Putting on a show
That wasn’t all. Whenever a social worker would show up at the house to check on Sam, Mr. and Mrs. Banks put on a show of what a loving family they were and instructed her to act the same. They instructed her to “praise how godly and wonderful they were.”
They weren’t cruel to her, but not nearly as caring and loving as they wanted the town, and the social workers, to believe. This act made Sam feel completely used and manipulated.