Bluffing

The short story “Bluffing” by Gail Helgason depicts a couple who has an encounter with a grizzly bear. The man, Liam, runs away and insists that he “meant the bear to come after [him] instead of [Gabriella],” the girl. This is a lie. Liam is only concerned about his own safety, why just last year “he almost lost his nerve… when he realized that the…climber he was guiding couldn’t set up a belay that gave Liam adequate protection.” It’s also made obvious that he does not consider Gabriella much, when he tells her that he will “head down south” instead of leasing a house with Gabriella, which is what she really wants. Gabriella tells Liam what to do but “he isn’t always willing to [listen] [to] people who might know more than he [does].” Also it is shown in the story that Liam is a good liar, he chases away some boys who were also going to the lake by telling them that they found an animal carcass, which must have been a “dandy breakfast” for a grizzly bear. Liam is obviously deceiving Gabriella.