Paranoia

In the books that we have read, we see how terror and fear are used to subdue entire countries. When people are arrested, tortured, and murdered without reason, it creates an uncontrollable, lasting paranoia. How does one live in a world in which nobody can be trusted? Can this really be called living, or is it simple being able to outlast the oppression? It is not just the secret police that people must fear, but they must also deal with betrayals by friends and neighbors. This type of atmosphere instills inescapable doubt and suspicion. Throughout the semester, we've seen this idea play out over and over again, which is why I wanted to examine the following passage in Fields of Light:

About four hours into Josef's stay, the door opened, and a man was shoved inside with such force that he landed, hard, against the far side of the cell. The steel door slammed shut behind him.  

"Bastards," the man said. He had a hard, unshaven face, and dark eyes. He rubbed his arms and legs. "I had an argument with the guard and he kicked me," he said. "He has no right to do that."

Then the newcomer seemed to take in Josef completely, for the first time. "I am glad to see that I shall not be alone," he said. "I am Franta Zeman." He held out his hand. (81-82)

 Upon my first reading of this excerpt, upon witnessing "Franta Zeman" being literally thrown into the page and hearing him insult the guards, my immediate reaction was to think, wow, what an introduction! In that split second, I believed that Zeman would be an interesting addition to the story, someone that could at least commiserate with Josef or give him knowledge that would help keep his spirits up. A few milliseconds after having these initial thoughts, the searing doubt crept in and my intrigue turned into the utmost suspicion. I realized that this was very likely a trap, and I took a moment to reflect on how gullible I had been.

All of these thought whirled through my mind in a time span of less than five seconds.

Of course, after meeting "Anton," I felt justified in my mistrust, like I was ahead of the game. But this short passage in the book made me realize just how easy it is to succumb to the type of distrust that we see in these novels. It makes me wonder. We'd all want to do the "right thing" if ever we meet difficult circumstances, but it's so easy to be swept away.