How often do your parents encourage you to lie to authority? When you're trying to keep your new status as an invisible person a secret from the whole wide world, you're going to have to tell a few white lies. In Things Not Seen, after Bobby wakes up and is no longer capable of seeing his own body, he and his parents work hard to keep people from asking questions. His parents try to make up credible excuses for why he misses school for so many weeks, and why the social workers can't find any evidence of him being anywhere in the house. They even rope his elderly Aunt Ethel into the whole mess. This is turning into quite the criminal operation.
Questions About Lies and Deceit
- Do you think that Bobby's parents were right to hide his condition from the authorities?
- Why do you think Aunt Ethel goes along with their plan to lie to social services?
- Why do you think Sheila just disappears instead of telling her family what had happens to her?
- Do you think Bobby is justified in breaking into the Sears corporate headquarters?
Chew on This
Being invisible doesn't just turn Bobby into a loner—it also turns him into a fugitive from the law because he can't exactly tell authorities about what happened to him.
Bobby's parents would rather lie and go to jail for him than reveal his condition because they love him and want him to be able to live a normal existence.