The Truth in "We Were Liars" by Casey

The Truth in "We Were Liars" by Casey - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

Before graduation, all high school students should read We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. This novel is a refreshing break from the predominantly aged curriculum that governs the average high school English classroom. The author artfully combines literary devices and life lessons into a devastating story that demands to be read. The structure of We Were Liars introduces students to a unique style of writing and analysis of the deeper meaning that it implies. The narrator, Cadence Sinclair, suffers memory loss following a head trauma and spends much of her time rediscovering her identity, with no recollection of the events leading up to her accident. While not exactly average, Cadence’s narrative symbolically parallels the journey of typical high school students preparing to graduate: claiming independence, becoming more self-aware and self-sufficient, and understanding the value of truth.

E. Lockhart gives little information away about the content of Cadence’s story in the jacket copy, revealing only the impractical expectations of the family in the spotlight: the Sinclairs. The pages are bestrewn with sentences cut short for emphasis and short chapters, some only three-quarters of a page in length, symbolic of the fast-paced impulsivivity of rash decisions that change each character’s life. The atypical organization of this story corresponds with the peculiar nature that fuels Sinclair family connections, testing readers’ analytical reasoning and ability to foreshadow events. The unusual organization of the story also exposes an unreliable narrator, a topic seldom addressed as a source of bias in high school classrooms, but an important distinction to make in the real world. In the piecemeal construction of the story of Cadence’s accident, Lockhart constantly reminds readers that the narrator is an emotional teenage girl with memory loss and a knack for lying to protect her family’s reputation; this effect gives the reader an opportunity to step back and consider the believability of the presented information.

Cadence’s narration encourages involvement from the reader, sharing memories as she remembers them creating a skewed perception of events. Her tone is replete with hope when discussing recovery of her memory, but is pessimistic regarding relationships between her relatives. Recognizing the importance of a narrator’s tone, students become prepared to analyze bias in their own impressions. Cadence parallels her personal tragedy to Shakespeare’s character King Lear; encompassed by an obsession with ostentatious possessions, both families are responsible for their own destruction. This comparison brings an additional and outside source of emotion which warns of the danger resulting from false flattery and pompous attitudes.

Hoping to disconnect herself from these reprehensible traits, Cadence establishes herself as an intentional outcast. After her accident, she desires separation from the impossible burden of her family’s reputation: she dyes her hair, changes her style, and gives away her belongings. Cadence is learning that she does not have to be restricted by the boundaries of her family; she decides how effective their oppression is. Life after high school is similar: students learn to live outside of family influence and the shelter of their parents, taking their own initiative about how to live and who to be.

Cadence’s situation advocates the importance of being true to oneself, even while suffocated by lies. The Sinclair family lies to the world about their flawlessness and covers uncomfortable truths with silence, proving useless in Cadence’s quest to regain her memory. Cadence cannot keep up with this façade after losing her memory and upon this realization she questions her reasons for ever lying for a false family, encouraging readers to also value truth over appearances. Cadence’s sudden awareness of her family’s deceit leads her to break the mold that her family has designed for her, which they regard as rebellion; she is actually creating her own principles, independent of those under which she was raised. Cadence’s actions teach the reader, through her own growth and her family’s ruin, that real values in life are not materialistic.

In the final pages of the novel, Cadence remembers the accident that her family has kept hidden from her: a house fire that she and her three cousins started, but which only she survived. Although the fatal flaw of this family is liable for the travesty that occurs, they are all able to learn from it, showing signs of recovery at the end of the story, placing less emphasis on their wealth. This book asks readers to grow from mistakes and to embrace support from those who reach out to help. Grieving must be done together in situations of loss, with openness and honesty. Finally, when the truth is brought to the surface, the Sinclair family is able to establish a true relationship by aiding each other through the hardship. Lockhart gives hope for even the most dysfunctional families, allowing the integrity of truth to replace greed.

We Were Liars parallels high school students’ understandings of a world outside of their sheltered upbringings. Cadence, like all of us, is on a quest for knowledge, and in seeking it she gains independence that leads to an understanding of how to question her surroundings and locate the truth. Cadence’s parallels essentially allow students to view themselves. Her journey out from the protected umbrella of her family’s influence teaches us to value self-understanding and truth above arbitrary commands of who to be. We can learn from Cadence how to approach new situations with confidence and genuine understanding of the conflicts that everyone is struggling with inside.