The Lie

The Lie
Have you ever lied about something and it came back and got you? I know that I have. I think every single human in the whole world has. Every single person has lied before in their past and will for sure in their future. Lying is one of the worst things you can possibly do because you feel nothing but pure guilt, and because lying hurts yourself, and could possibly hurt the person you lied to. In this story called The Lie by Kurt Vonnegut, Eli digs himself a very big whole. He lies to his family about making a school that is very known in his past family tree. This is a great story that teaches you a great lesson, has a good theme, and is put together perfectly by the way the characters act within the words of the story.
In this story, there are a few main characters. The main characters are Eli, and his father Dr. Remenzel. Eli’s father really wants him to go to a school call Whitehall because for the last several generations their family has gone to that school. So, he doesn’t want his son to wreck the streak that they have going for them. It means the world to his father for him to go there, and he knows it. So, Eli ends up getting a letter in the mail saying that he doesn’t make it to that school. He feels so bad about it that he lies to his own father and mother telling them that he made it to the school because he didn’t want them to be disappointed and mad at him. Eli was very scared of what his parents reaction was going to be. He is so scared that he lies to them so he doesn’t have to deal with their reactions. As the hours and days went on Eli felt very bad and very guilty for lying to them. He was scared that his mom and dad were going to find out and be even more mad then they would have been if he would have told them in the beginning. No matter what though, lying is never the right thing to do.
This story has one of the greatest lessons I have ever heard! This is a lesson that everyone in the world needs to know about. The lessons is not to lie because all it will do is hurt yourself, other people, and your reputation. Also, you will have to live through guilt until the lie is discovered or until you forget about the lie. It will hurt yourself because it will make you look bad, and it will wreck your reputation because people will think that you are a liar and no one will ever believe you. It could hurt someone else because if they found out you lied to them they might not think that you trusted them because you did lie to them. One thing you really want and definitely should have is a good reputation. You don’t want to be known as a liar or something bad like that. You want to be known as the always honest person. This lesson teaches you how to battle against yourself, and your sometimes evil conscience.
This stories theme is man vs. himself. The reason it is man vs. himself is because even though you knew lying is the wrong thing, your conscience will tell you differently. Most people think before they act and before they speak. In the story Eli probably thought to himself I should tell the truth because it is the right thing to do, but I shouldn’t tell the truth because the truth will hurt my parents a lot and it will also make me look bad to my family and to other people. No matter what people might think less of me. When you think to yourself like that, you shouldn’t even have to think twice and the only thing that should be in your mind is tell the truth. One thing you will learn is to always do the right thing and to always tell the truth, because believe it or not you will always have the better outcome.
In conclusion, this was a great story that has one of the greatest meanings. I don’t there is a lesson that could be better than this one or told better than this one was in the story. It was very fun to read and defiantly made me think about just how bad lying is. I learned that I am always better off telling the truth no matter what, and to keep battling my conscience and always, I mean always try and do the right thing.