Today I want to explore the way lies affect the story. I'd like to get right to the biggest lie of them all; Christopher's father telling him that his mother has died. The idea that Christopher's mother has tragically died permeates the entire first half of the book. It makes the reader sympathetic to Christopher and his father's situation. It paints their relationship as one of a father and son who rely on each other and understand each other. Sadly, when the truth came out I saw everything in a very different light. Christopher's father became this dishonest, and even somewhat sick man. Obviously he was just trying to protect Christopher, but the whole idea didn't seem too well thought out. What if his wife had decided to come back? And the most important of them all, what would Christopher think if he learned the truth? Christopher's reaction to the situation is devastating. He is affected physically, vomiting all over the bed and basically passing out. He seems to be feeling the proper things in reaction to the situation. Yet he still behaves logically when he decides he's no longer safe with his father and finds his way to his mother.

The lies in this story pervade the entire structure of everything. It shows the unexpected nature of life. Here Christopher was trying to determine who killed Mrs. Shears' dog, and it turns out there's a much bigger mystery at hand. It begs the question, when is a lying to your children doing more harm than good? Even though Christopher doesn't understand human emotion, his world is still rocked by the truth, and he has to make decisions for himself no 15 year old boy should.