This is problematic for two reasons. First, we have not seen Charlie act cruelly toward his old classmates. He admits returning to the class was a mistake and states he is not sure why he did it. But when the students interact with him he is in no way cruel. He waves at those who wave to him, and when asked if he is coming back he explains, "This is just a visit." The motivation for the lie is his rhetorical question, "What could I tell them that would not hurt them?". Charlie may have done a foolish thing by going back to the classroom, but he admits his wrong, and in no way validates Alice's opinion of him. The second reason why Alice's anger is unfounded is that we have seen that Charlie's friendships with others before the operation cannot be wholly categorized as a result of "a kindness that made everyone like you and like to have you around." The men at the bakery where he worked before the operation only pretend to befriend him in order to mock him, and Charlie himself points this out to Alice: "Did you think I'd remain a docile pup, wagging my tail and licking the foot that kicks me?…I no longer have to take the kind of crap that people have been handing me all my life". Alice's credibility is even more compromised when she states, "People have not been bad to you." As earlier established, his mistreatment by friends and family characterized Charlie before his operation. The entire scene then, rather than make Charlie into an arrogant, selfish man, shows him to be sympathetic and self-aware. His judgment, rather than that of Alice, becomes more trustworthy.
