied a minimum of four times to various people. In spite of this the authors tried a different approach she tried now to go a week without consciously lying, she discovered that it is merely impossible and of course as various negative consequences. So the main topic here could be why do we lie? Thus to know the reason why we like we must first examine the ways we lie, the so commonly ways we lie daily fashion. And to these there are several ways to lie, let’s examine two: The so called “White Lies” and of course the common stereotypes and Clichés.
Lies, the world revolves around them. Every election the candidates tell you want they think you want to hear, they walk around the truth. We don’t want to hear their lies, we want the truth, similar to Amir in The Kite Runner and Marius and Fantine in Les Miserables. In literature the plot of the story revolves around the lies that characters tell, whether to make things better, or just to hide their guilty and shame from others. Every lie makes the story more complex and when the characters learn the truth, they are changed, and sometimes it is for the better.
In “The Necklace,” Guy De Maupassant describes Mathilde Loisel a middle class woman who desperately wishes to be a part of the luxurious life, one night her dreams come true at a ministerial ball but at a terrible cost that put Mathilde in poverty. Similarly, in “The Ways We Lie,” Stephanie Ericsson explains that we should consider the meaning of our actions, such as deception and lies. The extent of omitting a fact is when there is risky consequences that can harm people. It is wrong when omission of facts is a lie because conflicts arise when the truth is hidden by completely turning a person's life upside. Although the omission of facts is easier than to face the truth, I claim that the omission of facts is wrong because failing to tell the truth leads to painful consequences. Additionally, I believe both Maupassant and Ericsson agree that it is wrong to omit facts as a lie when serious consequences is a result, hence Mathilde is forced to waste ten years of her life because of a lie; similarly when Ericsson describes the omission of facts is a lie when a lie gives a false impression and is purposefully meant to deceive.
In the stories, ‘’The Man Who Never Lied’’ and ‘’The Captain’s Party’’, the author’s use similar, traits , and events impact the story and conveys the theme that if a person doesn’t lie they honest he or she gets respect. One way the characters are the same is they both are truthful, and honest. Both stories show how the characters in the stories how they think they lied. In the story “ The Man Who Never Lied’’, the king was the one who was jealous of the true teller for not lying. For instance,’’ This truth teller was the king who was jealous for the attention the man received.”
1) Lie to someone can be justified or not? Parents teach us do not lie. My mother scolded me and my brother when we told her lie, and I remember from my childhood that lies is bad. I do not like to lie and I do not know how to lie. For example, when I try lie to someone my face turns red and my voice changes. So, everyone immediately can identify that I’m cheating. For me lie is a bad action, however, if my lie can save someone life I will lie. I have a friend who lie every day and every minute. She can’t live without cheating. She lives like in another world. Every day she fantasizes his life. For example, she can say I was in Florida yesterday and tomorrow I will go to Paris, but it is not true and she doesn’t. She has a habit to lie, and
Have you met someone who is deceitful, well Leo Tolstoy once said this anything is better than lies and deceit . So this paper is on deceit like in the book wonder by RJ palacio, Julien and in the book Mr. terupt by Rob Buyea peter, they both are deceitful.when they are dishonest and are sneaky .