The Pillowman Lesson Plan

Why did Katurian lie about the murders?

To some degree, he's honest when he says to Tupolski that he thought the lie might let him save his stories. But students should consider the possibilities beyond this: Katurian may, in some way, feel that he truly is responsible for the murders, as Michal says and as the police implied in the first act. Sensing his impending doom no matter what, Katurian might have been attempting to assuage his guilt. He might also genuinely feel like he was responsible for Michal's actions no matter what and failed him through this.

Tupolski makes racist comments about Asian people while telling his story; in fact, his story contains many...