Preview

The Ways We Lie Argument Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
667 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Ways We Lie Argument Essay
Lies have been around for as long as people have been. We all lie, whether it is to protect someone we love of to cover up something we don’t want others to know about, it is still lying, and we all do it everyday. Lying has become the new normal for our modern society, so much so, that some of us have lost our morals completely. It is just so much easier and quicker to just lie to someone than to tell the truth, and now you can never tell who is lying to you or who is telling the truth. People use to have morals about lying and many people would feel bad about it and teach their children to never lie, but now in today’s society they just pop out of our mouths like they're nothing. We will never stop lying because it’s easier to live a lie than it is to tell the truth, because the truth might come with consequences, but so does lying. Most of the time it is easier to tell a lie than it is to tell the truth and there is no way that we will ever completely eliminate lying from our society, because it does make our lives so much easier. Sometimes though lying can come with consequences, and it can backfire when someone discovers that you lied. Lying can cause a situation to become worse than it would have been if the truth had been told. Take James Frey for an example. He wrote an autobiography called A Million Little Pieces and the book was featured on Oprah and put on her book club list. After a while it was discovered that parts of his autobiography were not real and he was humiliated on a national level. If he had told the truth then his book could have still been published, but as a fictional story, and he could have still been a successful author and had a bestselling book. You should always be careful with the lies you tell and who you tell them to because there’s always a chance that someone will find out and then you would be in trouble. We have become a gullible nation where we will believe that most of the stuff that is told to us is the truth. Think

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The ways lies can impact or affect the lives of the people who tell them are explained in “The Ways We Lie” written by Stephanie Ericsson in 50 Essays. Ericsson talks about the types of lies and how it impacts the person who tells lies. For instance Ericsson Three Common Lies Ericsson uses are The White Lie, Deflecting, and Omission.…

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “The Ways We Lie” by Stephanie Ericsson, she talks about the many different types of lies. She says that we all lie, and we all lie in most of the ways she mentions. In my opinion, I agree with most of what she says. It is true that we all lie in some way, but we might not all lie in the same way. Some people like to use the “lie of omission” while others might to tend towards the “white lie.” While these lies, in my opinion, tend to be the most common, some of her other example of lying are also used widely. “Ignoring the plain facts” is used all over the news and media, and her example of the Church in the 1960s is one of the most famous. This is also an example of irony, because the Church itself was the one “ignoring the plain…

    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In "The Ways We Lie" by Stephanie Ericsson, Ericsson talks about how lies exist in aspects of our life every single day. She describes the different ways that humans lie and justifies why people doing so. These lies discussed in this article include the white lies, facade lies, lies of omission and lies that focus around stereotypes. White lie is a common way that people lie to others, because the lie would be better than the truth. Sometimes, the truth will cause more damage or dangerous than a simple harmless…

    • 91 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    When a person tells a lie, they steal someone else’s right to the truth. Stephanie Ericsson in “The Ways We Lie” explains ten specific lies that she believes are prevalent in today’s society. The reading begins by the “The White Lie” being the most harmless lie. Then she describes “Out-and-Out Lies” being the worst lie because it ignores the truth to escape responsibility. Ericsson attempted to go an entire week without telling a lie to analyze how conversation would be if it were all honest. Surprisingly, she believes it is nearly impossible. From personal experiences “The White Lie” is seen as the least harmful and almost a natural part of everyday conversation, then ranging to the most harmful being “Delusions” which is seen as lying…

    • 418 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In to story, "The Ways We Lie, the author tells about the many ways people lie and explains the reasons for doing it. Her essay explains the different lies told daily by most people. First is the white lie, which is basically telling a harmless lie instead of the truth, if the truth I bad news. Then a facade is changing your behavior while avoiding the real truth. The author tells of a lie done with the intent to do wrong. And deflecting is not answering the question at all. The author tells how people are often up-front about unimportant issues and not revealing the couple of very important details that changes everything.…

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dan Ariely: Why We Lie?

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages

    According to the author of Why We Lie , David Smith we are not aware of the lies we tell. That we as social beings are so good at deception we have fooled ourselves. In society, those who are too honest or blunt are antisocial or even pathological. People want to hear what they want to hear, it doesn’t matter if it's true or not. Which in way lying gives us social interaction benefits, but what are the cons? According to researchers Anita Kelly and LiJuan Wang of Notre Dame,lying can cause stress. Which is bad for your health . Also if we were to think what makes someone a criminal or a model citizen. Is lying to protect others versus lying to benefit yourself. So if lying did deteriorate, our society’s crime rate would too. Its correlated with cheating and…

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Ways We Lie

    • 301 Words
    • 2 Pages

    8. I would say Ericsson’s tone for the most part stays light and at some points even humorous. She uses just enough humor to keep the reader hooked and entertained but not too much so it doesn’t mock. I also think there is almost a hint of guilt in her tone for her lies and for they war all people lie to each…

    • 301 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Are Lies Wrong

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The debate over the acceptability of lying is a complicated one. Some feel that it is morally wrong and only ever worsens a situation. Others feel that it is acceptable in cases where feelings could be hurt, or if a person’s self-esteem may be lowered. However, there are instances in which lying happens simply to avoid the consequences of a person’s actions, and most would agree that it is morally wrong. Instead of going back and forth between “lying is wrong” and “lying is okay sometimes,” a better use of our time would be learning to improve our honesty with ourselves and with the people around…

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the article Brad Blanton: Honestly Tell the Truth written by Barbara Ballinger it states, “yes, but we shouldn’t manipulate the truth except for rare times-if you’re hiding Anne Frank in your attic because her life is in danger.” lying can not only be “beneficial” in ways that when used, may offer an exit out of a difficult situation. In the article Teens Do their Share of Lying by Loretta Ragsdell its states, “becoming a good liar is a necessary life-survival skill.” said Tim. “Sometimes, it’s the only thing between you and a guaranteed beat down from your parents.” As Tim stated, lying can be a necessity, it is something that can even define the thin line between two…

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Way We Lie

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages

    First off let me start of by saying that we lie. We all do. We exaggerate, we leave out things, we avoid confrontation, we try to be inconsideration of other people feelings, we conveniently forget some aspects of the truth and even keep secrets. Like most people, I find myself in situations of small falsehoods and still think of my self of an honest person. Sure I lie, but it’s not really bothering anyone or anything.…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Ways We Lie

    • 369 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In "The Ways We Lie," by Stephanie Ericsson, the author depicts the many ways humans lie and justifies the reasons for doing so. There is the white lie, which is basically telling an untruth . Facades are basically changing your personality while ignoring the plain facts, as the title implies, is a false action done with the intent to deceive. Deflecting is not answering the question at all; it is being up-front about comfortable issues and not revealing the couple of very important issues that changes everything. The omission is simply when you don 't say anything instead of lying. Stereotypes create lies from actions of a certain group. Group think is to believe something just because others believe it. Out-and-out lies are straightforward, and dismissal is simply avoiding the lie all together. Delusion is lying to oneself. Ericsson believes lying is important in order to not hurt people’s feelings and to be successful and happy. I agree with Ericsson to an extent. It is true that lying may cause hurt feelings and a simple, harmless miss truth would have solved that problem. However, the author also states that she tried to go weeks without lying and she found it almost impossible. So basically, the author believes that society is full of compulsive liars but at the same time, lies are important,…

    • 369 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Do People Lie

    • 792 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Where did lying come from? If this action is regarded as such a negative, dishonest act then why do people lie in the first place? How and why do people initially learn how to…

    • 792 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Ways We Lie

    • 275 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In "The Ways We Lie," by Stephanie Ericsson, the author depicts the many ways humans lie and justifies the reasons for doing so. There is the white lie, which is basically telling a harmless untruth instead of a harmful truth. Facades are basically changing your personality while ignoring the plain facts, as the title implies, is a false action done with the intent to deceive. Deflecting is not answering the question at all; it is being up-front about comfortable issues and not revealing the couple of very important issues that changes everything.…

    • 275 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    ways we lie

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages

    It is curious to know that every day without thinking everyone tells lies “The Ways we lie” by Stephanie Ericcson is a realistic text that demonstrates what a lie is, why lies are told, how lies are justified, and consequences. According to this essay “We lie. We all do. We exaggerate, we minimize, we avoid confrontation, we spare people's feelings, we conveniently forget, we keep secrets, we justify lying to the big-guy institutions.” (Page 408 of The Bedford Reader). Ericsson analyze the different ways we use lies to help and hurt our self in our everyday lives, and how this effects American culture.The purpose of this essay is not to make people feel bad about themselves or to censure anybody, but to make people think before they lie.…

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Is Lying Bad?

    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages

    First and foremost, lying effects you extremely. If you tell a little white lie such as, "Does this dress make me look fat?" "No!", then you may have some guilt riding on your shoulders. If you tell a huge, important lie, then the guilt will be riding on your shoulders like a one thousand pound weight. For instance, what the president did. After a pointless lie, the whole nation is totally poor and most likely starved because of the lack of money for food and water. People lie everyday to, in someway or another, keep themselves out of trouble. Many teenagers will lie to their parents about what they are doing for the evening, how much of their homework they have done, or how that glass vase got broken while they were out of town. We even lie to our boyfriends or girlfriends about who that other boy was that called the house or what exactly we did with our friends last night. All anyone is trying to accomplish by this is to stay out of trouble when we know we've done wrong; but we never think of the effects of lying. Although we think we're being sly, parents are usually smarter than we give them credit for! Eventually there will be no point…

    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics