What Are The Consequences In Philip Malloy's Nothing But The Truth

Freedom is a value that most people share. But when individuals take their freedoms too far, life can start to spiral out of control. This is the case in the book Nothing But the Truth, by Avi. Philip Malloy, a student at Harrison High School, took his freedoms too far when he started to hum and sing along to the National Anthem when the rule is to be quiet. But, Philip is not trying to be patriotic, he is purposefully being a pest. He does this to get on the track team, which requires passing grades. Unfortunately, his grades are low in english. So, he will try to switch classes to see if it will help boost his grade. The consequences of this decision that Philip made has greatly affected himself and Miss Narwin.

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He did not foresee that his actions would soon have a tremendous effect on himself and on others. These effects caused Philip to miss out on some of his longtime aspirations. One being, getting on the track team. When Philip asks Coach Jamison about joining the track team, he responds saying that Philip “did a number on Miss Narwin” (Avi 161) and that he can not ask him for any favors. Of course, Philip ruined his chances of being on the track team because of how he treated Miss Narwin. This information is devastating for Philip, however, he did set himself up for this consequence. He also set himself up for failure by lying. When Philip twisted the truth about the reason he was suspended, things took a turn for the worse. An article was published with a headline stating “Suspended for Patriotism” (Avi 99), which was not the real reason Philip was suspended. Therefore, a little lie can go a long way. This mistake made Philip’s life a lot harder, due to the outcome of his lie. Additionally, this had an effect on his friendships, too. As Philip talks to his crush and friend Allison, she says “what you did was really mean” and “it’s really embarrassing” (Avi 148). It is easy to see that Allison no longer cherishes her friendship with Philip after what he did to Miss Narwin. Because Philip had a crush on her, this makes him feel worse and regretful of his actions. However, this does not only affect his relationship with Allison, it affects his relationship with everyone at school. Provoking Philip to say that he is “not going to school” (Avi 170). All in all, his actions had an extreme impact on his relationships, which caused friends to turn on him, and teachers no longer gave him the respect that they used to. In the end, Philip’s actions led him to disappointing