The Lie Detector

The Lie Detector, a short essay published by Lewis Thomas, explains the negative effects that lying bring upon for individuals. He mainly covers the idea that when people lie they end up feeling very guilty afterward and regret the act considering that they are betraying the trust that he or she has with the person they are lying to. The way I feel about this topic is that I cannot seem to agree or disagree with the point he is trying to make. I understand that lying is not the best thing to do, but many times white lies might indeed be of help to perhaps get out of doing something or maybe to protect a loved one. I do not think that everyone can handle the truth. In many cases lying, in my opinion, is acceptable to avoid hurting one's feelings. As much as people may say they disagree with lying, they are always going to lie.

Neat People vs. Sloppy People

Neat People vs. Sloppy People is truly a humourous piece. I really enjoyed reading this story. Suzanne Britt, in this essay, compares and contrasts the similiraties and differences of organized individuals and, let's say, messy ones. In her opinion, neat people are lazier and meaner than sloppy people. What I liked about it was the way she described them. And it was funny because it's very contradicting. She says that neat people throw away everything and read their mail over a garbage can. And later she explains that sloppy people give their attention to little things. Basically, Britt merely distincts the two kinds of people, neat and sloppy, saying that neat people throw away everything and sloppy people keep all things just in case they may need them in the near future.

Slice of Life

Slice of Life, written by Russell Baker, is an essay about how to carve a turkey. The catch to this story is that it's really not about the correct way of carving a turkey. As I began to read it, I was not aware of the fact that it was a joke, considering I really don't know how people carve turkeys. But Baker writes this essay to remind people of the way Thanksgiving really is sometimes. Most people just enjoy the food on this holiday. Some don't even like this holiday because of obnoxious family members or incidents that may have happened in the past on this day. Overall, I chose to write about this story because I found it to be awfully funny. Personally, I have no problem with the holiday, I enjoy it and it's a good excuse for no school and work.

Why Don't We Complain?

The essay, "Why Don't We Complain", was very amusing. It's about the fact that nowadays people are so lazy that they do not get up and complain about something that may or may not be of a bother. One of the reasons why I really liked this story was because it is very true what William F. Buckley writes about. Back in the days, people would also fix minor problems around the house and such on their own. In the essay, Buckley is saying that in the past couple of years, people have changed tremendously. They, now, call technicians, plumbers, and such to take care of necessities around the house. The examples he uses to help illustrate the idea of the essay consist of times when people are out somewhere and there's a problem with something but they do not want to get up and try to speak with someone about getting rid of whatever the problem may be.