Why do we lie? What are the results of these lies? Throughout “I am Number four” by Pitticus Love, many lies are told and revealed. “I am Number Four” is the story of a teenage boy who’s really an alien from the planet Lorien. There was a war on Lorien against the Mogadorins. All of the Lorics were wiped out except for 18 of them, who were organized into 9 pairs, each made up of a mentor and a Loric child who would one day get powers. Each child was given a number, and can only be killed in order of their numbers. The protagonist of the book is number four, and the Mogadorians, who have already killed numbers 1 – 3, are hunting him down. Because of this, number four and his mentor, also called a Cepan, must constantly change identities, and run at the first sign of trouble. For the majority of the book, Four is called John and his Cepan is called Henri. This leads to many lies. In “I am Number Four” the theme of the book is lies.
Sometimes lies are necessary, and “I Am Number Four” proves that very well. At one point in the book, John, also known as Number Four, has a confrontation with the school’s bully, Mark James, in front of John’s crush and Mark’s Ex, Sarah Hart, ending with John fleeing. The next day, Sarah asks John about why he ran, and, according to the book, he responds, “I have really bad asthma. For some reason I had an attack yesterday.’ I say, and feel regret at having to lie.” This is a perfect example of a necessary lie. In truth, John was developing his first power, also called a legacy, and couldn’t let anyone see lest they find out that he’s an alien. If John had told the truth, Sarah might laugh at him and think he was weird, embarrassing himself in front of her. Or worse, he would get locked in a mental facility or be poked and prodded by scientists. This would be an extreme loss to the survival of the Loric race. Either way, this lie was necessary for John’s survival. During another point in the book, John’s Cepan, Henri, who is posing as John’s dad, gets captured by some crazy conspiracy theorists, who think that as an alien, Henri wants to kill them. John can’t get to Henri by himself, so he asks his only friend, Sam Goode, for help. At the same time, he can’t tell Sam who he really is, so according to the book, he says, “My dad’s been captured Sam. I’m not entirely sure by who, or what is being done to him. But, something has happened, and I think he’s being held prisoner. Or worse.’” By not telling Sam who Henri and John actually are, and by not telling him why Henri was captured, John is lying to Sam, but this lie was necessary, because without it, John wouldn’t have been able to find or rescue Henri. This would have caused Herni to die, leaving John like a sitting duck just waiting for the Mogadonians to kill him. In this way, the lie saved Henri’s life and in turn, John’s life. All of this relates back to lies, and how imperative they can be.
Many lies, though, come to no good. “I Am Number Four” shows this very well. In the beginning of the book, John must flee Florida and assume a new identity. In the book, when this happens he thinks, “Another new identity, another new school. I’ve lost track of how many there have been over the years. Twenty?” This quote shows how John has been on the run and had to change identities. John lies to everybody about who he really is. While this lie may be understandable and necessary to his survival, that doesn’t make it right. This is a huge lie that has a big effect in the book. Because of this lie, John’s enemies come to his school and many people, including his friends, get hurt, even killed. Also, in the book, there is a fire, and John, who is impervious to fire, goes into rescue Sarah and jumps out of the window of the burning building. Unfortunately, his actions were videotaped, and he later sees this video. According to the book, when he sees the video, he things, “Her face is just a obvious as mine in that video, which puts her in just as much danger as me.” John had lied to Henri about the fact that he had gone into a burning house to rescue Sarah, just so that he wouldn’t have to leave her and take on a new identity. If he had told Henri, they would both have left the state by now and wouldn’t be there when the Mogadonrians came. But instead, he lied and they stayed there, putting Jon, Henri, Sarah and all of their friends into a tremendous amount of danger, which, ultimately can lead to no good. All in all, no good can come of lying.
In conclusion, “I am Number four” centers on lying and its effects. But the book’s reaction to lying is something that you can take away from, and apply to your own life. Remember, that while at the time a little lie, can seem necessary and unavoidable, it may just be the pebble that starts the avalanche.
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