At the beginning of the novel, Troy struggles to be honest with his mother and behave in an ethical way. Although he sees himself as a good person, because of his hot-headed nature, he sometimes believes he needs to lie and steal in order to achieve his goals: “Troy knew it was wrong. It was wrong to sneak out of the house after midnight. It was wrong to take something that wasn’t yours. And, even though he wasn’t that kind of kid, that night, he was doing both” (1). Because one lie seems to beget another lie, before long Troy finds himself in a position where he needs to lie again. Although it is asserted earlier that Troy doesn’t consider himself “that kind of kid” (1), it seems as if he is on the path to becoming one. We see this when he lies easily to his mother: “The answer came to him without even trying. It was kind of like the gift his friends said he had with football, but this gift was nothing to be proud of. He would have to lie” (17-18).

It is not until Seth comes into Troy’s life and insists that they tell

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