“A single lie destroys a whole reputation of integrity.” Baltasar Gracian once acknowledged this disheartening fact of life, the sad truth about rumors. He told the world what we already know: how one seemingly innocent rumor can destroy the image someone has rightfully earned. The book Mr. Peabody’s Apples, by Madonna, also shows this through the story of Mr. Peabody. In this tale, Mr. Peabody is a benevolent teacher who enjoys managing Little League games in his spare time. One day, a boy accidentally witnesses him “stealing” an apple and starts a rumor. Everyone believes this lie and judges him very quickly until the entire town is against poor Mr. Peabody. In the end, the truth comes out about this accusation, but the damage is already …show more content…
They are all too keen to shun those they once treasured or even idolized after something tarnishes their name. We see this so often in our lives: in magazines, throughout history, and even in school. People see and participate in this so much that it has become normal to them. We see this view of the world all too clearly in Mr. Peabody’s Apples. After just one rumor, people refused to be associated with Mr. Peabody. A prime example of this is when, after just one week of people buying into the lie, almost the entire baseball team neglected to make an appearance at the baseball game which Mr. Peabody had generously organized. The players that he had fought so hard for, for whom he had sacrificed his Saturdays, were against him. These players, who he had stuck with through thick and thin didn’t even flinch before abandoning him due to a single petty rumor. Unfortunately, the ignorance didn’t stop there. When Mr. Peabody embarked on a trek through the town of Happville to reveal the true story of the situation to one of his players, it got worse. Previously, the text had stated that, “...he would start his walk home...waving to everyone he knew, and everyone would wave back,” showing us how amicable and accepted he was. …show more content…
In Mr. Peabody’s Apples, this message is conveyed in how quickly Mr. Peabody was judged, how Happville shunned him, and in their ignorant faith of whatever people told them. In the end, Mr. Peabody’s accuser does learn the truth about what he had mistaken to be thievery (an arrangement between the shop owner and Mr. Peabody), and the chaos he had instilled in Mr. Peabody’s life. He agreed to try to fix the damage he had caused, even though it was a grueling, meticulous process. Some people may argue that this shows how rumors don’t always ruin people’s reputations, but Tommy (the offender) had to be pushed towards the truth by the only person who had bothered to uncover the full story, showing that, at first, he didn’t even want to clean up the horrible mess he had made. He was fine with letting a helpless man suffer at the hands of the lie he had started. Regrettably, in the real world, outside of storybooks, it’s not much different. People love to speak without thinking, starting people down the spiral of despair that comes with being falsely accused of wrongdoing, and after they realize what they have done, they don’t want to take responsibility for their actions. Not many people stop to think about the effects of their actions, to ponder the reality of their lie or gossip. They simply spread the rumor carelessly, oblivious to the destruction they leave in their wake. If we continue on like this, we