Lies My Teacher Told Me

Lies My Teacher Told Me Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

Infantilized "little" people (motif)

The author makes a point of showing how history books treat the "little" people unfairly, like Helen Keller (10). Loewen shows that Keller is much more than an inspirational story- she was a fierce advocate and woman, a radical communist, and she spoke her mind. This motif of "little" people being more than they appear continues throughout the book.

Social class (motif)

Throughout the book, there is a running motif that social class plays a crucial role in America, despite not truly being addressed or spoken about directly. This is first seen when the author explains that Helen Keller was a radical socialist, and it is also portrayed when the author examines what has happened to Native Americans in the present day and how they are continually disenfranchised.

Big brother (symbol)

The author introduces the idea of the government and the establishment as a "big brother" watching over and controlling citizens, through the textbooks that teach children their history.

Memory hole (motif)

Another motif, one which appears much later in the book, is the idea that the recent past is not taught in class. It is something that is very real and present to young people, who must search the internet to find their recent history, instead of learning it in class. Teachers, and the publishers of books, are simply too afraid to address the recent past, for fear that later generations will frown on their interpretation, or the government will. To that end, they wait, and publish some version of the truth many years later (234).

The myth of "Progress"

Another motif throughout the book is that anything can be sacrificed in the name of progress. The author tackles this idea and disputes it, arguing that it is not true, that there are some things that cannot be given up in the name of progress. He also makes the point that not everything that gets called "progress" is good, and that we must remain conscious in our "progress" to make sure it moves forward, and not backward.