Deception, if used appropriately, may not be as harmful as it seems.

Similarly, the truth,

at times, may be unpleasant and could cause more harm to someone than an innocent white lie
could. A minor act of deception or an innocuous fib is justified when it is used to extricate
people from potentially baleful emotional distress. For instance, in John Steinbecks East of
Eden, Adam Trask hides the identity of his two sons mother to protect his sons from the
unsettling truth of their evil, perverse mother Cathy. Likewise, in John Irvings Prayer for Owen
Meany, Tabitha Wheelwright never reveals to her son that their pastor is his father to protect
him from his hypocritical father.
In Steinbecks East of Eden, Adam Trask deceives his sons about their nefarious mother
and tells them that their mother is dead. Because his wife Cathy and abandons his sons for a
more profitable life as a brothel owner, Adam vows to preserve the innocence of his children
and their ideal image of their mother by telling a simple lie. If he were to reveal Cathys
existence as a reprobate brothel owner, his childrens lives and self-esteem would be
irrevocably altered. While his children persistently ask about their mother, Adam deceptively
avoids introducing the vile woman into their lives, for how could a child bear the notion that his
mother is evil? Eventually, Aron, Adams youngest son, discovers the true identity of his mother
from the townspeoples rumors and in complete distress, escapes to the War and is killed in
battle. Ultimately, Adams deception averts, for a while, the disappointing revelation of Cathys
existence and Arons demise.
Just as Adam deceives his children to protect them from a harmful truth, so does
Tabitha Wheelwright mislead her son to prevent him from growing spiteful toward his fathers
true identity. Tabitha consistently answers her sons inquiries about his father with the same
equivocal phrase, You were a gift from God. Tabitha and her son John are Christians who
make religion a priority in their lives; therefore, John, who was born out of wedlock, would
have been disheartened to learn that the pastor, whom he admires, is the man who had an
affair with his mother. Tabitha withholds the pastors identity to protect John from an
inevitable disappointment. Her deception justifiably forestalls the despair that the truth would
bring for her son. Eventually, after his mothers death, John realizes his fathers identity and
grows to spite him and Christianity as well. However, Tabithas concealment of Johns fathers
identity gives John a peaceful childhood, which would have otherwise been prematurely
marred by the unsettling truth.
Deception is justifiable when it is used to protect people from harmful truths. Adam
Trask deceives and hides the identity of his childrens mother to protect them from knowing
her depravity. Similarly, Tabitha Wheelwright conceals the identity of her sons father to
preserve his faith in Christianity. Deception can be a benign method to deter the revelation of
harmful truths and grant people a moment of solace.