English
February 1st, 2016
Prof. Young
Lying
Is it ever okay to lie? Lying has always been a heated debate on whether or not it should be done. I know when I was a young kid my mother would always tell me that lying is a horrible thing to do. "No one likes a liar" she would say to me, and because of this I thought it was something that people never did. As I got a little older, I got a little wiser as well. I realized that as still a child there where things I could not understand, even if they would explain to me the truth. For example, when you ask a parent the classic question where do babies come from, what is a parent supposed to do? Now that i have grown into a young adult I personally think that lying sometimes is fine, especially when you do it to protect someone else. Yet even when telling the truth may be hard, it might be the better route in the long run. In Henry's case in the Good Lord Bird if he doesn't lie it may cost him is life.
Thank you for sharing your ideas Ryan.
ReplyDeleteWhich sentence would you identify as your main point about lying?
Then once you identify your main point, how would Henry relate to that idea?
What were the circumstances surrounding this time period that made it necessary for people of color and/or slaves to lie?
How did Henry's lie benefit him? Did it benefit him?
I look forward to your response.
--Prof. Young
I think the main point about lying I was trying to make was when I was using the example of the classic question of when a child asks an adult where do babies come from. In this situation it may be awkward for the adult and the safer route would be just to say the white lie. I was trying to make the point that in certain cases it is okay to lie. In Henry's extreme case if doesn't bend the truth a little it may cost him his life. In addition it must be very awkward for this boy, having to lie about his gender. In those times however, you really had to go to extremes just to survive. I think for right now this lie that Henry will continue to lead maybe beneficial. However it may come to haunt him in the future.
DeleteThank you. Okay, so what I'm gathering from your statement is that Henry lied to survive; however, like all lies, it may come to haunt him in the near future.
ReplyDeleteIf this is your point, then I ask you to clearly state this and then develop it.
Also, can you connect yourself to Henry in any way? Have you ever lied to because your life depended on it?