38 pages • 1 hour read
Liar, Liar
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Character Analysis
Kevin Spencer
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. This phase of biological change and maturation—a universal human experience—reflects a Jungian archetype called the initiation that includes a transition from one phase of another such as an adolescent coming into adult maturity with new awareness and new problems. The new problems Kevin encounters—trying to impress a girl, facing personal consequences, and taking responsibility for his lies—lay the groundwork for new awareness, especially the value of honesty and integrity. Paulsen also begins Kevin’s story with an archetypal journey: the search for love. Kevin’s desire to impress Tina and become her boyfriend is the conscious motivation behind many of his lies.
Paulsen structures Kevin’s character arc to emphasize the novel’s key themes. Kevin’s initial flaws highlight The Selfish Motives and Rationalizations for Lying. Eventually, his lies catch up with him and cause problems for the people he cares about, forcing him to confront The Consequences of Lying and the Importance of Honesty. In response to learning this lesson, Kevin makes a sincere, thorough turnaround in his behavior. He embraces humility and practices selflessness as he makes amends for his harmful actions, demonstrating Personal Growth and the Development of Integrity.
JonPaul
JonPaul is a fellow 8th grader and Kevin’s best friend. Paulsen sets him apart from the other people in Kevin’s life by deep fear of germs, his hypochondria, and his compulsive behaviors related to these anxieties. Portraying teenage characters with such significant mental health concerns and the functional challenge they experience as a result helps normalize the reality of these conditions amongst adolescents. However, JonPaul primarily functions in the story to reveal Kevin’s flaws and The Selfish Motives and Rationalizations for Lying, as well as to support Kevin’s character arc. Kevin’s actions toward his best friend demonstrate the depth of his selfishness and duplicity. When Kevin makes a real effort to atone, however, JonPaul forgives him. This establishes the message that, while everyone makes mistakes, it doesn’t have to be the end of the world.
Paulsen nuances JonPaul’s character with significant details—such as the fact that he plays three team sports in spite of his phobias—to preclude him from being a mere stereotype. Kevin’s flaws are revealed, in part, by how poorly he treats JonPaul, his best friend. However, JonPaul has his own strengths, weaknesses and challenges that complicate their relationship.
Daniel and Sarah Spencer
Daniel and Sarah Spencer are Kevin’s older brother and sister. The relationships between Kevin and his siblings help define the Spencer family dynamics—an important aspect of the story’s setting since Kevin’s position as part of a family shapes the main conflict. Kevin’s siblings take as much advantage as they can of the newfound independence that comes with a car and Sarah’s license. As a result, they spend very little time interacting with the rest of the family, contributing to the sense of disconnectedness the Spencers feel. The development of Kevin’s integrity and moral code explores the questions of how people in such groups should interact and what they owe each other. Through the disagreement over their shared car and their mutual concern for their parents’ relationship, Daniel, Sarah, and Kevin help reveal the importance of sharing time, connection, honesty, and forgiveness within a family.
Auntie Buzz
Auntie Buzz is Kevin’s maternal aunt who lives above the family’s garage. She has a big personality, lots of energy—a nearby coffee shop named their double shot of espresso after her—and lots of confidence, just like Kevin. Paulsen depicts her as both lovable and flawed. Her high energy and confidence sometimes foster delusions of grandeur, like when she feels sure she’ll be hired to host a network television show despite having no experience. Even though she has boundless energy, Auntie Buzz is a notorious procrastinator, as implied by Kevin’s observation that “Monday is always Auntie Buzz’s favorite time to handle a problem” (63). Her difficulties managing her money prompt Kevin to meddle with her finances behind her back, which ultimately helps teach him a key lesson in humility. Even though she’s furious with Kevin when she finds out, her forgiveness comes quickly. Additionally, her quirky, larger-than-life personality adds a great deal to the story’s humorous tone. Through Auntie Buzz (as well as Kevin’s parents) Paulsen demonstrates that adults are dealing with their own flaws and challenges, just as kids and teenagers are.
Markie
Markie is Kevin’s four-year-old neighbor whom Kevin often babysits. Paulsen describes Markie as “a sheer terror” and “the personification of an ear-splitting, nerve-jangling, head-pounding, exasperating plague” (81, 82), but the scene in Chapter 9 in which Markie and Kevin have an honest and vulnerable conversation about divorce, demonstrates that he can also be sweet and endearing. This scene proves central to revealing Kevin’s positive traits and the benefits of telling the truth both for Kevin himself and those around him. When JonPaul takes Markie’s EpiPen, Kevin’s concern and his effort to ensure Markie’s safety are unexpected, given his previous self-centered behavior. Markie and Kevin’s relationship shows that Kevin is capable of being nurturing, patient, and selfless, despite behavior to the contrary. Markie helps Kevin recognize The Consequences of Lying and the Importance of Honesty. Telling Markie the truth about divorce when everyone else lied to him makes Markie love Kevin and call him his best friend in the world. As positive reinforcement, this outcome grabs Kevin’s attention, allowing him to see the advantages of honesty.
Katie Knowles
Katie Knowles is Kevin’s partner for a social studies research project. Kevin describes her as “some sort of mechanized humanoid, made up of spare computer parts, all the leafy green vegetables that no one ever eats and thesaurus pages” (5). Paulsen portrays her as an ambitious, intelligent student with a good deal of sympathy for others and the work ethic of an overachiever. Kevin’s first big lie of the week is the one he tells Katie: that he can’t help much with the project because he has “chronic, degenerative, relapsing-remitting inflammobetigoitis” (5). This interaction with Katie establishes early in the story that Kevin’s lies have consequences for and put unfair burdens on others, even though he tries to convince himself they’re actually helpful. Later, when Kevin thinks he can repair the situation with nothing but an insincere apology, Katie’s response disillusions him, leading Kevin to a crossroads, the major turning point of his character arc, when he gains new insight into himself and realizes he must change.
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