Liar, liar, pants on fire—if this phrase were true, there'd be a lot of people's pants spontaneously bursting into flames in Inkheart. We're thinking that a support group for compulsive liars might not be a bad idea for these people, since pretty much everyone tells a lie at some point (except for Farid, maybe; he seems pretty honest, but then, he had a rough background so he probably had to lie in order to scrape by at some point in the past).
Dustfinger and Mo both lie when it's in their interests, and Elinor's been known to fib at well. Meggie doesn't lie too often, but she does help Fenoglio carry out a plan that involves deceiving Capricorn about their intention to read a different version of the Shadow out of Inkheart. And Capricorn, of course, lies a ton in order to manipulate people into doing what he wants, as does Mortola. Basta seems more interested in slicing people open than lying to them, but we wouldn't be surprised if he lied on occasion too.
Let's just ship the whole lot of 'em off to a self-help group for Fibbers Anonymous.
Questions About Lies and Deceit
- Do you think Mo concealing the truth about Meggie's mom does more harm or good?
- Why does Elinor lie about Mo being killed by Capricorn's men before the Shadow is read out of Inkheart?
- Who do you think is more of a compulsive liar, Dustfinger or Capricorn?
- Who is the best liar in the book, and why do you think so?
Chew on This
Writers are the best liars.
Dustfinger only lies in order to survive; Capricorn lies because it helps him manipulate people.