What I Saw and How I Lied Morality and Ethics Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

"I never thought about it before. But after you a fight a war, you figure the world is going to get a little more fair, don't you?" (16.23)

Now that she's growing older, Evie is starting to notice the bad things happening in the world around her. She can't turn a blind eye to the segregated water fountains; something inside of her tells her that it's all wrong.

Quote #2

Ugly. Once in the schoolyard Herbie Connell threw a rock and it hit me in the back. This felt like that, ugly hitting me in the back. (19.40)

Even though Evie doesn't fully understand why the hotel manager is kicking the Graysons out, she knows that it feels terrible. It may be policy to turn Jewish business away, but that doesn't mean that it's not ugly and wrong.

Quote #3

I sat there, thinking about a warehouse full of stuff. Like that missing wall, when you could see into a farmhouse, tables and chairs and an empty cup. And all that stuff belonged to families. […] And then suddenly, for some reason, I thought of Margie stepping on the back of Ruthie Kalman's shoe. (20.58-59)

Evie is starting to piece it all together. The stuff that Joe and Peter have stolen makes her feel uncomfortable in the same way that Margie's treatment of Ruthie Kalman does. It all comes back to this idea of right and wrong…