American literary critic, teacher, and filmmaker Henry Louis Gates Jr. once stated, “Censorship is to art as lynching is to justice.” Gates has teaching experience at Yale, Cornell, and Harvard, but is best known for publishing extensively on appreciating African-American literature. His quote can be interpreted in such a way that reveals a major setback in regards to literature. The relationship between lynching and justice is quite paradoxical, and this part of his statement is perhaps easier for the average reader to understand. What people might not recognize is how the use of censorship can completely alter the work of potential great artists and writers. Knowing that their work will be read over and over before editing and publishing, writers might choose not to incorporate certain ideas into their work, or perhaps throw away a brilliant idea to write about. In Pereira Declares, written by Antonio Tabucchi, the presence of the government greatly affects how writers choose to compose their work. The Lives of Others poses a very similar threat to literature, as the government chooses to use surveillance methods to monitor Dreyman. In Pereira Declares and The Lives of Others, the ways in which the governing bodies function in their respective countries force the writing protagonists to proceed with their work cautiously, as the risk taken could prove more consequential than the possible reward.

Pereira Declares is set in Lisbon, Portugal, during the period when António de Oliveira Salazar was in power, known simply as the Salazar Regime. Under this regime, the Portuguese government set their focus on order, discipline, and authority, while the family, the parish, and Christianity were said to be the foundations of the state. Regardless of his initial intentions, Salazar went completely beyond these boundaries during his rule, as he implemented policies and ultimately established a full-fledged dictatorship. Salazar’s views blended both Roman Catholic principles and Mussolini-like fascism, even though he claimed his state would not resemble Fascist Italy during the early twentieth century. Under the Salazar regime, writers feared that their work would end up prohibited and therefore some things were not even worth writing. In his piece titled “Censorship and Scarcity,” Nelson Ribeiro describes how “… censorship was the regime’s main strategy used to control public opinion” (Ribeiro 75). Like policy of today’s world, it was illegal then to commit acts along the line of treason. Taking this idea even further, the government completely curtailed political freedoms of all Portuguese citizens. In fact, the regime brought a criminal lawsuit for any alleged offenses against the state. Without a doubt, the scrupulous eye of the Portuguese government under the rule of Salazar threatened all writers when publishing their ideas. 

The struggle for professional writers is also well documented in The Lives of Others, which is set in East Berlin, Germany. During this time, all publications in regards to the media, the arts, or culture were governmentally controlled and regulated. Before a novel could even be published or a play could be performed, it had to be submitted to censors for review. In addition, criticism of communism was not tolerated, which included any discussion of the Stasi’s activities and surveillance methods. Crude topics such as homosexuality and pornography were to be avoided as well. Content considered harmful to the regime in general was strictly forbidden and severe punishment would follow for those who chose to include such writing. First, the offending party would first be warned and the material in question would not be published. The offending party could then be banned from publishing and performing or have dues levied to keep their material from being released. If they decided to go beyond this, the individuals could be placed under traditional or house arrest. The most serious consequence would be deportation, which is most often to Western Germany.

The effects of writing under the Salazar government is perfectly portrayed through the writers in Pereira Declares. To start off, Pereira is responsible for publishing the culture page of the “Lisboa”, a second-rate newspaper in Lisbon. Periera initially doesn’t express any sort of interest in the rise of Fascism in Europe and Portugal, pledging to keep his culture page “non-political and independent” (Tabucchi 3). However, after hiring young bull Montiero Rossi to pre-write obituaries, Pereira finds it hard to keep his nose out of the politics of his country. Rossi is considered to be more involved and aware of the times compared to Pereira. When he writes these obituaries, he addresses only the political stance of the writers he profiles and is especially critical of those who have supported Fascism. Pereira claims his papers are unpublishable, but continues to ask a local waiter to keep him updated with current news. Marta, Rossi’s girlfriend, is a great supporter of Rossi and his work, but she too gets wrapped up in his negative writing. In fact, she is forced to completely alter her appearance and change her name, establishing a new identity to remain under the radar before fleeing the country. Rossi is eventually tracked down and killed by ‘Political Police’ who entered Pereira’s apartment. Pereira on the other hand flees Portugal and goes to France following his friend’s death, where he writes an obituary on Montiero Rossi. This ending is quite ironic because Rossi was hired with the intent to write advanced obituaries for Pereira’s page of the newspaper, and now Pereira was writing an obituary on him. It is clearly illustrated throughout this novel that politics and literature ultimately cannot exist separately in Portugal. This is the primary reason that led to the death of Rossi and forced Pereira to leave his country and his newspaper behind.

Like Pereira Declares, the government’s presence and surveillance of literature forces German writers to act in rather unconventional fashion. Georg Dreyman is a very successful playwright and a well-respected man among his peers. His girlfriend, Christa-Marie, is a star in herself, as she acts in the plays her boyfriend writes. It is clear early on that her ongoing affair with Minister Hempf is cause for concern, specifically how she sleeps with him only to keep herself on stage. Gerd Wiesler is the Stasi officer who is ordered to spy on Dreyman, setting up listening devices throughout his apartment to pick up conversations. This operation began because Minister Heimpf wanted to gather information on Dreyman, since his girlfriend was becoming more reluctant to sleep with him. Dreyman insisted that Christa-Marie was better off without Heimpf, explaining to her, “You are a great artist… You don’t need him. Stay here. Don’t go to him” (The Lives of Others). During his time conducting surveillance, Wiesler develops a measure of sympathy as he listens in on Georg’s private conversations. Day after day, Wiesler becomes more convinced of Georg’s innocence and takes steps to protect him. In fact, he removes the illegal typewriter out of Georg’s apartment before the Stasi come to search. 

In the end, Georg does not face any legal trouble, but he does watch his girlfriend commit suicide by running into oncoming traffic. Christa-Marie ultimately cracks under intense pressure and leeks information about her husband to the Stasi government to keep her dreams of performing alive. In a review written about the film, A. O. Scott writes, “… since the nation itself functions by means of the wholesale and systematic betrayal of [their] ideals, the only way Wiesler and Georg can express their loyalty is by committing treason” (Scott). Wiesler’s actions were grounds for demotion, as he was sent to work in the mail room, opening envelopes and delivering mail for betraying the German government. Dreyman finishes his piece “Sonata for a Good Man”, which is ironically purchased by Wiesler at the conclusion of the film. He dedicates his novel to ‘HGW XX/7’, the legal code name for Wiesler. The impact the German government had on Dreyman and Wiesler is unquestionable, tremendously influencing their lives and futures.

Undoubtedly, the risks both primary writers chose to take in their respective pieces of work proved to have great effects on their lives. In Pereira Declares, Pereira ended up fleeing his country and leaving all his work behind after experiencing his colleague being killed in his own apartment. In The Lives of Others, Dreyman is the cause for a Stasi investigation of his apartment, resulting in the death of his girlfriend and a novel written for the man who spied on him. Although the ways in which the government interfered with each writer was different, the lasting impacts on both are well documented. In the United States today, we as citizens give up certain freedoms in order to remain protected. The US Patriot Act, for example, is a policy where we give up our freedom of privacy so that the government can regulate conversations and track potential suspects or terrorists. There are always tradeoffs wherever you might live, but the government will always come out on top, as seen in both the novel and film.

I don’t want to sound ignorant or brag about my work at all, but I did not make any significant changes while revising my essay. My peer reviewer did not make any noticeable changes or offer much criticism, so I took that as a testament to my work. I went back and reread my piece a few times to fix any faulty sentences and wording. I always want my essays to have solid structure and flow smoothly. It is very annoying for the reader to have to try to decipher what you are trying to say in your writing, so I always try to make my writing as clear and to-the-point as possible.
