The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov A review Set in Moscow during the darkest period of Stalin's regime, in the 1930s after the Russian Revolution, The Master and Margarita is a piece of literary alchemy. It is a fusion of Geothe's Faust, fragments of autobiography, an alternative version of the crucifixion of Christ, a tale of political repression and a meditation on the role of an artist in a society bereft of freedom and individuality. The book does not have a readily describable
hierarchy that has come to be, where sometime Satan and Lucifer can be two distinct characters. One is the representation of evil, while the latter is the fallen angel that has dared to defy God. In Russian literature though, Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov follows the paradigm of the Faustian genre. A deal with the devil, and the presence of demonic servants is present, but there are three worlds that are portrayed which end up to be inexplicably linked. Written between the years on 1928 and 1940
and reality. As Friedrich Nietzsche would write centuries later, “There are no facts, only interpretations” (“Philosophy”). Throughout history, one concept that has been similarly presented and interpreted in myriad lenses is that of the devil. In Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel, The Master and Margarita, and Director Stanley Donen’s film, Bedazzled, the two devil characters are united by their manipulative actions and anthropomorphic characterizations. Although they differ in the expressions of their power
The vast interpretations and multiple meanings that lie within Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita cannot be limited or reduced to just a singular point or explanation. It would be ludicrous for one to simply classify Bulgakov’s work as just a religious, ethical, social or political tract because the enforcement of only one of these points of view would hinder the reader’s insight into the depth of the entire novel. However, it is possible to be able to grasp the many themes and meanings
The 20th century has been a rough time for Soviet-American relations. Since its post-World War 2 enactment, The Cold War did more damage than previously thought. While not a single shell was fired during the war, the cultural embargo that was in effect ravaged each country. The effects of which are still felt in today’s modern society. Now, nearly 20 years after the ending of the Cold War, American and Russian cultural exchanges have started taking shape. While each culture is beginning to share
thought of now as “the secret police”, but in 1929 under the direction of Stalin the NKVD was formed and though it may have a new name it still held the infamous fear and practices of its predecessors, the GPU, The GUGB, and others. Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov was alive during this period of fear, and one of the books he wrote titled The Master and Margarita shares a lot more than one similarity with Stalin and his regime of fear. In fact it seems like the author created this book as a commentary of
contend. Sometimes evil comes from within a character, and sometimes other characters are the source of evil; but evil is always something that the characters struggle to overcome. In two Russian novels, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment and Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita, men and women cope with their problems differently. Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment and the Master in The Master and Margarita can not cope and fall apart, whereas Sonya in Crime and Punishment and Margarita
be seen (allegorically or literally) as artists attempting to reconcile the space of creation and imagination with the everyday world that "will clip an angle's wings, / Conquer all mysteries by rule and line" (Lamia, Pt. II, 234-235). Keats and Bulgakov offer varying representations and outcomes to Lycius' dilemma. In these texts Appollonius and soviet Moscow society function inimically to the forces of imagination and negative capability. These characters represent sobriety and reason. They
Bulgakov’ Diaboliad details an increasingly outrageously comical tale regarding the absurdities Korotkov endures at the hands of the Soviet social and government system. Bulgakov utilizes the bumbling character of Korotkov to paint a satire of the Soviet political abuse of the common man. As Korotkov suffers constant abuses from the Soviet populace, his identity and self-worth is stripped from him and he is treated as a stranger to society. Thus, Diaboliad criticizes the ability for a government
Hadji Murad by Leo Tolstoy is a delightful story using real life experiences that Tolstoy went through while he was serving in the military for Russia in the late 19th century. The author depicts some real problems faced during this time for not only the Russians but also the Muslims within Russian society as well. There is mistrust on both sides as the main character tries to form an unlikely alliance with the Russian forces to take down the resistance leader. Throughout the whole book all the characters
In The Master and Margarita, Bulgakov creates a world of parallel narrative planes with intriguing similarities between characters in each plane. One of the most interesting such doubles is the example of Margarita and Afranius. Although this connection may be surprising at first, there is plenty of compelling evidence to prove the conclusion that Bulgakov purposefully intended these two characters to be a pairing. I will show that this evidence is found both in the parallel between the similar surroundings
"The darkness that had come in from the Mediterranean covered the city so detested by the procurator" (188). This "darkness," or the thunderstorms which are conjured throughout Bulgakov's mysterious and controversial novel The Master and Margarita seem to come with a reason. Each time, they bring a revelation of the capacity of certain characters and a vision of some higher power, one which may be above Woland and his multiple identities, one that may be connected with the peace-loving Yeshua and
Gargantua and Pantagruel The story of Gargantua and Pantagruel is basically a satirical story of the french writer Francois Rabelais. Francois tells of the adventures of two giants, father and son, Gargantua and Pantagruel. They make fun of the vices and foolishness of the people and institutions of Rabelais's time. His humor is at times so dark and his criticism of the Roman Catholic Church so telling that it is difficult to believe that for most of his life he was a priest. I believe
What Makes a Great President? You have probably heard the old saying that "anybody can grow up to be President." But, not everybody is cut out to be President. It takes a special kind of person, someone tough, smart, and driven, just to run for the job. It takes still more talent and character to hold up under the pressures of life in the White House. Great presidents are skilled party leaders. In the 1930s, FDR rebuilt his party by forging a coalition that delivered five straight presidential
Ronald Reagan was the true political icon of the twentieth century. The former president is one of the most beloved in American history, and was one of the most respected by foreign nations. Ronald Reagan’s political influence was unprecedented and changed the course of international history. Ronald Reagan began spreading his political opinion in a way most future politicians do not – acting. Reagan was a young and vibrant man which made him perfect for roles in the media. He had far more influence
the television, while Tristram, his son, ‘the last gasp of the imperial Hazard family’ (page 10), appears to be a victim of American cultural imperialism as he hosts a TV game show called ‘Lashings of Lolly’, in which money replaces culture. Mikhail Bakhtin, a 20th century Russian critic, studied the works of the medieval French writer and satirist, Rabelais, and defined the context of his work as medieval carnival. The decline and fall of everything deemed holy and the promotion of the profane
Throughout human history time has always seemed to provide mankind with a sort of guide. As we learn to depend on these guides’ strengths and powers, we forget our own, causing us to admire their every aspect, to desire to be in their presence at all times. We turn them into heroes whether they wish for it or not, forcing them to live up to our own expectations. Whether these heroes walk the earth, pure of sin, healing and teaching; whether they wear a camouflage uniform fighting for their country
Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp, an American dancer and choreographer, was born on July 1, 1941 in Portland, Oregon. When Twyla was a child her and her parents moved to Southern California and the family opened a drive-in movie theater the Twyla worked at from the age of eight. Twyla began taking piano lessons at the age of two and dance lessons at the age of four. Twyla’s mother wanted her daughter to be accomplished in many fields so she enrolled her daughter in various arts and other classes such as French
During the Nutcracker, you watch as the Sugar Plum Fairy seemingly floats across the stage, does 32 fouettes on pointe and still makes it all look effortless. Little do you know how physically straining it is on her body and then you take into account her eating disorder. She constantly purges just so she can fit into the corset costume that the Sugar Plum Fairy before her fit into. Why might so many ballerinas think this is okay? I’m going to explore a few reasons why I believe ballerinas think
TS Eliot’s Portrait of a Lady and Dialogism There seems to be an air of paradox in bringing a theory on the novel as a genre and the most famous Anglo-American modernist poet as a whole. Mikhail Bakhtin’s seminal study of ‘Discourse in the Novel’, written in 1934-35, and finally appearing in English translation in 1981, offers us an account of the difference between ‘poetic discourse’ and ‘novelistic discourse’. The division is not strictly a difference in to the novel and the poetry as genres