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Figurative Language In We Were Liars

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In the book, “We Were Liars”, by E. Lockhart, the book follows the Sinclair’s. The Sinclair’s are a very wealthy family, with the head of the family being the grandfather, Harris Sinclair. The main character of the story is Cadence, and the reader comes to find out early in the book that she suffered a horrifying accident on summer 15. Cadence suffers the effects that came from the accident and the reader is left puzzled trying to figure out what really happened on that day, which is why Cadence is not reliable as a narrator. She isn’t a reliable narrator because of her shattered memories, the influence of her medication, and her use of figurative language. Firstly, Cadence Sinclair’s memory has been shattered ever since the incident. The reader …show more content…

Her memories throughout the whole story are scattered and slowly she regains them. On page 167, she starts talking about the fire. This shows when she begins to remember the incident but not all of it, Cadence shortly after states, “I close my eyes for a moment and try. No, not that I would. But other things.’ Johnny reaches out and takes my hand.” This occurs after Johnny asks her if she remembers any more about the fire. Her memories were lost, and she just needed to fit these memories into place. With her shattered memories, the influence of her medication had a big impact on Cadence being an unreliable narrator. An example of this is on page 63 when Lockhart states, “ ‘No, says Taft.’ ‘Are you sure you’re not a drug addict?”. This shows that even the people around her can tell that she is off. Taft shows clear signs of doubt about trusting Cadence and is confused by the way she is acting. Lockhart then states on page 38, “And still, Cadence, be sure to take your meds. There were so many appointments I can’t even remember them”. This can show that maybe she is taking too much of her medication or isn’t taking her medication at the right

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