Next class we will talk about lying (not telling the truth). Please think about ALL of the questions below. Then, choose ONE question and write your answer in the comments.1. Sometimes parents lie to their kids. Can you think of any examples? Why do parents do this?
2. Sometimes adults lie to each other. Can you think of any examples? Why do we do this?
3. Can you think of any examples when lying is better than telling the truth?
It must be fun to talk about lying!! I'll answer Question 1. I think parents tell a lie so often to their kids. There are so many things in the world that children cannot understand or too early to know. In such cases, adults use easy way to convince them --- lie. I was taught that a stork brought a baby!
ReplyDeleteMinami.O
My answer to the question #3: when somebody has a serious disease (ex. cancer), and his/her family doesn't want to let him/her know about the fact. In this case, the family believes not telling the truth is good for the patient, and sometimes it brings a good result.
ReplyDeleteI will answer question 2.Adults somerimes lie so as not to hurt another person's feelings.For example,how do you answer if someone you don't like invite you to drink?I say,"I'm sorry,but I'm very busy today."
ReplyDeleteYusuke
I'd like to answer question 1. Parents lie to their kids not to break their dreams. For example, they tell their children that Santa Claus will give them presents on Chiristmas Day. However, it is their father or mother that will put presents secretly above your pillow.
ReplyDeleteAkiko Yamaoka T1
I'd like to answer question1. Parents lie to their children not to do bad things again. When I scribbled on the wall in my room, my mother told me that my hand would rot.
ReplyDeleteNana Nakamura T1
I will answer to #2:
ReplyDeleteI guess adults sometimes lie in order to save their face. People usually lie when the truth is too shocking or embarrassing for one or both of them. I cannot tell my friend that her cloth today is so revolting, but instead I say "that's unique". Because I know the truth make her embarrassed all day.
Yurika
Hello,Mr Matt
ReplyDeleteI'd like to say something about question 1.Parents do lie to their children often.I think everyone here may have that experience---being told lies by your parents.
I still remember when I was a kid,my parents used to tell me I'm a kid from somebody else,so they'll send me back if I don't listen to them .And I remember they also said I shouldn't drink soda because people who drink soda can't go to a university.I think they just told those lies for fun and I never get mad at them for that since I know the truth.
There is a lie that parents always tell their kids.It's been told almost by every generation adn and in every country---about Santa Claus.They say if you be a good child ,Santa Claus will bring a gift to you in Christmas Eve.
I think maybe what they really want to say is:"Have a dream.The world is beautiful."
So,you see,sometimes lying can be a beautiful thing.
Ren Liu
I'm sorry I forgot to say I am a student of T1.
ReplyDeleteRen Liu
Hello Matt,
ReplyDeleteI'd like to answer the second question.
Adults sometimes face to the time when they have to lie. For example, when you see a new baby of your friends, which is not so pretty, you cannot say what you thought. You may not think that you should say the truth and hurt your friends. Or rather, you will lie to make them happy. Thus, I think that adults sometimes lie to keep their friendship.
Misato
Hi, Matt
ReplyDeleteI'd like to answer question2. I think some adults lie in order not to hurt other person's feelings. For example, even though a woman cooked something terrible for her boyfriend, he would say it was delicious.
Sayaka Umamori T1
I would like to answer question 2.
ReplyDeleteI think that adults tend to lie to avoid hurting others, or to make them feel nice. Especially with people who are working, it's possibly safer to keep from telling their boss how horrible they think his necktie is.
Kaori Itakura
I'd like to answer question 2.
ReplyDeleteI think that adults sometimes lie to each other because they want to communicate with them better. For example, when your boss says to you "go to drink alcohol tonight," you might say "yes, I'd like to," even if you are very tired and want to go home.
T1 Satomi Yoneyama
I wanna answer question#1. I think parents sometimes lie to their kids in order to let them keep a rule. When i was little, i didn't eat vegetables at all although it was my home rule to finish them. One day, my mom put a face of a demon on the window, and said, 'That demon will take you away if you don't eat vegetables.' I was sooooo scared, and tried to eat them... however, i still don't like vegetables so much...
ReplyDeleteT1 Rina
I'd like to answer the question No2. Sometimes adults lie to handle things smoothly. For example, when they want to quit their part-time job because the relationships with their co-workers get wrong, they tend to tell their bosses that "I'd like to quit a job because I will move to somewhere", or something, so as not to be asked to work there anymore.
ReplyDeleteYumiko Nomura T1
I answer the second question. Sometimes in conversation between adults, one of them says like "if you like, I'd like to invite you to my house someday" even if he doesn't think he want to do, and the other one replies like "I'd love to" although he never thinks he want to go.
ReplyDeleteI think adults do these kind of exchanges as a custom in order to keep superficaial connection with others like a business partner.
T1 Yoshihiro(Yoshi)
I will give a comment for No3.
ReplyDeleteI think lying is better than telling the truth when we plan to make some surprising party for our friends, because in this case, telling the truth made the party boring and the lying will not hurt anyone. We might be seen indifferently from our friends' eyes but after all they know what was going on.
T1 Satomi Yoshida
I'd like to think about the first question. In my case, when I was little child, teachers said not to touch chalks because they are poisonous to us children. My mother often said to me to cover my stomach because the god of thunder will take my navel when I was sleeping. They told these things to prevent our hands from getting rash and prevent me from catching cold. By telling lies it becomes easier for children to understand the reason rather than explaining the true reasons that are difficult for them.
ReplyDeleteT1 Yumi
I'd like to answer the second question.
ReplyDeleteI think that adults sometimes lie to avoid saying some harsh words. For example, when they are asked to have a date by someone they don't like, they tend to say "I'm busy" instead of saying "I don't want to have a date with you."
T1 Minami
I would like to answer question 2. I'm thinking an occasion when you are invited to somebody's home and have a meal prepared by him or her. Even if the meal tastes bad, you may say "It's good!" or "I like this!" This is because that you don't want to hurt his or her feeling and you feel sorry to tell the truth.
ReplyDeleteT1 Mickie Yamanari
2.Actually I hate lying by myself and I cannot except when someone else is lying to me. Usually, I am lying on behalf of another person, a friend. When a friend entrusts you his/her secret and asks you to keep it to yourself, you cannot easily tell that to another person. So, I have to say “No, nothing happened. I don’t know” when other friends are asking about something that is concerned.
ReplyDeleteTo tell you the truth, I don’t like the question “How are you?”. It is not that they really care about how you are, it is just a custom. What are you supposed to say if you are not feeling good, if something is wrong but it is not that person’s business, or maybe you just don’t want to make your friend worried? We lie. We say “Oh, I’m fine. Thanks for asking. How are you?”.
Also there are a lot of swindlers and politicians for whom lie is a part of everyday life. They are lying in order to save their asses or to gain some profit.
Anna, T1
I would like to answer the second question. Adults lie in order to avoid making trouble. For example, adults sometimes don't say what they really think when they talk about a matter.
ReplyDeleteT1 Syunta Ishiyama
My answer to the question #2 -wedding report postcards (saying "we got married!" )always says something like "whenever you come near our house, don't hesitate to drop in our house." but it doesn't seem to be OK for me to do that really. It's sometimes difficult and tricky if we should interpret what the adults say literally or not.
ReplyDeleteAska
Hi, Matt. I would like to answer the second question. Sometimes people lie to each other so as to maintain good social relationships. For example, when people get some birthday presents by their friends, they usually tell that they like them whether they really like them or not. They do so in order not to hurt their friends’ feelings and worsen their relationships.
ReplyDeleteT1 Asami Sudo
Hi Matt.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to answer question 1.
I think parents tell a lie when they want their children to listen to what they say or when children ask questions which are difficult to explain. As an example, it's a famous story that parents often tell a lie when children ask how they were born. In other example, parents say "if you drink too much cola, your bones will melt," in order to avoid their children to have too much sugar.
The lies shown above are still "cute." It will be a big problem if parents tell a lie which breaks a promise between their children.
Takaho, T1
I'll answer the first question. Parents often say to their kids that Santa Claus doesn't come to give presents to them if they are not good children, although,in fact, it is not Santa Clause that gives presents. I think parents have intention not to break childrens' dream that Santa Clause exists in the world. They lie in order to protect their dream.
ReplyDeleteT1, Akihiro
I would like to answer the second question. Adults are likely to refrain from making straightforward expressions by lying. It is because they can avoid troubles by telling a lie. For instance, even if dishes that his or her friend served is not good, he doesn't say something like "That's awful!"
ReplyDeleteT1 Hideto Takamura
I'd like to answer question 2.
ReplyDeletePeople often tell lies when the truth may make a troble. For example, if an famous artist goes steady with another artist, they would keep the fact seacret because it could be a scandal.
Yuko T1
I will answer the first question. Parents sometimes tell their children, who don't like vegetables, that they cannot grow up if they don't eat vegetables. Actually children can grow up without vegetables, but it is better to eat them for their health. So, parents say such things to make their children eat vegetables.
ReplyDeleteShiori
Hey Matt,
ReplyDeleteI went very deep seeking an answer for Question 2 during my job-hunting.
In many interviews I had, I was required to open up my life stories simply and concisely to many strangers. Sometimes I felt like making everything up. And I had a friend who actually made up different stories in various companies and got several job offers.
But I wasn't capable of that. Whenever I told even a small lie to them, I felt kind of scary imagining when they'd find it out.
For now, I think lies can make communications smooth if everyone there is mature enough. But I wonder if lies can work more than that. And of course, it's really hard to cover up one lie with another while staying consistent. And I've learned I'm not smart enough for that...
Nike
I will answer question 3. Lying should be allowed when it aims to amuse someone. Nobody gets angry with novelists who write fictions and comedians who tell many kids of lies to make audience laugh. If there is no lying or exaggeration in a novel or in a comic dialog, that story or dialog will be tasteless. I think lying itself is not bad, especially when it does not have any bad effect on others.
ReplyDeleteTakuya (T1)
I will answer the third question. Parents tell their children that Santa Claus gives them presents on Christmas day. However, parents buy presents and give them to children. Parents tell the lie because they want their kids to behave themselves. Children tend to try to be good boys and girls when they can have some prize.
ReplyDeleteFutoshi
I'd like to answer question 1. parents lie to their children to excite children's imagination. For example, parents tell children there are rabits in the moon, and pound steamed rice into rice cake. When I was a child, I imagined how the rabits are like while gazing the moon.
ReplyDeleteSaki
Hi Matt
ReplyDeleteI want to talk about question1. I think parents tell a lie to their children for teaching something. For example, when I was practicing riding a bicycle, they said “We are here!”, which means they kept standing behind me with holding the bicycle. However, they were not there and I succeeded in riding a bicycle. I think this kind of lie is sometimes necessary for children to learn something.
Eri
My answer to question2: My case is an example of when people refuse in an indirect way. My mom always uses this when there’s a phone from some salesperson. She always say to him/her,” Oh, I’m sorry but I don’t have much time right now. Please call back some another time,” instead of directly saying,” I have no intension of buying your products, so I don’t want to talk to you.”
ReplyDeleteThis is because people want to carry away things that bother them without spending much time, and without making bad impressions.
T1 Ayaka Kawashima
I would like to answer the second questions. When someone asks how you are doing, you tend to reply by saying " I'm doing good, thanks." even if you are feeling bad or sick because you want to avoid worrying the person.
ReplyDeleteT1 Ayaka.M
I will answer to Q2
ReplyDeleteWe sometimes praise each other even if it is not true. For eample, clerks praise the customer when he/she tries on clothes, even though it doesn't suit. This happens because they want customer to buy their products or feel confortable in the shop.
Miyu Yoshikawa
I will answer to the question1. In Japan, it is said that if you whistle at night, a snake comes to the house. I think this story is not true, but children who hear the story won't whistle. Whistling at night is nuisance, but children can't understand it. So this is a good way to prevent children from being ill-mannered.
ReplyDeleteT1 Yohei Yasuhara
There must be some times when lying can be better choice than telling a truth. For example, when you were cooking a meal and you tell your family that the meal will be ready in 5 minutes, but in fact it'd take for 15 minutes. Wouldn't you think it's always better to say that the table will be ready in 5 minutes than 15minutes? This is an example of how lying can be useful but no harm to others sometimes. Often this can be called a "White Lie."
ReplyDeleteT1 Motoshi Nakayama
I chose the first question. My parents lied to me once hat there is a Santa Clause and I was old it was not true when I grew up. Maybe they lied to me because they didn't brake my dream of Santa.
ReplyDeleteT1 Asami Sawada (ASSAN)