Liar, Liar

Gary Paulsen portrays 8th grader Kevin Spencer, the protagonist of Liar, Liar, as intelligent, observant, charismatic, and confident. Because Kevin narrates the story from his own first-person perspective, the reader has access to his motivations and decision-making processes. This interiority establishes Kevin’s flaws—the starting point of his character arc. His foremost flaw is his penchant for lying, which he says is his “second language, a habit, a way of life” (2). He sees lying as a good way to get what he wants and make people like him. He rationalizes his behavior by saying it makes other people happier; that it’s for the greater good. Another noteworthy flaw is Kevin’s conceit. His high opinion of himself demonstrates a lack of self-awareness into his own shortcomings, as evidenced by the justifications he gives aren’t his true motives, but are themselves lies he tells to himself to avoid facing the fact that at times he treats his friends and schoolmates poorly. These flaws position Kevin to move toward Personal Growth and the Development of Integrity over the course of the narrative.

Kevin’s descriptions of his sudden romantic interest in Tina, a girl he’s known since preschool, suggest puberty as an influential factor in his life.