Secrets

To elaborate a little more on what we had discussed in class on Friday, I'd like to add to the list of lies and secrets that are kept through out this book. The lies told in this novel are very unique because they aren't really lies. They are just well kept secrets. Some "not quite" lies include mother lying to her children that she really does have everything together, when in actuality, she cries her self to sleep at night over the worry of the safety and well being of her and her family. Others are closer to white lies such as the mother telling the children that the dog just wasn't coming with them, rather than her telling them that she had killed him. Not only does the mother lie, but so does the daughter and father. The daughter lies to her little brother about how many horses will run by the train, when in actuality, she doesn't know if there will even be any horses. The father lies through his letters home stating that everything is "O.K."...in jail?

The father writes to the daughter stating all the wonderful things he will buy for her birthday. However, at the end of the note she notices that it has been censored. "At the bottom of the card there was a P.S. and then a line of text that had been blacked out by the censors. She wondered what it was her father had wanted to tell her." Obviously, not everything is "O.K" in jail if letters that her father writes are read through before they're sent. The daughter learns quickly how corrupt the world around her is becoming and soon catches on that she too, in order to stay sane has to lie a little.


As a reader, I can't help to wonder why these characters feel the need to lie to one another. I took the time to analyze each character and why they might lie to them selves and one another. The mother for one, is protecting her children from the harsh realities of the war. The sister, learning from her mother and father tries to protect her brother from the same realities; she probably feels that she grew up too fast and she wants him to keep his innocence. The father lies for different reasons because his situation in jail is a little more skewed than the others situation at home. Everything he does is monitored and looked after. The smallest hickup of a "bad time" there could ruin the chances of him or even his families survival. We all lie a little from time to time, but I can't help to wonder if their lies are getting the best of them.