Nothing but the Truth

In Avi’s book, Nothing But the Truth, there is a quote from a Shakespearian play. Brutus says, “No Cassius; for the eye sees not itself/But by reflection, by some other things.” I think that in deeper terms, this means that a person cannot see how he or she acts unless someone acts the same way or describes it to them. This quote can be applied to the story because Philip Malloy, the main character cannot see himself clearly. In that way, I am like Philip Malloy. I have no perception of whether my actions have positive or negatives effects and always assume that I am right.

In the story, Philip blames his Language Arts teacher for not teaching well and being uptight. He claims that she is the only reason that he does not have a passing grade in that class and therefore the reason that he cannot be on the track team. My opinion is that Philip does not even consider the possibility that he may be part of the problem. I think that if only Philip would try a little harder in Miss Narwin’s Language Art’s class, he would be able to pass. The problem is, Philip is extremely stubborn and insists on believing that his teacher likes picking on him. He refuses to even try to even think about Miss Narwin’s side of the story.

Miss Narwin, in Principal Doane’s opinion is one of the best teachers at their school. Miss Narwin, however, thinks that her methods are too old-fashioned and wants to attend a workshop on new approaches to teach literature to students. Her request is turned down and she isn’t very happy about that. I think that Miss Narwin’s desire to take this workshop has a little bit to do with Philip.