In Gary Soto’s short story “Seventh Grade,” a boy named Victor goes through his first day at school.  Although some might argue that he made a bad choice to lie about knowing French, the fact of the matter is that it was a good choice.

Victor pretended to know French and spoke up in class, stringing together some silly words that were absolutely not French.  Even though he didn’t fool the teacher, he did seem to get away with it with the other students and most importantly, Teresa.  “They left the class together.  Teresa asked him if he would help her with her French.  ‘Sure, anytime,’ Victor said,” (25).

What this means is that Victor and Teresa now have plans to study French together in the future.  These “study dates” wouldn’t have been possible if Victor hadn’t fibbed.  Also, because he wants to impress Teresa he will study hard and end up getting an education in the process. Furthermore, even if she were to catch on to his act, she likes him enough that she would probably forgive him.  Her asking him to study wasn’t so much about her wanting good grades as it was about wanting to get to know him.  Who knows?  She might even have known all along that he was lying but didn’t care.  Therefore, it was smart for him to lie because now his relationship with Teresa has a chance to become something real.

Victor’s manipulation of the truth was the right decision because Teresa asked him to study and now he has more time with her.  Sometimes in life a little white lie can open doors or can even save other people’s feelings.  If your mom asks, “Do these jeans make me look fat?” it might be a good idea to choose your words carefully.  While I don’t personally believe that lying is necessarily the best option, when there is no harm done and no real victim, it’s always best to keep one’s options open.

 


Argument Transition Words

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