September Leaves

The Pressure in Lying


Lying can be very bad. You think you can get away from your problems by lying, but in the end it comes back to bite you in the neck.
In the short story, “The Lie”, written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., you will see how lying can get you in huge trouble. This story follows a comic mode of literature with a little bit of irony in the end. In the beginning of the story Dr. Remenzel and Sylvia were taking their son, Eli, to the Whitehill preparatory school for boys, which kicks off the beginning to a comedy with the main characters everyday life. Little do they know, Eli was never accepted into Whitehill, the place where the conflict arises. Later when Eli’s parents find out about the lie, Eli begins to realize his mistakes. The resolution occurs when Eli’s mother forgives Eli because she understands why he was upset. Along with that, the story ends by going back to a normal life and the Remenzels return home.
The purpose of a comedy is to solve problems. The problem is this story was Eli’s inability to speak the truth. To prevent this problem Eli should have told his parents about not getting into Whitehill, that way his parents would be angry but they wouldn’t stir up trouble with the whole school district