We Were Liars Character Analysis

“We are liars. We are beautiful and privileged. We are cracked and broken.” We Were Liars by E. Lockhart is a dramatic novel about a group of four friends and cousins, Gat, Mirren, Johnny, and Cadence, which Cadence nicknames “the Liars”. They spend all of their time together during the summers on an island called Beechwood Island, until summer fifteen when Cadence has an accident. She struggles to remember what happened to her, until summer seventeen. She learns that she and the liars had burned down the Clairmont House that their aunts were fighting over. During the act, Gat, Mirren, and Johnny died in the fire. In this novel, there are many conflicts, including internal within the characters and external between the characters. Three of …show more content…
Mostly within the Liars. Grandfather Harris was determined to have the perfect family but when Gat came along, it changed everything. This is a conflict because it hurt people, especially Gat and Cadence. Grandfather Harris didn’t particularly like Gat because he was Indian. When Gat and Cadence were in the attic looking for books, Gat confessed he loved Cadence. Grandfather Harris walked in on them, and told Gat to “watch himself”, until he left the attic. Grandfather Harris did not want Gat anywhere near Cadence because Gat was not part of his idea of a perfect family. As well, Cadence dyes her hair black before she comes back during summer seventeen. In Grandfather Harris’ idea of a perfect family, there is no black hair; just blond. He complains to her mother, saying, “She used to be a little blond girl. A Sinclair through and through.” He was very upset that his “Beautiful Sinclair Family” was no longer how he imagined. There are many conflicts in We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, and these three were the most important ones. Cadence had no memory of her big accident, and no one would help remind her of what happened. Granny Tipper died and left the aunts fighting over the Clairmont house, drinking and yelling all the time. Grandfather Harris wasn’t satisfied with what the “Beautiful Sinclair Family” was turning out to be. The conflicts in this novel created plenty of suspense within the story,