"As I was leaving he asked, shouldn't you be in school? I thought fast and told him, its Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Lie #4. I thought that was in January. It used to be. Lie #5."
Oskar has gotten a knack for lying to people and once you start lying you can never go back. (40)
"Maybe if you just went for your first period." "I can't even get out of bed." Lie #6 (43)
Regret and lying are linked together because Oskar regrets when he lies to anyone especially his mom.
"... and also I wouldn't lie unless I absolutely had to, which I did a lot." (87)
" I said seven, because i wanted him to feel more sorry for me, so he would help me. Lie#34" (90).
Oskar is learning to use lie to his advantage.
"There's a deli on the corner. Actually I'm a diabetic and I need some sugat asap." Lie#35 (91)
"She asked, 'How old are you?' I told her twelve-- lie #59-- because I wanted to be old enough for her to love me." (97)
"the next morning I told Mom that I couldn't go to school, because I was too sick. it was the first lie that I had to tell." Lie #1 (38)
Regret
I linked lying to regrets because Oskar always instantly regrets telling a lie as soon as he says one.
"I said seven, because I wanted him to feel sry for me, so he would help me. Lie #34"(90)
he uses lying to his advantage in order to get people to do things.
The main thing that is so significant about Oskar lying, is that he counts all the lies he tells.
"She asked if your father had called.
No.
Are there any messages on the phone?
No." Page 228
" "What were you cracking up about before?" "Before?" "When you were talking to that woman the first time, you were cracking up. Both of you." "I don't know," he said. "You don't know?" "I don't remember." "Try to remember." He thought for a minute. "I can't remember." Lie #77. (196)
It seems as thought Oscar lies in order to feel more important. He kept the voice messages from his mom so that he would have something of his dad that no one else had or knew about. Another motive of Oscars is to find out the truth, he lies to himself and others in order to weed out the things that he thinks are unrelated to his quest for answers and truth.
I think that Oskar counts his lies at the beginning because he doesn't think it'll continue for too long and he wants to make sure he doesn't start to lie too much. But little does he know, it becomes a habit and he learns that lying is, in some cases, the only way he'll get something that he wants. I also think, the more Oskar lies, is showing him getting older by adapting to the ways of older people. Everyone lies and Oskar is at the age where he begins to lie also.
I think lying is linked to bruises. Every time Oskar lies, he gives himself bruises.
"She asked, 'How old are you?' I told her twelve- lie #59 -because I wanted to be old for her to love me. (97)