Our main character, Joel, is quite the whopper-teller in Other Voices, Other Rooms. It doesn't really seem all that bad though; he just seems to be sort of childish, as though his lies were a bad habit. This is especially true when they're compared to the lies the adults around him tell. His Cousin Randolph seems to be holding his father captive, and even Joel's moving to live with them was carried out under false pretenses. Part of growing up, for Joel, is realizing that you can't trust anybody, maybe not even yourself.
Questions About Lies and Deceit
- Who catches Joel in his lies? How does it play out?
- What is Randolph's motivation for impersonating Ed?
- When Joel realizes that Randolph has tricked him into going out to the Cloud Hotel, he doesn't speak up. Why not?
- Why does Randolph trick Joel into going to the Cloud Hotel?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Joel's small lies magnify the damage of Randolph's big lies, by contrast.
Joel's habit of lying shows how white lies can grow into webs of deception.