Personal Tone In Stephanie Ericsson's The Ways We Lie

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The world is full of furtive falsehoods and sly deception, used widely by a majority of the population without the slightest detection. In her essay, The Ways We Lie, Stephanie Ericsson analyzes a handful of the countless ways in which people harmlessly lie each other. She is effective in connecting and captivating her audience with the use of a personal tone which she develops with an appeal to emotions via the use of numerous anecdotes, provocative rhetorical questions, and influential paradoxes.
Even from the initial beginning, Ericsson opens with a personal experience in the couple of sentences. “The bank called … I was busy.” (P1 & 2) Using this excerpt, she is able to give the reader a clear perspective on her daily life and minor struggles she faces. In doing so, the reader begins to create a bond and encourages them to continue reading. Later on, Ericsson elaborates on a work day saying “I feel as though I am putting on another face, obeying the expectation that serious businesspeople wear suits rather than sweatpants.” (P10) Here, the reader again connects with …show more content…
Near the beginning she states “I indulge in small falsehoods and still think of myself as an honest person.” (P3) At first glance, the statement might not make sense, but indeed, the reader will see themselves doing the same as well. Later, another quote is found saying “...it is the liar deciding what is best for the lied to.” (P8) Now this one really makes the reader pause to contemplate. In the process of untangling the paradox, the reader admires the depth Ericsson has put into her piece. Finally, Ericsson uses another paradox that says “I just let people assume I was revealing everything. It’s an easy way of hiding.” (P14) From this quote, the reader is able to take away a lesson, a tip on how to become a stealthier liar. Besides, Ericsson obviously already uses this
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Stephanie Ericsson's Rhetorical Analysis: The Ways We Lie

Fourteen years ago, Robert Feldman of the University of Massachusetts conducted a study; he found that people lie two to three times in a ten-minute conversation. At this rate, a person would tell about 18 lies in the span of 1 hour or 216 times in 12 hours (Feldman). That was in 2002, and it would be no surprise if those numbers have sky-rocketed since then. “The Ways We Lie”, by Stephanie Ericsson, is an essay that first appeared as a cover article in 1993 in the January issue of the Utne Reader…

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