Alfred Lord Tennyson once wrote, "A lie which is half a truth is ever the blackest of lies." What exactly does this statement mean? How does it affect the lives of people? We see in many novels, films, and short stories how lying can affect everyone involved and they even provide us with a clear explanation of this quote without doing so purposefully. In the Shakespearean play, Othello, and the film, we are provided with examples of lying with half-truths and how destructive they can be to all those involved.
Iago is the antagonist in Othello who lies and manipulates every character within the play creating conflicts that ultimately leads to the death of each of them. Iago makes the main character Othello go through a jealous rage that his wife, Desdemona, is cheating on him with his most trusted right-hand man, Cassio; because of Iago's lie, Desdemona is killed by Othello, the lie, however, was not a total lie. Iago tells Othello
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Coraghessan Boyle's "The Love of My Life." Within this short story, two young teens believe they are in love end up accidentally pregnant. China, the young girl, had refused to accept the fact she was pregnant and would not go see a doctor. She gave birth in a hotel room with only her boyfriend in the room with her; no one had known she was pregnant and after the baby was born she refused to see it and told Jeremy to get rid of it. So, he did, he killed the baby and left her in a dumpster behind the hotel. The two were caught and put on trial for first-degree murder; China, however, decided to testify against Jeremy, saying she never saw the baby and thought she had miscarried not knowing what Jeremy had really done. This was not a complete lie, she really did not see the baby but that was because she refused to and told Jeremy to get rid of it so she is just as guilty. If the court had believed China's lie, Jeremy's life would be ruined and possibly put on death