We Were Liars

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In E. Lockhart’s novel, We Were Liars, there are many different themes that future educators can use to connect with adolescents. One of the major underlying themes you can take away from this novel is a sense of identity. Throughout this book it seems as if some of the characters don’t know who they are or put on a fake front to make sure no one finds out who they are in real life. There are two characters within this novel that display this the most. They both seem to struggle with their own identities, and at times look to each other to try to find their true selves.
The first character that displays their loss of identity is the main girl Cadence. Throughout most of the novel she is trying to figure out who she is now after she got into a fatal accident that caused her to lose her memory. She can’t do most of the things she used to do, can’t go to school, and most importantly can’t to see her best friends. During this time in an adolescent’s life it’s extremely important to have friends around them so that they can confide in them no matter what. The problem Cadence has is that she can’t spend time with them, and to make matters worse no one will tell her what happened summer fifteen. Here Mirren states, “No, no, shut up. Did you not listen to what I told you?” (103). Here we can clearly see that Cadence is asking her friends what happened summer fifteen and instantly Mirren silences everyone. Therefore, Cadence has so much trouble figuring herself out because no one around her will tell her who she has become.
The other character that struggles internally with being him true self, and his own identity is Gat. He struggles because he doesn’t come from a wealthy family at all. He isn’t like the other liars. He just comes every summer because of his uncle and gets to live this lavish lifestyle that he can’t live back home. So, in a sense, he plays the part of a rich boy when he is away for the summer even though he is someone else in real life. This is very common within adolescence because they all want is to be a part of the group, and no one ever wants to be left out. This causes most of them to act a certain way even if that’s not who they really are on the inside. The same goes for Gat when he finally showed his true emotions to Cadence. Here it states, “You don’t know me… you feel like you know me, Cady, but you only know the me that comes here”. (113-114). Here we can see that Gat is tired of being someone he’s not and explains to Cadence that there is more to life than what she is accustom to; and not everything is always perfect because not everyone is always wealthy.
Overall, this novel has many great themes and talking points that deal with adolescents. This particular one, however, is what most adolescents struggle with because it’s so hard to stay true to yourself without being different. During this time of their life they are afraid to be their selves because they don’t want to be rejected by their fellow peers and society. Through these characters we can see that Gat is trying his best to be apart of a group he is clearly different from; while Cadence has had her whole life stripped away from her leaving her trying to find a new identity.       

Comments

  1. Ally DunlapOctober 18, 2019 at 12:11 PM

    This is very well written! I think during adolescence, teens are constantly searching for their identity. Lockhart does a great job of portraying this through the four liars. I agree that it is especially hard for Cadence because she does not remember a lot of what happened. Is this a book you would want to teach?

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  2. Eva YoussefNovember 3, 2019 at 10:49 PM

    I agree that many adolescents reading this book can find some similarities to relate to such as the self identity confusion. I found It a little frustrating that the book focused more on family drama and the love than character development. I think that was something I wish the author had tied up more nicely after the twist at the end such as, how did Cadence grow from this experience and what made her a changed person after the incident with her friends.

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