Our Character Betrayal
The last paragraph on pg.477 in Solzhenitsyn’s The Evolution of Our Character it has a very deep focus with betrayal and lying. “An overpowering plume of betrayal. It was unavoidable. If you wanted to survive, lie. Lie and Pretend.” That is a quote I will be focusing and elaborating in the essay as well as tying that quote down from the reading of Our Muzzled Freedom from The Gulag Archipelago. During the ruling period of the Bolsheviks, which were, led by Stalin there was a lot to fear in the government. Reasons for people to fear, lie and to betray others as well. In a way, the Bolsheviks made betrayal and the lie into forms of existence within their government. In the reading of Our Muzzled Freedom it goes into a deeper sense into what
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Betrayal as a Form of Existence is, and as well as how it could be tied up to the last paragraph on page.477. “The mildest and at the same time most widespread form of betrayal was not do anything bad directly, but just not to notice the doomed person next to one, not to help him, to turn away one’s face, to shrink back.” (pg.151) A person may ask themselves what would happened if they dare spoke out on what was happening. “You acted as if you had not noticed. (For you could not afford to lose your current job.)” (pg.151) This is exactly what Solzhenitsyn is trying to say in the last paragraph of The Evolution of Our Character it is clearly aligned with the quotes that I used. The last paragraph has a strong emphasis on betrayal. For example on pg.477, “A paralyzing fear spread over the country, a fear not only of arrest but of any action of the leadership (given total and utter worthlessness of anyone’s rights, and the inability to escape from arbitrary rule by relocating.)” The fearing that also of these causes makes it seem so there is a sense of betrayal going on. Again from my opening paragraph” An overpowering plume of betrayal. It was unavoidable.” Betrayal became an everyday thing for these people due to their lifestyle. It was not that they like stabbing their neighbors in the back it is that they had no other choice for them to live. Lying, lying and lying is constantly used in both passages. On page.154, a connection between lying and betrayal is made. “The permanent lie becomes the only safe form of existence, in the same was as betrayal.” The lie became a very big form of existence. “They simply cannot believe the stupid and silly images of themselves which they hear over the radio, see in films, and read in the newspaper. Nothing forces them to speak the truth in reply, But no one allows them to keep silent! They have to talk! And what else but LIE! They have to appland madly, and no one requires honesty of them.” What happens though if a person does give their honesty it is as simple as I have written and put down quotes from other paragraphs. They took your job away, and forget about just taking your job away they took your life away. The way it worked was they made all the people close around you to betray you, and for them not to speak to you again. The reason why the people obeyed was they were scared of the same thing happening back to them.it became a cycle that never ended in my opinion. It was a cycle of people scared fearing for their life over and over again. People may ask themselves what is this lie so to speak.
This lie so to speak is that the government was running everything smooth, and that the people had no problem at all. It was the government that had people betraying others. Not only was in the way of turning a blind eye, thinking if nothing ever happened. The Bolsheviks would force citizens to spy and to turn in information that they had on other people. That in the sense was a betrayal because you could not even trust a neighbor, or even say a family friend. They would go out, recruit, and try to get people to turn on each other. “Nadezhda Mandelstam correctly concludes: beyond the purpose of weakening ties between people, there was another purpose as well. Any person who had let himself be recruited would, out of fear of public exposure be very much interested in the continuing stability of the regime. (pg.151) It continues. “Given this constant fear over a period of many years- for oneself and one’s family- a human being became a vassal of fear, subjected to it. And it turned out that the least dangerous form of existence was constant betrayal.” I think the last sentence played a very big role on how used to the people were of constantly being betrayed. It was something that they saw everyday within their own eyes. A person never knew when they would be betrayed if it was at work, next to their homes, their own family, heck even their own spouse would betray a
person. Betrayal, Lying, and just fear is what made the Bolsheviks strong into power the way they were. They ruled with a very strong sense to make sure no one would get out of line and to keep the people in check. “An overpowering plume of betrayal. It was unavoidable. If you wanted to survive, lie. Lie and Pretend.” Betrayal came from a person a induvial would never expect. It was unavoidable someday someone would betray you as it was said in another quote on Our Muzzled Freedom – “a human being became a vassal of fear, subjected to it. And it turned out that the least dangerous form of existence was constant betrayal.” Every person went through a form of betrayal in some way form. People were lied to when they were betrayed as well. People lied all the time and it was mandatory for them to keep a job, or from getting their friends to betray them. “They have to talk! And what else but LIE!” People were forced to do stuff they did not feel comfortable with but it was necessary to do in order to survive and be considered to exist. Betrayal and lying was just one of the several ways a person had to go through for the forms of existence.
Betrayal as a Form of Existence is, and as well as how it could be tied up to the last paragraph on page.477. “The mildest and at the same time most widespread form of betrayal was not do anything bad directly, but just not to notice the doomed person next to one, not to help him, to turn away one’s face, to shrink back.” (pg.151) A person may ask themselves what would happened if they dare spoke out on what was happening. “You acted as if you had not noticed. (For you could not afford to lose your current job.)” (pg.151) This is exactly what Solzhenitsyn is trying to say in the last paragraph of The Evolution of Our Character it is clearly aligned with the quotes that I used. The last paragraph has a strong emphasis on betrayal. For example on pg.477, “A paralyzing fear spread over the country, a fear not only of arrest but of any action of the leadership (given total and utter worthlessness of anyone’s rights, and the inability to escape from arbitrary rule by relocating.)” The fearing that also of these causes makes it seem so there is a sense of betrayal going on. Again from my opening paragraph” An overpowering plume of betrayal. It was unavoidable.” Betrayal became an everyday thing for these people due to their lifestyle. It was not that they like stabbing their neighbors in the back it is that they had no other choice for them to live. Lying, lying and lying is constantly used in both passages. On page.154, a connection between lying and betrayal is made. “The permanent lie becomes the only safe form of existence, in the same was as betrayal.” The lie became a very big form of existence. “They simply cannot believe the stupid and silly images of themselves which they hear over the radio, see in films, and read in the newspaper. Nothing forces them to speak the truth in reply, But no one allows them to keep silent! They have to talk! And what else but LIE! They have to appland madly, and no one requires honesty of them.” What happens though if a person does give their honesty it is as simple as I have written and put down quotes from other paragraphs. They took your job away, and forget about just taking your job away they took your life away. The way it worked was they made all the people close around you to betray you, and for them not to speak to you again. The reason why the people obeyed was they were scared of the same thing happening back to them.it became a cycle that never ended in my opinion. It was a cycle of people scared fearing for their life over and over again. People may ask themselves what is this lie so to speak.
This lie so to speak is that the government was running everything smooth, and that the people had no problem at all. It was the government that had people betraying others. Not only was in the way of turning a blind eye, thinking if nothing ever happened. The Bolsheviks would force citizens to spy and to turn in information that they had on other people. That in the sense was a betrayal because you could not even trust a neighbor, or even say a family friend. They would go out, recruit, and try to get people to turn on each other. “Nadezhda Mandelstam correctly concludes: beyond the purpose of weakening ties between people, there was another purpose as well. Any person who had let himself be recruited would, out of fear of public exposure be very much interested in the continuing stability of the regime. (pg.151) It continues. “Given this constant fear over a period of many years- for oneself and one’s family- a human being became a vassal of fear, subjected to it. And it turned out that the least dangerous form of existence was constant betrayal.” I think the last sentence played a very big role on how used to the people were of constantly being betrayed. It was something that they saw everyday within their own eyes. A person never knew when they would be betrayed if it was at work, next to their homes, their own family, heck even their own spouse would betray a
person. Betrayal, Lying, and just fear is what made the Bolsheviks strong into power the way they were. They ruled with a very strong sense to make sure no one would get out of line and to keep the people in check. “An overpowering plume of betrayal. It was unavoidable. If you wanted to survive, lie. Lie and Pretend.” Betrayal came from a person a induvial would never expect. It was unavoidable someday someone would betray you as it was said in another quote on Our Muzzled Freedom – “a human being became a vassal of fear, subjected to it. And it turned out that the least dangerous form of existence was constant betrayal.” Every person went through a form of betrayal in some way form. People were lied to when they were betrayed as well. People lied all the time and it was mandatory for them to keep a job, or from getting their friends to betray them. “They have to talk! And what else but LIE!” People were forced to do stuff they did not feel comfortable with but it was necessary to do in order to survive and be considered to exist. Betrayal and lying was just one of the several ways a person had to go through for the forms of existence.