For
Friday: Stories of Soviet Life
Zamyatin,
“The Lion” (pp.201-205)
Inber,
“Lalla’s Interests (217-221)
Bulgakov,
“The Embroidered Towel” (pp.223-234)
Answer
2 of the following questions…
1. Under
Communism, it was easier for women to become writers, which is why we get our
first female writer, Vera Inber. Many
people would expect a woman to write stories about children and the family, and
she does…but how does she use a “children’s story” to satirize the new world
order in Soviet Russia?
2. V.I.
Lenin, one of the leaders of the 1917 Revolution, felt very strongly about
film, writing that “you must
remember always that of all the arts the most important for us is the cinema.” As we discussed in class, this was because
film is very direct and emotional and makes propaganda more effective. He was much more skeptical of other art
forms, notably literature since it was more subjective and ambiguous. Why doesn’t one or more of these stories
function as good propaganda like Battleship
Potemkin? How does it show another
side to Soviet Life that didn’t make it on the big screen?
3. Bulgakov’s powerful short story, “The Embroidered
Towel,” is a revealing look at the beginning of a country doctor’s career,
documenting his first attempt at an amputation.
What makes this such a profoundly human story? While many of us won’t become surgeons, why
can we relate to the doctor and his inner dialogue? What might he be suggesting about everyone as
they become adults and start careers in their chosen fields?
4. Karl Marx, writing in The Communist Manifesto (1847) which influenced Lenin and the new
Soviet Order, wrote that “the theory of Communists may be summed up in the
single sentence: Abolition of private property.” By this he means that if people didn’t own “private
property,” there would no longer be a class system of rich/poor, educated/uneducated,
important/uninmportant, since everyone would be more or less equal and have
access to the same goods and services.
According to these stories, is the class system gone? Is everyone equal? How do normal citizens of the new Soviet
Union see themselves and others as “Communists”?
3. I think this is an amazing story. It shows the internal struggles of a recent university graduate and all of the doubt and worry he feels going into his first real job after school. I think this story is relatable because every college student every experiences these emotions going into their first job after school. But somehow almost all of them find a way to push through and overcome whatever situation has been thrown at them. I think that is an innately human quality.
ReplyDelete4. I don't think the class system was ever completely abolished according to one story in particular, "Lalla's Interests." In the story, the mother can't understand why her daughter would want to play with the boy that operates the elevator. She states that he is just a "waif" and basically implies that he is of a lower class than they are. I think everyone is probably equal up until a certain point. Everyone has access to the same things and are not denied anything, but who you are or what you do can still define who you are to society. In the people's minds they are still in a hierarchical society.
Cera Miller
ReplyDelete3. I think this story speaks to the reader because we have all had self-doubt in our lives. No matter how much we know, study, or train, there is always room for a worm of doubt. We don’t really know what we are doing on our first day at a job; we wing it, maybe half ass it. We fake it until we make it. We also worry about the decisions we are making. I sometimes wonder how what I say or do may affect someone else, much like the doctor, wondering if taking the girls leg off would really do anything.
4. I really don’t think the class system was gone in any of these stories; it pops up one way or another, either as a class or a status. Zherebyakin is bullied by the Red director; for all of the talk about equality, he is still in charge and higher in status. The children will always be ruled over by their parents; their parents can still discipline them, control their diet, say when they go to bed and choose whether to give their permission or not. Children need adult supervision and no matter how equal everyone is, this will never change. Even though the two doctors in the “The Embroidered Towel” had the same education they still have different experiences and knowledge from said experiences. People will always be dominate/subservient, have greater/lesser knowledge, and give/take orders.
Darryn York
ReplyDelete1. The westernization of Russian Culture that began during the reign of Alelign Mikhailovich. Woman contributed from the 1750s. Her writing was the first such establishment known to Russian history.
2. Battleship Potemkin continuous to rank high in lists of the “bat”. Battleship Potemkin doesn’t give most of its characters. This is a classic film that has influenced many modern directions. The film is more dramatic than specific and somewhat extremely effective.