Week 2
In sections 13 through 15 in Witness, Whitaker Chambers dives into the complicated case of Alger Hiss. From highlighting the corruption within the government to dissecting the web of lies that Hiss and his associates created, Chambers is able to effectively deliver a clear and controversial view of how the totalitarian ideology of Communism had become an epidemic that spread all throughout America during that time.
The Alger Hiss case was a huge controversy in the last 1940s. Mostly because this case exposed how Communism had infiltrated the government on such a wide scale. Many government officials were not happy with these accusations, and in turn attempted to demonize Chambers. On page 500, Chambers explains the situation in manner that suggests many people of high authority wanted to disprove his case against Hiss in order to keep the respect of the people. The fact that so many people were attempting to discredit Chamber’s testimony even further proves how rooted Communism was in society. The attempt to damage Chamber’s reputation and isolate him from the general public exposes the totalitarian views of the Communist party, and damages the parties reputation.
Also, along with the odds stacked against him, Chambers had to deal with all the lies being thrown at him during the trial. In The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt explains how a society must become atomized in order to be brought together with such a strong bond. Because the Communist party had brought together all these people who were initially isolated in their everyday lives, they were so strongly connected that they were willing to lie, even in a court room. Chambers quotes Daniel Hiss’ testimony (pg 502)as a complete lie, and how Hiss refused to acknowledge he knew Chambers at all. Committing perjury is a serious crime and when someone is able to do it so carelessly shows how strong the bond is between the members in the Communist party. This is not the only time the author illustrates the deep bonds of the Communist party. On page 23, Chambers describes how Miss Hutchins waited for hours to see Chamber’s brother in law for hours, because in some way, the Communist party had discovered that she was connected to the Chambers and may be able to find where he was hiding out. These scenarios are critical when digesting the whole picture of Communism, and how it completely ruled over the lives of people inside the party.