Renzini Brothers Lies

Arthur Koestler once said, “Nothing is more sad than the death of an illusion” (Koestler). This quote represents The Benzini Brothers in full force. The hard truth is that the bright and unique shows many pay to see is nothing but a devious scandal, full of lies. The Benzini Brothers’ circus appears glamorous and exciting, even magical at times, but in reality the enchantment of the circus is all a fabrication for what the workers actually live through.
Lying and deceitfulness is a skill that The Benzini Brothers’ circus has mastered. The circus is in constant struggle, having no money, no animals, and no main event. August, second in command, always tries to scheme his way out of difficult or unpleasant situations. He tries to create illusion for the public in hopes they do not notice the fiction of the circus. This particular event did not faze him or make him question the morality of the situation: “For two weeks we traveled with a pickled hippo” (Gruen 104). Regardless of what the right thing to do is, August tries to convince Jacob there is nothing wrong with lying to a crowd of people for vast
However, The Benzini Brothers’ hard work does not have the same interpretation: “There’s them and there’s us, and you’re us” (Gruen 37). As this quote describes, it does not matter about hard work or the hours each person puts in every day. If someone is a performer, that is where they stay, and if someone works with the animals or crew, they are never going anywhere according to the circus’ philosophy. Uncle Al does not care about the labor workers; therefore, money is not something of which they see a lot. The priority is the entertainers because in Uncle Al’s mind, The Benzini Brothers’ would cease to exist without them. The sad truth is Uncle Al does not realize that in reality, the labor workers run the show. Once again, his judgment is clouded with greed, lies, and