A lie is an untruth. It can be a false statement or a statement left unsaid which causes someone to be misled. In life lies are told for many different reasons. In fiction they thicken the plot. In Conrad's , Marlow dislikes lies and therefore only tells two, both in extraordinary circumstances, and the lies show the following about Marlow: even though he has been touched by evil, he is still a good man himself; that he never actually tells a lie, he lets others continue to believe what they already believe; and that this helps him j ....