John Steinbeck's Paradox: The Revealer Of Truth

Buddy Al-Aydi
Teacher
Advanced Placement English Language and Composition
30th August, 2016
Paradox: The Revealer of Truth Colonial America had received oppression from the British with use of strict laws and heavy taxes. In order for America to be at peace, they had to go to war. By going to war, they had endangered their lives and showcased their brute strength in order to scare the British away. They had achieved peace by advocating for the opposite;which is only one example of how paradox defines reality. John Steinbeck’s Paradox and Dream, George Orwell’s 1984, and Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success are examples of literature that most appropriately showcase the use of paradox in reality. Paradoxes expose the pessimistic

Winston from 1984 exhibits this behavior through his diary entries. He questioned the true meaning of Thoughtcrime, which “does not entail death: it IS death”(Orwell 28). Winston effectively exposed the pessimistic reality of Thoughtcrime, which actually is death, through questioning its validity. It is a type of felony that is well known and feared among citizens in 1984, and anybody that has questioned it has been silenced, until this point.
Similarly, John Steinbeck’s Paradox and Dream was created out of the constant questioning of the world around him. As a result, he has drawn conclusions on the true reality of the American Way of Life, in which “all bow with reverence… although each one get puzzled and angry when asked to define it”(Steinbeck 2). He, too, has pessimized concepts that citizens are constantly using and learning about. In addition, Steinbeck was one of the first that ever questioned the American Way of Life. The purpose of these questions are to dispel the popular beliefs that were instilled in individuals for a long

This behavior is especially evident with The Party’s repetitive slogan “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength”(Orwell 3). The paradoxes in the slogan are how the citizens in the government are regulated. It creates a reality that the citizens are forced to accept, and each sentence offers the pessimistic perspective of each of the ideas. Even Paradox and Dream slightly downgrades the American Dream. It is described as “our vague yearnings toward what we wish were and hope we may be”(Steinbeck 17). This, like The Party, is what keeps the human race working, even though the American Dream has paradox interweaved in its