The Importance Of Honesty In Fifteen Dogs And Despicable Man

Since birth, one is told that honesty is the best policy, but it is only as one grows that the importance of this cliche reveals itself. In Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis and Despicable Me by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul, the protagonists learn these life lessons spurred by the challenges they face. To begin, both of the protagonists live unhappily because they refuse to be honest their desires. Then, the protagonists accept and honestly pursue their desires. Finally, being honest about their desires leads the protagonists to happy lives. Thus, the protagonists demonstrate that one must be honest about one’s desires to be happy.
Initially, while refusing to be honest about their desires, the protagonists face difficult, unhappy lives. In Fifteen Dogs, fifteen dogs are …show more content…
Among those dogs is Prince, a small mutt who is endlessly curious. He pretends not to rely on his human intelligence, but instead dedicates himself to finding out how other things and people work. Prince works around the clock to find out what makes other things tick: “It was he who asked endless questions about trivial things: about humans, about the sea, about trees [...]” (Alexis, 28). Instead of focusing on his own desires and how he functions, Prince focuses on the things around him. He ignores the gifts that have been handed to him, and does not examine them closely. Prince is not willing to be honest about what his desires, but rather prefers to ignore the subject completely and focus on those around him. Similarly to Prince, Gru, the protagonist of Despicable Me, avoids admitting his desires and instead lives