The Consequences of Secrets
In the works 1984 by George Orwell, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, and Macbeth by William Shakespeare, it is shown that secrets end relationships because secrets cause characters to realize their friend is not who they think they are through O’Brien and Winston in 1984, Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester in Jane Eyre, and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth. Primarily, O’Brien and Winston prove this idea because O’Brien’s secret of being a Party spy gets Winston in trouble. Secondarily, Rochester keeps the secret of his current wife hidden from Jane, which creates a rift in their relationship when the secret is revealed. And finally, after Macbeth and Lady Macbeth murder Duncan, each character realizes that their partner is not at all what they act like. In other words, secrets in relationships do not end well, which is first seen in Julia and Winston’s relationship in 1984.
To start, O’Brien and Winston have a relationship in 1984 that ends with O’Brien betraying Winston. Winston looks up to O’Brien and sees him as someone that he can trust. He wants to be like O’Brien in the way that he conducts himself, and thinks that O’Brien detests the Party like he does. O’Brien and Winston do meet during the book, where O’Brien gives Winston Emmanuel Goldstein’s book. This gives Winston the idea that O’Brien really is a counter operative, and Winston goes off to Mr. Charrington’s to read the book. The book gives Winston information that goes against what the Party says, and he cannot be happier. He, O’Brien, and Julia will, one day, stand up to the Party. That is, until, Winston wakes up one morning. Winston is going about his business, but he hears an iron voice behind him that says “you are the dead” (Orwell 221)....
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...relationship when the truth comes out. From O’Brien betraying Winston in George Orwell’s 1984, to Rochester being outed as a cheater in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s massive secret of killing the king in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, it is very evident that secrets cannot be held in relationships. Relationships, plain and simple, are not built on lies and secrets. All three authors show that in any situation, a relationship built on lies will end up crumbling and falling apart.
Works Cited
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. United States: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC., 1988. Print.
Orwell, George, and Erich Fromm. 1984: A Novel. New York, NY: Signet Classic, 1961. Print.
Pfordresher, John, Gladys V. Veidemanis, and Helen M. McDonnell. "Unit 3: The Renaissance."
England in Literature. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1989. 191-262. Print.
O'Brien - The protagonist Winston Smith, living in a dystopian society governed by the Party, feels strangely attracted to Inner Party member O'Brien. Winston suspects that O'Brien is secretly opposing the Party. Eventually O'Brien approaches Winston with some leading remarks which seem to confirm Winston's suspicions. Winston finds the courage to approach him and openly declares himself an enemy of the totalitarian state. Winston's intuition seems to be correct: O'Brien presents himself as a member of the "Brotherhood" seeking to overthrow the Party.
In the book Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, secrets cause much distrust aimed at the secret holder and pain to the ones either holding or discovering the secret with examples found in secrets like those of Rochester really being the gypsy, Jane's secret reading spot, Mrs. Reed keeping the letter from Jane, and Mr. Rochester's wife in the attic. When Mr. Rochester is disguised as the gypsy and tells the ladies these mysterious fortunes, it in cases hurts some mentally, but more importantly in Jane's case it leads to distrust of Mr. Rochester. As John finds out Jane's secret reading spot he loses more trust in the so called "naughty child" and causes Jane the pain of knowing she no longer has a safe place in Gateshead. Once Jane finds out that Mrs. Reed had kept the letter from her Uncle away from her, she loses almost all of her waning trust in her. Lastly, when Jane found out that Mr. Rochester is married it is what leads Jane leave him for lack of trust, and it also pains Mr. Rochester with the loss of his beloved Jane. Lets not get ahead of ourselves though and talk in more detail about Mr. Rochester and his time as a gypsy.
The feeling of having been betrayed by a trusted or important figure in your life can result in emotional damage, which can eventually lead to personal destruction. “Stone Angel” by Margaret Lawrence and “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, are two works of literature that put that very statement into context. Although, the theme of betrayal is evident in both pieces, the protagonists of the different plots – Hagar Shipley and Willy Loman – experience betrayal in two very different fashions. Hagar Shipley is destroyed by her loss of independence and Willy Loman is forced into taking drastic and unnecessary actions. Acts of betrayal are scattered throughout the lives of the two protagonists. Betrayal put them off the path of life on which they originally began, and drops them on a path of destruction, which in time leads to their premature end.
Deception is present in Tennessee Williams’s drama ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, William Shakespeare’s Tragedy ‘Othello’ and L. P. Hartley’s novel ‘The Go-Between’; the writers choose to use characterisation to explore the theme in depth. Often the protagonists of each text are the primary offenders of deceit, though some supporting characters mislead as well; although Iago is the antagonist of ‘Othello’, he is incomparably the most deceitful character in the entire play. Similarly, Williams uses Blanche to develop the plot by misleading the other characters and even herself at times, though arguably, unlike Iago, Blanche is presented as a character who lacks the motivation to hurt anyone. Conversely Leo, although the protagonist and narrator of the novel, is not the most deceitful character – Ted Burgess and Marian Maudsley not only coerce him into the deceit, but they themselves are presented as masters of the game they play, however, this essay will focus on Leo as he is a unique symbol of deceit; he is unaware of the consequences of his actions.
“ It was as though their two minds had opened and the thoughts were flowing from one into the other through their eyes. 'I am with you,' O'Brien seemed to be saying to him. 'I know precisely what you are feeling. I know all about your contempt, your hatred, your disgust. But don't worry, I am on your side.” (1.1.33) In this quote we learn that Winston was able to overcome his fear of discussing rebellious acts with o’brian and for a moment felt relieved when O’brian played along with
For instance, lying can lead to discomfort, distance and, fear. For one thing, Christopher felt uncomfortable around his dad because of the lie. Father tells him, “‘We’re only human.’ Then he held up his right hand and spread his fingers out in a fan. But I screamed and pushed him backward…” (122). Usually when Father does this, it is okay but, Christopher was in so much shock, he did not know what to do. He did not want to Father to touch him. Eventually, Christopher decides that, “ I had to get out of the house” (122). He felt the need to escape and break away from Father after what had happened so, he did would distance himself from Father. Additionally, Christopher is in fear towards his father, after being lied to and told the truth, the next morning, “... I heard Father coming down to the garden and I took out my Swiss Army knife out of my pocket … in case he found us” (127). The reason for this is because when Christopher finds out that Father is the one who kills Wellington, he was afraid that he could be the next victim to this murder crime which made him really scared. Trust is important between people. When it is lost, people feel discomfort, the need to distance themselves, and the sense of fear.
The conflict between Winston and Big Brother starts from the beginning of the novel when Winston begins to keep his secret diary about Big Brother. Winston Smith is a third-nine years old man who is a member of the 'outer-party'--the lower of the two classes. Winston works for the government in one of the four main government buildings called the ministry of Truth where his job is to rewrite history books in order for people not to learn what the past used to be like. Winston's occupation is the major factor which lets him to realize that Big Brother is restricting people's freedom. However, Winston keeps his complains about Big Brother and the party for his own secret because the party will not allow anyone keeping a rebellious thought. The tension between them gets serious when Big Brother becomes suspicious of Winston. Winston is therefore watched by O'Brien, an intelligent execute at the 'Ministry of Truth', who is a member of the 'inner party'--the upper class. Without doubting Big Brother's trap, Winston shares his ideas with O'Brien. O'Brien mentions a gentleman named Emmanuel Goldstein whom he claims to know the leader of the rebels against the party. O'Brien also promises to help winston, and promises him a copy of Goldstein's book. But O'Brien betrays him as Big Brother has planned.
Furthermore in both pieces main characters die; their deaths come about as a result, consequently because of their sinful nature and the pure greed of others around them. Human beings thrive on competition, subsequently such factors can change the way we think, the way we act as humans and how we treat others. In edition these authors use characters, particularly Jack and Macbeth, as examples of man’s self-corruption by letting our natural greedy self-centred self’s come through. Through their works it is shown, likewise their belief that if everybody revealed their true natures, the world would tear itself apart by the unconscious want for power that man will stop at nothing to get. Nevertheless in this game of survival, dishonorable tactics are used to climb the ladder swiftly with the deep craving of attaining the pinnacle of power.
In trying to achieve everything possible, the Macbeths’ tragically lose everything instead. Shakespeare has effectively showed us the consequences of murder and power. The main symbolic signs of blood, murder and guilt throughout the play, gave the changes of the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth efficiently. What once started as a dominating relation and taking decisions together, turned into a relation in which neither Macbeth or Lady Macbeth cared for one another.
The constant theme of betrayal in 1984 is being used by George Orwell to show how hopeless Winston’s struggle against the Totalitarian system is, giving the reader an idea of how bad this type of government is. The reader is introduced to this dark time and given hope in the form of the rebellious protagonist, Winston. However, the reader soon realises how hopelessly alone Winston is in his silent battle when they see that the government is against him, he has no support or allies, and that even his own mind can be turned against him. The message is clear and makes readers who live in a democracy happier with what they have.
There was a common saying, “Behind every great man there's a great woman”. The men, Macbeth and Winston Smith in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and George Orwell’s 1984 may not be considered as the “great man” however, both Lady Macbeth and Julia are good examples that can be presented as the “great woman” behind the men. Both Lady Macbeth and Julia do an excellent job of pretending to be someone who they are not, they are not only affecting the men in their lives to rethink their previous position but also have a bad ending accompanied with physical and psychological issues.
Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2004. Orwell, George. A. A. 1984. The. New York, NY: Signet Classics, 1977. Print.
Trust within family members is one of the strongest forms of trust in the world. This is because people will tend to trust other people that they have known for a long time, which are family members. However if this trust is broken, it could be a huge disaster. If someone breaks trust with a friend or acquaintance, it will suffer some consequences. However, if someone breaks trust with a family member, not only could that connection be lost, but might also turn those family members into enemies. Hamlet by William Shakespeare and Antigone by Sophocles show how important trust is within a family and the consequences of a lack of trust within family members. The relationships between Hamlet and Gertrude, Ophelia and Polonius, Antigone and
O’Brien took advantage of the neuroplasticity of the brain, which is the capacity of the brain to create new neural connections in response to thoughts and experiences. This can be seen at the end of the book when Winston is captured and mentally and physically tortured. O’Brien bombarded Winston with information with the purpose of reprograming the mind. From what has been seen before the brain has its natural functions that guide humanity in the way of progress for the greater good. However, inbuilt with so much flexibility for learning the mind can also learn things that would be deemed unfavorable. It is its downfall, and it was essentially the downfall of Winston. O’Brien clearly understood this when he said “we create human nature. Men are infinitely malleable” (Orwell, 269). Just as the mind can shape it can be shaped, and man becomes the both the creator and the created. With that concept in mind O’Brien reworked Winston’s mind to think differently or better yet to not think at all. He changed his neural pathways with the use of torture and information. He did it so effectively that he seemingly suffocated the expansiveness of the mind and reduced Winston to a shell of a
Through the use of symbolism, foreshadowing, and irony Edith Wharton is able to showcase that sometimes it takes a lifetime of deception, to find out the truth of who your friends really are. That being said, it is not until the very last line of the story, that the reader discovers the one truth that will change Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley’s friendship forever: Barbara is in fact, Delphin’s love child.