The Liar By Tobias Wolff Analysis

Tobias Wolff’s “The Liar” from his collection of short stories entitled Our Story Begins tells the story of James, a teenage pathological liar who, after the death of his father, begins to fabricate gruesome stories about his life. James’ mother, Margaret, a devout Christian who is disturbed by her son’s constant lying, relies on the assistance of both God and the family physician to help “cure” him. Wolff structures this story tactfully, revealing significant information in a way that seems natural and deliberate. He drops the reader into the story with very little background information about the characters, gradually revealing key information about their pre-existing lives as the story progresses. Through the use of small details, Wolff …show more content…
Advertisements on buses, entire menus as we ate, billboards; if it had no cover it interested her. So when she found a letter in my drawer that wasn’t addressed to her, she read it.” At this point in the story, the reader is unaware of who the narrator is or who his mother is. We are also unaware of what the letter says. This writing technique seems to be a specialty of Wolff’s, who starts off many of his stories in a specific time and place, giving the reader very little background information to set the scene. It is not until later on in the story that we find out the mysterious letter is one addressed to James’ friend Ralphy in Arizona. The letter features another one of James’ intricate lies, this one being that his mother had been “coughing up blood,” followed by, “the doctors weren’t sure what was wrong with her…” By starting the story off so ambiguously, Wolff creates a distance between the reader and the narrator, which allows for the narrator to become increasingly more likeable as the story progresses. In the beginning, we know very little about James, and as a result, feel very little emotional attachment to his character. However, as the narrator reveals more about his pre-existing circumstance, we are able to sympathize with him and develop a deeper understanding as to what has led him to fictionalize his life. If the story had started off with the death of James’ father, revealing the underlying …show more content…
In the story’s final scene, James is sent by his mother to go stay with his brother, Michael, in Los Angeles for a week or two. However, James gets onto the wrong bus and ends up stuck waiting with the other passengers when a storm hits and the bus breaks down. Wolff uses descriptive imagery to contrast the harsh weather outside of the bus with the cozy atmosphere inside of the bus. “The wind was blowing hard, driving sheets of rain against the windows on both sides. The bus swayed gently. Outside the light was brown and thick. The woman next to me pumped all the people around us for their itineraries and said whether or not she’d ever been where they were going.” James then goes on to sing in a made up language to the receptive crowd, telling them that he worked with refugees in Tibet and his parents were killed by communist. The descriptive language makes the magical and almost unrealistic ending feel more real and accessible. Readers can almost feel the harsh wind and see the colors of the gloomy storm. This relatable imagery contrasts with the warm shades of the inside of the bus, where something very spiritual and magical is taking place. Because of the dreamlike atmosphere inside of the bus, the reader is led to believe that James is finally beginning to let go of the death of his father, telling more light-hearted lies that reflect the freedom