Thematic Essay on The Lie
In the cautionary short story, The Lie by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. the reader gets taken to the life of Eli Remenzle. Eli is the first in his family to not get into to Whitehill, a very prestigious school that the Remenzles have been going to for years. When his father finds out Eli didn't get into Whitehill he believes that he should because of their last name. Mr. Remenzle’s ego gets too big and he begs to get Eli in to honor the family legacy. The Author is trying to tell the reader that a person's ego can affect others.
The reader can infer why this is true because of the plan that the Remenzles had when they arrived at Whitehill. “The plan was that Eli would enroll for the fall semester, while his father, a member of …show more content…
He is sitting outside when Sylvia comes and tries to cheer him up and understand what is happening to him. She discovers what Eli did to the letter from Dr. Warren and finally understands the pressure they put on Eli. Just then Doctor comes to tell Sylvia that the board did not pity him and Eli will not be going to Whitehill in the fall. “I asked them to make an exception in your case- to reverse their decision and let you in.” After he says this Eli becomes embarrassed and starts yelling at his father. Doctor finally realizes what he did and comes to the conclusion that they could never come back to Whitehill. Dr. Remenzle’s ego affected the family's legacy, the same thing he was trying to protect and why he was asking the board to let Eli in. His ego is affecting every Remenzel that went to Whitehill, and every Remenzel that could have gone to Whitehill.
The Author wanted to teach the reader that their ego can affect others because, in the Remenzles case, this ruined everything. Because one person thought that they were better than everyone , it ruined everyone else's reputation. This is a cautionary tale because of the mistakes made, messing everything up because someone’s ego is too
In the cautionary short story, The Lie by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. the reader gets taken to the life of Eli Remenzle. Eli is the first in his family to not get into to Whitehill, a very prestigious school that the Remenzles have been going to for years. When his father finds out Eli didn't get into Whitehill he believes that he should because of their last name. Mr. Remenzle’s ego gets too big and he begs to get Eli in to honor the family legacy. The Author is trying to tell the reader that a person's ego can affect others.
The reader can infer why this is true because of the plan that the Remenzles had when they arrived at Whitehill. “The plan was that Eli would enroll for the fall semester, while his father, a member of …show more content…
He is sitting outside when Sylvia comes and tries to cheer him up and understand what is happening to him. She discovers what Eli did to the letter from Dr. Warren and finally understands the pressure they put on Eli. Just then Doctor comes to tell Sylvia that the board did not pity him and Eli will not be going to Whitehill in the fall. “I asked them to make an exception in your case- to reverse their decision and let you in.” After he says this Eli becomes embarrassed and starts yelling at his father. Doctor finally realizes what he did and comes to the conclusion that they could never come back to Whitehill. Dr. Remenzle’s ego affected the family's legacy, the same thing he was trying to protect and why he was asking the board to let Eli in. His ego is affecting every Remenzel that went to Whitehill, and every Remenzel that could have gone to Whitehill.
The Author wanted to teach the reader that their ego can affect others because, in the Remenzles case, this ruined everything. Because one person thought that they were better than everyone , it ruined everyone else's reputation. This is a cautionary tale because of the mistakes made, messing everything up because someone’s ego is too