Telling The Truth In The Open Window By Saki

In “The Open Window” by Saki, the moral decision being made is Vera deciding between telling the truth or using her specialty of romance at short notice. The author is trying to teach us that often times, humans defy good morals in order to create more excitement in their lives. This theory is evident throughout the story, specifically through Vera’s actions. An example of this is when she was making small talk with Mr. Nuttel. “‘[...] her husband and her two young brothers went off for their day’s shooting. They never came back. [...] all three engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog [...] Their bodies were never recovered’” (1). Clearly, Vera decided that, when asked why the window was open, to take the truth and twist it. The reason for this is that Vera wanted to intrigue her new guest, and she thought that her own life is too boring so she chose to spice it up. …show more content…
Another example of this is at the end of the story. Mr. Nuttel had bolted out of the house in fear, and Vera took it upon herself to make up an excuse for his absence. “‘ I expect it was the spaniel, [...] he told me he had a horror of dogs. He was once hunted in a cemetery [...] by a pack of pariah dogs, and had to spend the night in a newly dug grave with the creatures snarling and ginning and foaming above him. Enough to make anyone their nerve’” (2). At this point, Vera had told another lie. She thought that it would be boring to have her aunt be baffled at Mr. Nuttel leaving in such a rush, so she made up a story that added some color to the situation. Yet, this was again a bad idea, as Mrs. Sappleton gained the belief that Mr. Nuttel had been traumatized in his life and was an extremely sensitive man. In short, “The Open Window” truly teaches the reader that human nature causes a person to make poor moral decisions in order to bring more excitement into their