Eli and the Test
Did you know that 91% of Americans lie on a daily basis! Eli is one of that 91%. He could have told the truth, but instead he caused a lot of un needed chaos. In the short story, “The Lie,” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Eli has a problem and tries to fix it by lying, but it didn’t go the way he planned.
All of that chaos starts when Dr. Rumenzle makes Eli go to White-hill School. To be able to attended there, you must take and educational test that test your knowledge. If you don’t pass, you get a notice in the mail. Eli’s score on the test said that he failed, so when he found the notice in the mail, he ripped it up.
The short story “The Lie” follows a comedic mode. It starts out with normal, everyday life. Eli takes the test, and hi parents have no idea on what is coming at them next. Then the conflict arises by Eli failing the test and keeping the secret from his parents. After a while, Eli realizes that he shouldn’t have ripped up the notice from the school, and shouldn’t have lied to his parents about it. Eli wasn’t the only person that realized something; it was also his parents too. They realized that Eli didn’t really want to go to the school, and he didn’t want to hurt their feelings so he lied to them.
The symbols in this short story pay a huge role. Such as the notice that had the test results of the entrance exam for Eli. It is also the reason of the lie that Eli told to his parents. The White-hill school represents the quality and smarts of Eli and what he learned in his years of schooling.
“The Lie” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was wonderful to read because of how it relates to a real life situation. The lesson in this story was to not lie, even if you get in trouble for telling the truth, you will get a less horrible consequence than if you were to lie.
