The Mysterious Benedict Society

by

Trenton Lee Stewart

Themes and Colors
Confidence and Growing Up Theme Icon
Deception vs. Truth Theme Icon
Loneliness vs. Friendship Theme Icon
Control vs. Freedom Theme Icon
Hope  Theme Icon
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Mysterious Benedict Society, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Deception vs. Truth Theme Icon

In The Mysterious Benedict Society, four truth-loving children discover that sometimes, deception has its place. Mr. Benedict describes the four main characters as possessing a “powerful love of truth,” and the contrast between truth and deception runs throughout the novel. Mr. Curtain’s plan hinges on deception: his hidden signals embed thoughts into people’s minds, he erases memories and lies to people about their identities, he lies to his students and Executives about the logistics of his plan, and he even prints false press releases to distribute as propaganda. Mr. Curtain’s methods of deception center around controlling narratives—first the narrative of the Emergency, then the narrative of the Improvement. His subliminal messages stir widespread panic about the Emergency, and he plans to leverage that panic to construct a narrative of himself as the savior who can end the Emergency. By deceiving the public into believing in his “Improvement,” Mr. Curtain intends to secure governmental authority and eventually world domination. Deception, as Mr. Curtain employs it, is something nefarious and self-serving, and so the children are all too happy to put themselves in danger to defeat him.

Despite their love of truth, the children discover that sometimes deception is not universally evil—in some circumstances, it is necessary. Milligan frequently takes on disguises to hide his identity, and even Kate’s spyglass, which helps the children in their search for the truth, is described as a spyglass “in disguise” as a kaleidoscope. To help the children become Messengers and learn more about Mr. Curtain’s plan, Mr. Benedict asks the children to cheat. This initially horrifies them, but they have to put aside their innate impulse toward honesty in service of the greater good. The children’s moral dilemma here, and their other encounters with deception, suggest that the line between deception and truth is not always black and white, as deception can be employed to uncover truth and fight for what’s right and good.

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Deception vs. Truth Quotes in The Mysterious Benedict Society

Below you will find the important quotes in The Mysterious Benedict Society related to the theme of Deception vs. Truth.
Chapter 1 Quotes

The newspaper that morning had been filled with the usual headlines, several of them devoted to what was commonly called the Emergency: things had gotten desperately out of control, the headlines reported; the school systems, the budget, the pollution, the crime, the weather…why, everything, in fact, was a complete mess, and citizens everywhere were clamoring for a major––no, a dramatic––improvement in government. “Things must change NOW!” was the slogan plastered on billboards all over the city (it was a very old slogan)….

Related Symbols: The Emergency
Page Number: 2-3
Explanation and Analysis:

What good would those opportunities do him if he wasn’t qualified to be given them? And where was the pleasure in cheating? If he couldn’t pass fairly, he didn’t want to pass. He thought this––and mostly believed it––and felt his spirits boosted by the decision. But even so, a few seconds passed before he could tear his eyes from the paper on the floor.

Related Characters: Reynie Muldoon, Rhonda Kazembe
Page Number: 25
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

“Do you suppose we’re going to meet anybody normal today?” Kate asked.

“I’m beginning to doubt it,” Reynie said.

Related Characters: Reynie Muldoon (speaker), Kate Wetherall (speaker), Milligan, Number Two, Rhonda Kazembe
Page Number: 50
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10 Quotes

Exploring was what she did best, and Kate liked always to be doing what she did best. Not that she was a bad sport; in fact, she was a very good one, and she rarely complained. But Kate had spent all her life––ever since her father abandoned her, which affected her more than she cared to admit––trying to prove she didn’t need anyone’s help, and this was easiest to believe when she was doing what she was good at.

Related Characters: Kate Wetherall , Ledroptha Curtain
Page Number: 160
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

The Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened was unlike other schools….And yet, in certain ways, the Institute did remind them of other schools: Rote memorization of lessons was discouraged but required; class participation was encouraged but rarely permitted; and although quizzes were given every day, in every class, there was always at least one student who groaned, another who acted surprised, and another who begged the teacher, in vain, not to give it.

Page Number: 187-188
Explanation and Analysis:

There was some kind of truth hidden in [the lesson], Reynie thought, but it was camouflaged with nonsense. No wonder it gave students trouble.

Related Characters: Reynie Muldoon
Page Number: 189
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17 Quotes

Reynie wasn’t surprised by his friends’ responses. He too had been wary of the notion when it occurred to him. But were they not secret agents? Was not their very presence on the island a deception? Kate and Sticky’s reaction was just an instinctive response, he thought; they would come around in a minute. Still, Reynie was troubled….Where was his powerful love of truth?...Was he perhaps not quite the truth-loving brave soul Mr. Benedict and everyone else thought him to be?

Related Characters: Reynie Muldoon, Sticky Washington, Kate Wetherall , Mr. Benedict
Page Number: 225
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21 Quotes

“No one seems to realize how much we are driven by FEAR, the essential component of human personality. Everything else––from ambition to love to despair––derives in some way from this single powerful emotion. Must find some way to make use of this.”

Related Characters: Ledroptha Curtain (speaker)
Related Symbols: The Emergency
Page Number: 267
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22 Quotes

Reynie’s face fell. “It’s not funny, Kate.”

For a moment––a fleeting moment––Kate looked desperately sad. “Well, of course it’s not funny, Reynie Muldoon. But what do you want me to do? Cry?”

Related Characters: Reynie Muldoon (speaker), Kate Wetherall (speaker)
Page Number: 284
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 23 Quotes

[Sticky] was glaring at Jackson. It was such an angry look––so full of defiant outrage––that Reynie actually felt encouraged. There was strength in Sticky. It was just easy to miss. Easiest of all for Sticky himself.

Related Characters: Reynie Muldoon, Sticky Washington, Jackson
Page Number: 293
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26 Quotes

Reynie had…a very troubling problem. Having been made to feel so wonderful––and so easily, so unexpectedly––Reynie found he wanted to give in to the Whisperer. Wanted it desperately. This was a disturbing development….

Related Characters: Reynie Muldoon
Page Number: 323-324
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 27 Quotes

Sticky tried to smile, but in truth he was decidedly troubled. If Reynie hadn’t spoken up just then, he wasn’t at all sure what he would have done. He had actually wanted to join the Messengers! Was that all it took to sway him––being asked? Did he want so much to be wanted that he would do, well, anything? It was as if the Whisperer had opened a door, and now Sticky couldn’t close it again. He was so ashamed he could hardly look up.

Related Characters: Reynie Muldoon, Sticky Washington
Page Number: 332
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 29 Quotes

[Reynie] was hoping against hope that Mr. Benedict would find some way to save them––to save everyone––without requiring anything more from him. Reynie didn’t think he was capable of more, not since the Whisperer. He was worried, deeply worried, that the Whisperer had revealed to him who he truly was.

Related Characters: Reynie Muldoon, Mr. Benedict
Page Number: 353-354
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 31 Quotes

[Kate] had grand visions of sabotaging the Whisperer, destroying all its computers by herself. Ripping out cables, crushing components, stealing mysterious gizmos that could not be replaced. Not only would she be regarded as a hero, she could prove once and for all that she could do everything alone––that she needed no one’s help. But now she saw she could do no such thing. Not this time.

Related Characters: Kate Wetherall
Page Number: 375
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 36 Quotes

“Mr. Benedict! Is he the one who tricked you into joining him, who encouraged you to cheat on quizzes, who offered you ‘special opportunities’? Or was that Mr. Curtain, who said cheating doesn’t bother him, who rounded up poor unfortunates only to give them a better life, who has offered you a chance to be an Executive? How different are the two men? Not very, Reynard. The only difference is that one can offer you only suffering now, while the other offers you a way to belong––a way to relieve the loneliness.”

Related Characters: Reynie Muldoon (speaker), Mr. Benedict, Ledroptha Curtain
Page Number: 440
Explanation and Analysis: