In the novel Nothing But the Truth, Philip Malloy, the main character, has parents who often argue with each other. Avi, the author of this documentary novel, never includes a long argument between the parents. Instead, he gives clues through the diary of Philip and the dialogue of the parents.

The reader first encounters this conflict between the parents when Philip writes in his diary that his parents are arguing and that he wonders “what that means.” Philip notes that his parents seem stressed over money: his father talks about “a cash flow squeeze” at work, and his mom has to “pay more into the health plan at work” (chapter 1).

These arguments bother Philip enough that he talks to his mother about whether his parents are going to get a divorce. When Mr. and Mrs. Malloy have a discussion in chapter 9 over Philip’s grades, Mrs. Malloy expresses surprise that Philip asks about a possible divorce. Mr. Malloy wonders, “How’d he come up with that?” In return, Mrs. Malloy suggest that Philip has heard them arguing.

The arguments of Mr. and Mrs. Marlowe definitely have an impact on Philip and his confusion about making choices. The reader should consider how Philip often turns the conversation when he does not want his parents to become displeased. For example, in Chapter 10, Philip and his parents discuss Philip’s choice not to try out for track. Philip immediately brings up the conflict with Mrs. Narwin in order to get his parents to forget about his choice. Of course, Mr. and Mrs. Malloy do not realize that Philip has a D in English, which is the true reason he cannot participate in the sport. Both parents keep telling the other to “just let Phil tell his story without interruptions.” Mrs. Malloy even tells Mr. Malloy that he must be more supportive and listen to Phil.

As the novel continues, the reader sees more conflict between the parents over the father’s problems at work. In a conversation in chapter 11, Mr. Marlow explains to his wife how he got in trouble at work with his boss, Dexter. All Mrs. Marlow can say is “I hope you stood up for yourself.” This only causes Mr. Marlow to give up trying to talk to her. He states, “Just forget it, okay?”

Avi uses dialogue and Philip’s diary to demonstrate the conflicts between Philip’s parents over work and money. Then he shows how these conflicts affect Philip.