Erin Sullivan (Teacher): Having all read Huckleberry Finn, can anyone tell me what the good lie means?
Sari Woman (Student): Huck uses lies to survive in undesirable situations.
Erin Sullivan (Teacher): Exactly. But later in the book the lies change. How so?
Mamere: They change because Huck changes.
Erin Sullivan (Teacher): Yes. Keep going.
Mamere: When he tells the slave hunters that he has no slaves, his lie is credible. So he lies well. But what is more important it that it is an unselfish lie because it saves Jim. Jim’s freedom means more to Huck than the money he would get for turning him in. So it is a good lie.
Erin Sullivan (Teacher): Could not have said it better.