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Paula Hawkins's The Girl On The Train

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Recommended: Modern detective fiction

What is “trust” and who is deserving of it? Well, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary it is the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. But what happens when no one knows the “real truth” and you are then compelled to put your trust into unreliable people? That is what author, Paula Hawkins forces her readers to do in her thrilling, murder-mystery novel, The Girl on the Train. Through her use of specific literacy techniques, she transforms her readers into literary detectives and presents them with the seemingly unsolvable mystery of the disappearance turned murder of Megan Hipwell. By allowing her readers to solve the mystery in the comfort of their own home and by revealing information to them …show more content…

Knowing America’s obsession with the truth and the lengths Americans go to find and understand it, she uses that to her benefit to keep readers fully engaged and actively participating through the entire novel. Each one of her characters lies often throughout the book whether it be to other characters or themselves. For example, Rachel lies to the detectives investigating Megan’s case in order to save her and Scott’s, Megan’s husband, reputation. Anna Watson, the women Tom left Rachel for, lies to the police about Rachel bothering her family and to Tom about what she knows about him and what he has been up to. Megan is also known to be a pathological liar, lying to her husband about the tiniest of things. She even lies about something big (spoiler alert!), the affair she was having with their neighbor Tom Watson who (spoiler alert again!!) ended up killing Megan. Tom, as a surprise to his family and friends, is also a pathological liar. His ex-wife and his new wife both knew he was a good liar but his lies usually suited them so they thought nothing of it. However, Tom knew who to lie to and that was Rachel. He even admitted to her that he “lied. Anything for an easy life” (26.52). He manipulated her into believing that she abused him during blackouts when in reality he abused her their entire marriage both emotionally and

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