Character Analysis: The Lias

The novel takes place in present day Beechwood island which is owned by Harris Sinclair. His family visits Beechwood every summer, and they have their own luxurious houses- Windemere, Cuddledown, Red Gate, and Clairmont. Harris’s daughters take advantage of his wealth, and they also fight over who gets the biggest house. In addition, the big island is isolated which enables the family to be cutoff with one another. The main character, Cadence, enjoys visiting Beechwood because she can meet up with her best friends, Gatwick, Mirren, and Johnny. The four friends are known as the Liars because they cause trouble, but, at least, they are unified. In Cadence 's fifteenth summer, the Liars are tired of hearing their parents arguing, so they decide

Throughout the novel, Cadence asks her mom, Penny, about the accident, but she “never got an explanation”(pg. 33). In addition, Harris did not allow Cadence to come back to Beechwood because he fears she will realize that the Liars are dead. However, after a year, the family hesitantly let Cadence come back to the island. Cadence chooses to leave Windmere and stay at Cuddledown because Gat, Mirren, and Johnny, who are part of Cadence 's imagination, live there. While Harris and his daughters are arguing over the houses and his money, no one notices that Cadence is with the Liars. This allows her to be lost in her imagination. Her best friends do not tell her about the accident, but she eventually remembers the burning of Clairmont. Even though the island’s purpose is for the Sinclair family to come together, they decide to focus on their own wealth and hide the truth from

Gat believes that he does not belong in the island because he is not rich and white like the others. One day, Gat starts a conversation about how the Sinclair family is living lavishly while there are starving people in India. Even though Candence likes Gat, she begs him to “shut up,” but she apologizes and realizes that he is right (pg. 18-19). At first, Candence hides her guilt like any normal Sinclair. Then, with Gat’s help, she realizes that her family is selfish by not helping the starving children. Now, she wants to change her family and herself. Next year, Cadence starts a project where she gives away her belongings to the family. Usually, the Sinclairs like to own expensive and beautiful possessions, but she feels that is not her anymore. She purposely gives away her valuables just to be different from her family. Also, she gets angry by the fact that her mother only buys expensive objects because she has the money and power. She abhors her mother’s concept and starts to become distant from her. Later on, the family wants Gat and Candence to split up, so she decides to “stand up against” her mother and grandfather and burn the Clairmont house (pg.181). Now, her growing anger has caused herself to become unethical and immature. She hates her family too much to realize that her plan is only causing pain. Predictably, her mindless plan fails, and