Essay Is What I Say
Andrea Longoria
Essay 1: "Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies" (Oliver Goldsmith). Lying comes in all shapes and sizes, some are small lies, some are big lies, some are white lies, some are right lies, but no matter how a lie is classified, a lie is always a lie. Mark Twain, the author of On the Decay of the Art of Lying, focuses on the positive aspects of lying. On the other hand, the author of The Ways We Lie, by Stephanie Ericsson, gives several examples of lies and their negative effects. These authors open an understanding to how lying is done and the lies purpose. Lies have conformed, fit into our everyday lives, and we have become accustomed to them. As asserted in one of the essays, "Everybody lies--every day; every hour; awake; asleep; in his dreams; in his joy; in his mourning;" (Mark Twain). Although lying may seem like the right thing to do in the heat of moment, is it entirely okay to do? Lying can be told to build a person up, used a "loving" or social lie, told to get you out of trouble but at the same time, lies can hurt someone, become a "dismissal of reality" or a delusion, they give a person the chance to decide "what others can handle", place people into groups and blur a real person, and overall they become such a part of life that you cannot see them. Lying may have some positive effects but overall should be avoided as much as possible. One of the first things that Mark Twain claims is that, "An injurious truth has no merit over an injurious lie," or a damaging truth is not better than a damaging lie. Both the truth and lies are on the same level when you are trying build up a person. For example, all those occasions we have had our close friends or family members come up to us and ask that dreadful question, "Does this shirt make me look fat?". As a friend or relative, thoughts start coming to mind. If any of those thoughts lean toward the side of saying "Yes, you look fat", it is better to discard of them because you
Essay 1: "Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies" (Oliver Goldsmith). Lying comes in all shapes and sizes, some are small lies, some are big lies, some are white lies, some are right lies, but no matter how a lie is classified, a lie is always a lie. Mark Twain, the author of On the Decay of the Art of Lying, focuses on the positive aspects of lying. On the other hand, the author of The Ways We Lie, by Stephanie Ericsson, gives several examples of lies and their negative effects. These authors open an understanding to how lying is done and the lies purpose. Lies have conformed, fit into our everyday lives, and we have become accustomed to them. As asserted in one of the essays, "Everybody lies--every day; every hour; awake; asleep; in his dreams; in his joy; in his mourning;" (Mark Twain). Although lying may seem like the right thing to do in the heat of moment, is it entirely okay to do? Lying can be told to build a person up, used a "loving" or social lie, told to get you out of trouble but at the same time, lies can hurt someone, become a "dismissal of reality" or a delusion, they give a person the chance to decide "what others can handle", place people into groups and blur a real person, and overall they become such a part of life that you cannot see them. Lying may have some positive effects but overall should be avoided as much as possible. One of the first things that Mark Twain claims is that, "An injurious truth has no merit over an injurious lie," or a damaging truth is not better than a damaging lie. Both the truth and lies are on the same level when you are trying build up a person. For example, all those occasions we have had our close friends or family members come up to us and ask that dreadful question, "Does this shirt make me look fat?". As a friend or relative, thoughts start coming to mind. If any of those thoughts lean toward the side of saying "Yes, you look fat", it is better to discard of them because you