The Corporal in Avi's novel TheFighting Ground seems to have difficulty speaking the truth, especially when a lie better suits his purpose. Let's examine some of the lies the Corporal either speaks directly or implies by his silence.
When the Corporal is first gathering the men to fight, he tells them that the enemy numbers only fifteen or fewer men. A bit later, however, the Corporal admits that there are perhaps twenty to twenty-five soldiers in the group. Called out for his lie, the Corporal merely says, “Then I misspoke myself." When the enemy finally does come marching up the road, there are thirty of them, and they are the dreaded Hessians at that. The Corporal lies so that the men will follow him into the fight, but he doesn't properly prepare them for what they will be facing.
The Corporal is also dishonest about the reinforcements he...
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implies are coming to aid the small group of Americans. He hints (although he doesn't directly say) that the Snydertown Committee would be along to help in the fight. They never show. Only much later does the Corporal admit that his “Snydertown Committee friends did not wish to see things through.” They were never planning to fight. Again, the Corporal has manipulated the men with a lie.
Twice after he has been captured by the Hessians, Jonathan thinks he sees the Corporal lurking nearby. When Jonathan is finally reunited with the other Americans, he tells the Corporal this. Only after a few moments of silence does the Corporal reluctantly admit that he was indeed present and that he had seen Jonathan. Jonathan then goes on to tell the Corporal about the house he went to with the Hessians and how they found a dead man and woman. The Corporal acts like he doesn't know anything about the matter and allows Jonathan to believe that perhaps the Hessians had killed the couple. He also pretends that he doesn't know where the house is and that Jonathan must lead the party to it. This is yet another lie, for the Corporal knows very well where the house is and what really happened. He and his committee friends killed the man and woman because they believed they were spies for the enemy.
Indeed, the Corporal is not an honest man. He says and does what he must to convince the men to follow and obey him. Only later do Jonathan and his companions discover that the Corporal is not to be trusted.