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.
“It is difficult to prove a causal relationship between permissible investigative and interrogatory deception and testimonial deception. Police freely admit to deceiving suspects and defendants. They do not admit to perjury, much less to the rationalization of perjury. There is evidence, however of the acceptability of perjury as a means to the end of conviction. The evidence is limited and fragmentary and is certainly not dispositive” (Skolnick, 1982).
At first,when I read this book’s summary, I thought it would be a childish book that the kid and the dog run away to a magical land and live happily ever after. Boy, I was wrong!
“The short term pain of accepting the truth is much better than the long term pain of believing an illusion”- unknown. In the novel A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, a 13 year old boy, Conor O'malley, deals with inner struggles when accepting his mother’s fatal illness. Conor experiences hardship when coming to terms with the truth so he chooses to suppress it with denial and this worsens his grieving process. Conor undergoes a troubling state where he is lonesome and unwillingly expresses himself through violence and a series of emotional collapses. The teen’s way of coping is not beneficial to either him or is family. A monster in the form of a Yew tree comes to visit Conor and guides him towards the acceptance of truth. Although Conor is not oblivious towards his mother’s imminent death, he must learn from the monster to fully accept the condition she is in, in order to move on with his life. The Yew tree monster guides Conor through storytelling, thus teaching him the importance of accepting the truth. At times, the monster takes a step back and this allows Conor to discover the importance of truth slowly and independently. The way the monster approaches Conor and the tactics he uses to enlighten him are the main reasons Conor develops throughout the novel as an individual. Patrick Ness conveys the importance of truth and how difficult it is for individuals to accept and come to terms with
Even though some people discount fiction as a sources of learning and think it is just for entertainment sake there is still much to learn from it. Fiction being written by the author will have his or her knowledge mixed into it. Learning from someone else’s prospective will help you solidify what you believe, either by backing it up or challenging it and making your values stronger in the process. In “Telling the Truth in Lies” Virginia Stem Owens says, “Fiction brings us a certain kind of news about the world we can get in no other way, because all other ways are abstract and detached, while fiction’s way is particular.” Fiction can teach the reader to believe and hope for a happy outcome or to protect themselves so they are not hurt by what
Herbert Stempel will forever be known as the man who blew the whistle on the popular quiz show “Twenty-One”. Stempel, a once contestant on the show was coached by producer Dan Enright and was given the questions and answers in advance ultimately cheating his way through the quiz show. There are many theories as to why Stempel would admit his involvement in the quiz show scandal. Some believe he was fueled by greed, others believe he was jealous of his fellow contestant Charles Van Doren, and some believe he was seeking revenge against producer Dan Enright. I happen to believe that it was a mixture of all three that drove Stempel to the district attorney’s office.
In Stephanie Ericsson's essay, "The Ways We Lie," (1992), the author explains that a person can lie without even knowing they are doing so simply because it is part of the human nature. Ericsson uses personal life situations, such as: lying to the bank about a check being in the mail, lying about the reason why she was late to a business meeting, and telling a friend she was busy and could not go eat with her. Her main purpose is to explain the different types of lies told daily by most people in order to illustrate that although we may not realize we are lying, technically we are and sometimes it could be for the good of the person or for the worse. Ericsson relates to his target audience, everyone, by stating everyone lies one way or another,
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
Alcoholism is one of the most delusional lies one can tell themselves. In the essay, “The Ways We Lie,” by Stephanie Ericsson, she states that, “alcoholics … believe that the problems in their lives are legitimate reasons for drinking rather than results of the drinking” (477). Alcoholics believe that they can stop at any time and that the benefits outweigh the side effects. They lie to themselves and lose trust from peers. I understand this first hand from my alcoholic granfather. Alcoholism is a direct result of being delusional. Delusion is the most catastrophic way to lie because it can cause physical danger, it creates isolation due to the lack of trust and it hides underlying issues of the delouser.
For example, Jay was interviewed four times and all times his story was different, from an interview with The Intercept_, 15 years after the crime and 2 weeks later after the murder was committed with Detective MacGillivary. This the first interview Jay had with Detective MacGillivary, “Jay: And he asked me if I was going to help. And I told him, [BLEEP] no. And he starts just shoveling dirt on top of her. After we leave there--’ Detective: Let me stop you there. Jay: Yes. Detective: You helped him dig the hole? Jay: Yes” (Koenig “Season One: Episode 1). Notice how Jay states that he told Adnan clearly that he would not assist him in digging the hole and dumping Hae’s body. But when the detective stops him and asks him clearly “You helped him dig the hole?”, Jay responds with “Yes”. Well yes this could just be a slip of the tongue (as Jay told in later interview he was nervous in complying with police as he was a drug dealer and felt he would be charged for that if they found out, he was not), but then the detective asks him more questions like “ How deep was the hole? How long did it take? Was it equal work?” and he come up with answers that seem pretty reasonable. This was not just the only time Jay has this slip, in an interview with the newsgroup, The Intercept_, this would be the first time Jay publicly
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.
could have the easier way out and not be locked away in prison. A lot of the things he says and
Producers, Dan Enright and Albert Freedman, of the show “Twenty-One” have falsified the show by providing questions and answers to contestants. Therefore, leaving others with no chance to win. This memo will provide for you a detailed summary of the events that have led to this scandal.
What are lies? A lie is defined as follows: To make a statement that one knows to be false, especially with the intent to deceive. There are several ways that lies are told for instance, there are white lies, lies of omission, bold faced lies, and lies of exaggeration. No matter what type of lie that one chooses to tell many people believe that lies do more harm than good.