Greed In E. Lockhart's We Were Liars

E.Lockhart said in her novel We Were Liars “that a novel should deliver a series of small astonishments”, thus this encapsulates the tragic tale of family destruction and self-discovery narrated by Cadence Eastman Sinclair, an ‘old-money democrat’ seventeen year old who suffers from amnesia. Through the characterisation of Harris Sinclair, the domineering ‘King’ of the Sinclair family and owner of their private Beechwood Island, alongside his three daughters: Penny, Bess and Carrie who are intoxicated with greed, E.Lockhart eludes through the techniques of dialogue and symbolism that the destructive nature of greed is central to human nature. In addition, the techniques of characterisation and use of fairy-tales are used to explore Cadence

Although greed can be a motivator, a catalyst for great achievements, too much of a good thing can be fatal. From the characterisation of Harris Sinclair, who is ‘drunk on his own power’ to his adult daughters who have a penchant for material possessions, greed runs in their blood and Clairmont House symbolises their vices. The symbolism of Clairmont House emerges through the Liars who believe that “if the house was gone, the power would be gone” (pg 70) hence they ‘[took] down the patriarchy’ by burning it. This rationale attests to Harris’s power hungry character and his adult daughters’ greed for wealth. Simultaneously, Penny’s greed is at its epitome when she complains that “Carrie gets the pearls, Bess gets the Boston house, Bess gets Windemere…I'll be left alone with nothing, nothing” (p69). Through the technique of dialogue, Penny, the eldest daughter, is portrayed as an ungracious and greedy daughter who is not content with her luxurious life. Moreover, Lockhart also portrays greed as the catalyst for their rivalry, the fall of the Sinclairs and ultimately the deaths of their children, Johnny, Gat and Mirren. Therefore, the novel does not provide a bleak insight into human nature but rather explores in great detail the destructive nature of

Through the technique of descriptive language, the reader can sympathise that Cadence was ‘too racked with guilt for being alive’ that her amnesia forbade her to face reality. Her guilt mirrors human nature because she remembers more than what she is willing to admit. Lockhart uses the technique of repetition when Cadence exclaims “it is my fault, my fault, my fault” (p221) to evoke empathy from the audience as Cadence succumbs to her wrongdoings and her selfishness. Due to the dissonance caused by her guilt, Cadence reassures herself that she ‘changed an evil [she] saw in the world’ (p183). Through this, the novel is able to accurately reflect human nature and the tendency of justifying our actions to alleviate our guilty conscious. Consequently, Cadence hallucinates the Liars’ ghosts. Her mood-congruent hallucination is caused by the heavy burden of her shame, evident when the Liars ‘leave’ after Cadence has accepted the reality of the tragedy. Moreover, the mother’s guilt is observable through the technique of emotive language when Cadence recounts that they “hug one another not because they are freed of the weight of Clairmont House and all it symbolized, but out of tragedy and empathy” (p210). As a result, Carrie is spotted ‘crying, shaking and wearing Johnny’s blue checked jacket’ (p143) at night. Through the gradual