The Lie By Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Lies are never appropriate when the outcome results in hurting others around you. In “The Lie” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. there are two big lies shown. Eli’s lie about not getting into the Whitehill School For Boys, and Dr. Remenzel’s lie about money meaning power so you should never ask for favors just because your a Remenzel. He assumes Eli would get in because he’s rich and has ‘power’. Dr. Remenzel’s lie and Eli’s lie were big and affected others. Dr. Remenzel’s lie affected more people, including family, the school board, and possibly the school. The first reason is, Dr. Remenzel’s lie hurt the most people, including Sylvia, Eli, the school board, and possibly the whole school. In “The Lie” after Dr. Remenzel’s lie is discovered Eli states

He doesn’t like Sylvia asking so many questions in fear she will use their money as power to get what she wants. In the end Eli’s lie is blamed on Dr. Warren causing Dr. Remenzel to run off and beg the school board to let Eli on. He has now broken his number one rule, no favors using money, power, or last name. Dr. Remenzel has always believed in his rule and after breaking it everyone is surprised and hurt. On the other hand, some people believe Eli’s lie could be the biggest lie, technically they aren’t wrong. Right away in the story the author describes how they have driven all the way from New York city to Massachusetts. “A black Rolls-Royce streaked up the Connecticut Turnpike from New York City....The wonderful school was the Whitehill School for Boys, a private preparatory school in North Marston, Massachusetts.” But, Eli only kept it from his parents because they pressured him so much into getting in and how great of a time this would be. Eli felt that telling them right away would let them down so he let them drag him all the way to Massachusetts. Near the end of the story when Eli’s lie does come out Dr. Remenzel was so caught up with him getting in, that he was furious with the school so much that he stormed down to the board members and begged for Eli to get in. If Dr. Remenzel never lied in the first place Eli wouldn’t have been pressured into lying about getting in. There was really no point for the doctor or Sylvia to be mad because they knew his grades weren’t the best. Dr. Remenzel did have enough money in the end to afford traveling for nothing. Both the parents had no reason to be so furious about Eli’s lie, making Dr. Remenzel’s lie look bigger. Eli’s lie wasn’t as harsh as it seems because Dr. Remenzel pressured him, without knowing, into lying. In conclusion, Dr. Remenzel’s and Eli’s lies were both big, but Dr. Remenzel’s lie affected more