In chapter 50, Grossman talks about the obedience of the people in the German death camps and how this obedience was a direct product of hopelessness. Grossman says that obedience is a result of totalitarianism’s ability to paralyze the human spirit and take away all hope. This hopelessness made Jews in the death camps so obedient that Grossman says, “Jews declared the slaughter of the Jews to be necessary for the happiness of mankind,” (215). Why does Grossman believe that with a lack of hope obedience is the one trait that becomes prominent within man? How does Grossman show this obedience within pages 174-226?
On page 200, Naum Rozenberg is counting the amount of bodies that he and the other brenners have burned. Naum keeps count of this because that is what he knows how to do and this is his new life so applies his old life skills to his new life. He says, “A pity he hadn’t kept separate totals for men, women and children,” (200). This quote just shows how primitive man can become when he is confronted with something that he can’t cope with. Why is Naum’s condition exactly like Lyudmila’s, after the death of Tolya?
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Connor
The horsemen too seemed identical” (291).
“The earth and the sky above have reflected one another for so long that they have finally become undistinguishable” (291).
“And in November and December-before the first snows-it’s impossible to tell whether the earth has been dried and hardened by the sun or by frost” (292).
In the beginning of the reading, these three quotations stuck out. The language and diction really lead the readers to question the state of the society. Ignoring the context for a minute, what should we make of these quotes? Is this some sort of message that Grossman is trying to send us about Russian culture and the era of Stalin? The idea of an identical, homogeneous population all supporting the Stalinist effort is quite frightening. Please, let me know what you think.
“Everything passes” (292).
Maybe I’m looking way too deep into this. Funny, it’s not often you hear something like that coming out of Connor’s mouth. But, what is Grossman saying here? What passes? Stalin’s regime?
“If someone has lost his freedom, the steppe will remind him of it…” (292).
“I’m losing my mind out here in the steppes” (296).
The final thing I’d like to discuss in this post with you is these two quotes. The steppe is clearly an important location in the novel and very symbolic. Here, we see the notion of liberty attached to this historic location. Clearly, Russia is not exactly in a state of liberty. Many characters live in fear of Stalin and his unyielding hand. Yet here, we see Grossman alluding to some form of hope…to liberty, a concept that seems foreign in this era. So, how do are we to understand this? For me, the steppe represents a step out of reality. Through Darensky’s eyes, we are seeing a part of Russia that has been forgotten…the idea of an ancient liberty has clearly been erased form these people’s minds. Yet, it lives here in the steppes.
I know this may not measure up to my comrades’ intelligent writing, but I really am interested in diction, and I am of the opinion that every word written is done purposefully. There are no coincidences! Let me know what you think.
“The earth and the sky above have reflected one another for so long that they have finally become undistinguishable” (291).
“And in November and December-before the first snows-it’s impossible to tell whether the earth has been dried and hardened by the sun or by frost” (292).
In the beginning of the reading, these three quotations stuck out. The language and diction really lead the readers to question the state of the society. Ignoring the context for a minute, what should we make of these quotes? Is this some sort of message that Grossman is trying to send us about Russian culture and the era of Stalin? The idea of an identical, homogeneous population all supporting the Stalinist effort is quite frightening. Please, let me know what you think.
“Everything passes” (292).
Maybe I’m looking way too deep into this. Funny, it’s not often you hear something like that coming out of Connor’s mouth. But, what is Grossman saying here? What passes? Stalin’s regime?
“If someone has lost his freedom, the steppe will remind him of it…” (292).
“I’m losing my mind out here in the steppes” (296).
The final thing I’d like to discuss in this post with you is these two quotes. The steppe is clearly an important location in the novel and very symbolic. Here, we see the notion of liberty attached to this historic location. Clearly, Russia is not exactly in a state of liberty. Many characters live in fear of Stalin and his unyielding hand. Yet here, we see Grossman alluding to some form of hope…to liberty, a concept that seems foreign in this era. So, how do are we to understand this? For me, the steppe represents a step out of reality. Through Darensky’s eyes, we are seeing a part of Russia that has been forgotten…the idea of an ancient liberty has clearly been erased form these people’s minds. Yet, it lives here in the steppes.
I know this may not measure up to my comrades’ intelligent writing, but I really am interested in diction, and I am of the opinion that every word written is done purposefully. There are no coincidences! Let me know what you think.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Nick's Post
The first part of the reading showed the differing psychological effects of the war on the characters of the story. In the beginning, we see Novikov reflect on the men he was commanding and see them not merely as a group but as widely differing individuals. This contrasts with the ideology he is fighting to support, the belief that individuals are only useful in the ways that they can help the State. Novikov saw his soldiers as they truly were: human beings with varying personalities, hopes, and desires bound together by the common fate of the war. He remarks that “that the only true meaning of the struggle for life lies in the individual”(230), which is the very thing the Soviet State hopes to destroy. From here Grossman transitions to the stories of the snipers who do the exact opposite. They dehumanize their opponents and view them merely as targets to be destroyed. Grossman juxtaposes Novikov’s compassion for his individual soldiers with the Russian snipers’ grouping of the Germans as hated enemies. Why on the bottom of pg 235 does Krymov say that he feels no pity for enemies of the Revolution, but feels sorry for the German workers?
It was interesting to see how Grossman describes the effects of the war on the soldiers in house 6/1, who are surrounded by the Germans. Despite their dire situation, they always appear to be confident and self-assured. They do not allow themselves to think about the danger they are in, and their confidence rubs off on the radio operator, Katya. The war transforms men who previously had rather ordinary lives into heroes, men who had “an extraordinary combination of strength , daring, authority and common sense” 255. Katya and the young boy, Seryozha, both talk about how they feel cut off from the past, how they can no longer imagine the life they had before the war. As Seryozha says, the men in house 6/1 are far from simple. Grekov says that “No one has the right to lead other people like sheep….the purpose of a revolution is to free people”(260). Why does Grekov feel as if he was free?
The reading ends with the continuation of the life of Viktor, whose frustration at work has carried over to his personal life. He feels estranged from his wife because he does not understand the effect the death of Tolya had on her. We also see the first instance of a discussion of dissatisfaction with the Soviet regime. Scott questioned why the soviets blindly follow their State leaders, and in this section we see their dissatisfaction with their society. Madyarov wants freedom of the press, and Karimov discusses the fact that how successful you are depends on how useful you are to the State. Yet behind all this is a lurking fear of saying too much, and an appreciation of the incredible power that words have. The section ends with Viktor suddenly having a scientific breakthrough, which he thinks resulted from the free discussion of ideas he had that night. What was Grossman’s purpose in writing a section where his characters discuss such counter-revolutionary ideas?
It was interesting to see how Grossman describes the effects of the war on the soldiers in house 6/1, who are surrounded by the Germans. Despite their dire situation, they always appear to be confident and self-assured. They do not allow themselves to think about the danger they are in, and their confidence rubs off on the radio operator, Katya. The war transforms men who previously had rather ordinary lives into heroes, men who had “an extraordinary combination of strength , daring, authority and common sense” 255. Katya and the young boy, Seryozha, both talk about how they feel cut off from the past, how they can no longer imagine the life they had before the war. As Seryozha says, the men in house 6/1 are far from simple. Grekov says that “No one has the right to lead other people like sheep….the purpose of a revolution is to free people”(260). Why does Grekov feel as if he was free?
The reading ends with the continuation of the life of Viktor, whose frustration at work has carried over to his personal life. He feels estranged from his wife because he does not understand the effect the death of Tolya had on her. We also see the first instance of a discussion of dissatisfaction with the Soviet regime. Scott questioned why the soviets blindly follow their State leaders, and in this section we see their dissatisfaction with their society. Madyarov wants freedom of the press, and Karimov discusses the fact that how successful you are depends on how useful you are to the State. Yet behind all this is a lurking fear of saying too much, and an appreciation of the incredible power that words have. The section ends with Viktor suddenly having a scientific breakthrough, which he thinks resulted from the free discussion of ideas he had that night. What was Grossman’s purpose in writing a section where his characters discuss such counter-revolutionary ideas?
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Scott's Post 19-115
The other day in class we talked about how Grossman wrote Life and Fate while living as a product of Russian totalitarianism and how many of those used to promote, sustain, and implement Stalinism were actual acting out of a blind sense of devotion. Why was that? Was it because of fear or some type of obligation to commit to some false sense of hope Stalinism brought to Russia in its desperate time of need? I encourage you to look through the reading and find quotes, whether it be dialogue from the characters or Grossman's speech of mind through his prose, to find instances where this blind sense of devotion comes up. Sure there were the generals and people who were totally onboard with Stalinism who were in charge of different gulag sites and such. Surprisingly, the proprietors of the system were less involved in maintaining the system than those actually subject to it were(pg. 22) By creating classes within the gulags, giving prisoners privileged enslavement by allowing the power to govern and spy on other fellow gulag-mates. Clever, clever. However on pg. 23 ("The Kapos…own names on these lists."), Grossman shows how there were those in charge that were not exactly excited about doing their "jobs" either and didn’t necessarily agree with what they were doing anyway. So why did they comply?
How are Viktor Shtrum and other characters introduced in the story so far trapped into facilitating their on subjection to Stalinism or the things of society in general? Though none of them support the situation at hand, how to they tricked into helping maintain this brutal system?
Also in the beginning of the book, Grossman illustrates how diverse the gulags are in terms of history, guilt of crimes or lack thereof, originality, prior occupation, and classes, but still shows that they all had one thing in common that in essence made them equal to one another in a sense. "The very differences in the lives of these prisoners gave rise to a certain similarity…all these prisoners, without exception, had enjoyed a wonderful past" and despite "unable to understand one another in the confusion of tongues, were bound by a shared fate." How does this concept of equality because of the shared fates change throughout the course of the book? Specifically how does Viktor's mothers account of being made aware of her Jewishness speak to the truth about the plight of Jews in Russia (gulag) vs. Germany (concentration camp)?
Throughout life and fate we see how many live a life of survival because of their inborn fate of tragedy and despair. From the points of view of two of the characters, describe how the fact of being Jewish plays of this life of survival and fate of tragedy and despair?
How are Viktor Shtrum and other characters introduced in the story so far trapped into facilitating their on subjection to Stalinism or the things of society in general? Though none of them support the situation at hand, how to they tricked into helping maintain this brutal system?
Also in the beginning of the book, Grossman illustrates how diverse the gulags are in terms of history, guilt of crimes or lack thereof, originality, prior occupation, and classes, but still shows that they all had one thing in common that in essence made them equal to one another in a sense. "The very differences in the lives of these prisoners gave rise to a certain similarity…all these prisoners, without exception, had enjoyed a wonderful past" and despite "unable to understand one another in the confusion of tongues, were bound by a shared fate." How does this concept of equality because of the shared fates change throughout the course of the book? Specifically how does Viktor's mothers account of being made aware of her Jewishness speak to the truth about the plight of Jews in Russia (gulag) vs. Germany (concentration camp)?
Throughout life and fate we see how many live a life of survival because of their inborn fate of tragedy and despair. From the points of view of two of the characters, describe how the fact of being Jewish plays of this life of survival and fate of tragedy and despair?
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