Rhetorical Device #3

Shayla Forbes-Luong
Period 5, Thomas. October 14th, 2015
Anecdote: A short account of an interesting event.
Example: "When my partner came home, his haggard face told me his day hadn't gone any
better than mine, so when he asked, "How was your day?" I said, "Oh, fine," knowing that one
more straw might break his back" (120).
Function: In Stephanie Ericsson's The Ways We Lie, she utilizes her anecdote about her life to
emphasize how easily and naturally it has become for society to lie, which has also caused the
American culture to be considered "moral garbage" (120). When Ericsson narratives her day, she
lies to her husband about how her day had gone in order to spare her husband's feelings of pity
towards her, especially since "his day hadn't gone any better than [hers]" (121). In the course of
her eventful day, she lies a total or four times, all at which she felt no guilt in doing so. This is
because society fears of telling the truth, along with the consequences that come with it and
would rather bend the truth around in order to accommodate to the situation. According to
Webster, a lie is defined as "1. a false statement of action especially made with the intent to
deceive; 2. anything that gives or meant to give false impression" (121). However, Ericsson
explains that a person isn't necessarily honest or bad if they tell a lie or not because of the
versatility of lies. For example, Ericsson believes that "[people] lie. [They] all do. [They]
exaggerate, [they] minimize, [they] avoid confrontation, [they] spare people's feelings, [they]
conveniently forget, [and they] keep secrets" (121). Although the usage of lies may be a
safeguard for people's emotions, overly using them creates a lack of trust in a society which will
eventually lead to a decrease in values.