321-368
Summary + Analysis
Act II starts out with Grossman describing the naivety of soldiers that were being sent to the front for the first time, and talks about how their general, Novikov, is being sent to the Front in Stalingrad. The narrative then focuses on the general's personal life and his meeting with his lover and future wife Zhenya (Yevgenia Nikolaevna) ((Shaposhnikova)). Both of these characters have regrets about the war and ultimately the communist regime, but like usual many things are left unsaid. Zhenya is confused whether she loves Krymov, the man she pushed away who is in the Front lines, or Novikov the hot-shot general. Krymov was accused of being a bad communist due to his published works ( a fact that returns over and over again .) Anyway, Novikov leaves and gets on the train towards Stalingrad, where he meets up with Nyeudobnov, who has no problem killing men off at the very hint of an anti-Russian mindset.
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"He was a strange man; Novikov sometimes found him quite frightening. Whenever anything had gone wrong on the journey - a delay because of a train coming in the opposite direction, a faulty axle on one of the carriages, a controller being slow to signal them on - Nyeudobnov had said with sudden excitement: 'Take down his name. That's deliberate sabotage. The swine should be arrested immediately.' (Page 334)
And also: "Nyeudobnov seemed to be constantly vigilant. It was as if, whenever he met someone, he wondered suspiciously: 'And how am I to know, dear comrade, that you're not an enemy of the people yourself?' Yesterday he had told Novikov and Getmanov about the saboteur architects who had tried to convert the main Moscow boulevards into landing strips for enemy planes." (334)
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Nyeudobnov is a perfect example of a man who abuses his power and has an irrational paranoia towards his fellow man. He has a seemingly blind faith in communism, possibly due to the fact that he isn't on the wrong end of it.
Nyeudobnov on Mitka Yevsyev:
"If this man was arrested then he must have been an enemy of the people. People don't get arrested for nothing." (336)
Later on, a drunken soldier was being escorted past the window and was seen kissing the police officer's face- Nyeudobnov immediately says "Hes a saboteur. He deserves to be shot." Novikov seems to take all of this in, but doesn't have the will or the guts to say what he is thinking. Grossman specifically states that Novikov is unhappy or "tense" around the other generals, partially due to their endless gossip of enemies of the state. We see him explode in anger when Getmanov talks about his conversation with the other general questioning how he can be in a relationship with a woman (Zhenya) whose first husband (Krymov) was a supposed traitor to the communist movement.
Novikov: "To hell with all that! ... Let me tell you- I've had enough of all this! It makes me sick!"
Getmanov comments that he agrees with him and says hes a real man.
MEANWHILE... BACK AT THE LABORATORY...
Viktor has discovered an impressive new theory, which he shows to his colleagues (most notably Solokov) who are all very impressed, but many of whom reproach him (for being Jewish.) Also, some of the people he works with at the lab cannot go to Moscow with him because they are Jewish, even though he could use their help.
-Viktor meets up with Marya Ivanovna who is apparently, according to the back of the book, also his wife (?)
The section ends with another Jewish man, Karimov, paying a visit to Viktor's house. The two discuss the very real executions of Jews and their families, but dismiss them as mythology due to the horror of it. Karimov comments that Viktor is lucky he is a Russian scientist because at least now he is not helping Hitler with his discoveries (362)
Solokov's brother, Madyarov, tells Novikov that he thinks Karimov is an informer. He asks Novikov to examine the man's life- he meets with Novikov quite often, his entire circle has vanished, and he has been granted his doctorate. Thus, Karimov's fate for being an informer is success and protection, while the men who he betrays are sentenced to death.
So I suppose some issues to focus on would be Novikov's reaction to "Anti-Communist" actions and Nyeudobnov's comments, his relationship to Zhenya and their relationship to the war, and the life and fate of Jewish men that are trying to survive.
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Juicy Jargon, John
ReplyDeleteIt's good but it seems like it was written at 2 AM or something
Interesting post, John.
ReplyDeleteI too was intrigued by the relative bluntness of Nyeudobnov, and how it seems as though his solution to every problem is simply death. This is a perfect example of totalitarian dehumanization, and the raw, violent, numbness that becomes omnipresent among the affected population. Nyeudobnov is a devout ideologue, whose perceptions of reality have been twisted so thoroughly that they cannot be untangled. He has grown so accustomed to his power and the power of the Party (Tolstoyian idea presented in Anna Karenina) that is has become normalcy. He doesn't even think to consider the facts-he just acts on what has been branded into his brain by Stalinism: Anyone who does not embody and furthermore does not try to embody the Homo Sovieticus is an enemy of the State and the people, and should therefore be executed.In my opinion, this is one of the most worrisome dangers of totalitarian ideology- absolute devotion, absolute reactions, absolute blindness. Men like Nyeudobnov should serve as overt warnings, frightening harbingers of the severe perversive effects of despotism.
Nyeudobnov is the perfect example of the blind devotion to the party that developed within many Russians during the totalitarian regime. He has developed a complete lack of humanism because anyone who does even the slightest thing wrong should be killed in his eyes. This lack of humanism shows how the Soviet Union (and more precisely totalitarian regimes) broke down the barriers between humanity and savagery. Just like in the Gulag men are taught to believe that they have wronged the state even if they haven't, the state has taught Nyeudobnov that he has supreme authority over everyone he commands and that he is allowed to decide what constitutes a crime worthy of death and what doesn't. Nyeudobnov is the ideal Soviet because he has taken the blind devotion to the extreme because he believes that if you slip up at all you are betraying the state and must be executed.
ReplyDelete"Nyeudobnov seemed to be constantly vigilant. It was as if, whenever he met someone, he wondered suspiciously: 'And how am I to know, dear comrade, that you're not an enemy of the people yourself?' To me, this is what made totalitarianism so scary. there was an omnipresent fear of offending someone and finding yourself dead the next day. the "blind belief" resulted in the exercising of absolute power, which is, to me at least, a necesearily bad thing. as the saying goes "absolute power corrupts absolutely." This fear brought into the society by the wielding of absolute power had detremental effects on society as it would scare people away from originiality, creativity, and spontinaity. People like Viktor, scientists, would often be the epitome of this as their work would be hampered by a fear of offending higher ups.
ReplyDeleteI was struck by Viktor's comment at the very bottom of page 362. He tells Karimov that, "Soviet scientists are very fortunate," because their discoveries contribute to a noble cause. He asks Karimov to imagine how it must feel to be a German scientist whose discoveries strengthen Fascism and increase evil in the world. He also says that it would be difficult to be a Jewish scientist in Germany, working for the Nazis knowing that your family members are being murdered. I think Viktor's remarks are full of irony because he does not realize the striking similarities between the situation of a German scientist and his own. His discovery will strengthen Communism in Russia, thus strengthening an evil force. Also, he is not unlike the Jewish German Scientist because Viktor's discoveries in Russia will not prevent the racism he and his family experience daily.
ReplyDeleteNyeudobnov is a prime example of the failings of a communist government. Communsim claims to try and eliminate competition, but it just results in more comptetition between the officials of commnism. They are constantly trying to uncover people as enemies of the state, which is not entirely productive. The majority of people are probably like Novikov, who are "indifferent towards the kulaks and sabateurs, the men who are called enemies of the people". But they are too frightened to voice their opinions for fear of also being called enemies of the state. Or, like Novikov, they attribute it to a "lack of political conciousness",as if they feel like there is a good reason to hate these people, but he isnt smart enough to understand it.
ReplyDeleteJolly jungle job, John
ReplyDeleteNyeudobnov is certainly showing how competition still runs rampant in the Soviet Union. This was the same case that we found when Hempf and Grubitz when watching The Lives of Others. It seems impossible to remove the competitive nature that lies deep within the human complex. As Nick nicely notes, “Communism claims to try and eliminate competition, but it just results in more competition between the officials of communism.” This vignette of the Russian world clearly depicts that this is the case. Similarly, as Zack wrote, “Nyeudobnov is the ideal Soviet because he has taken the blind devotion to the extreme.” The competitiveness found in the Soviet Union is based on its citizens blind faith in the system. Once they see how their system can be exploited, they are able to take advantage and better themselves.
John, the first point that you make is very interesting, especially in the context of the movie that we just watched, "The Lives of Others". Zhenya's dilemma of "whether she loves Krymov (who was deemed a bad communist), the man she pushed away who is in the Front lines, or Novikov the hot-shot general" strikes at the heart of the Stalinist regiem and its negative influence on people and their choices. Grossman is evidently pointing out that the fear of being targeted as a bad communist is so strong that it causes Zhenya to second guess her true love. We can only wonder what it is like to live in a society where we must feign a love for someone that we don't like or even despise in order to appear faithful to an oppressive regiem.
ReplyDelete(Insert alliterative comment here), John.
ReplyDeleteEven though communist principles attempt to rid competition from their idealized society, the individuals who compose it are just as flawed as the State. “Take down his name. That's deliberate sabotage. The swine should be arrested immediately” (Grossman 334). This mindset is all that the Marx and his legacy tried to eradicate, yet we still see it explicitly present at the heart of the Stalinist State. As I stated in one my papers I wrote earlier for this class, competition is inherent in all human beings. It’s in our biology. According to the laws of evolution Darwin once proposed, organisms compete in all aspects of life, so that the most capable ones reproduce and continue the species. In humans, this principle still applies, even though how people compete may be less explicit. Recognizing this flaw, communist idealists tried to eradicate from society. To their dismay, it is an impossible feat. No matter how strict or rigid a society may appear to be on the surface, the individual’s desire to compete will never die.
Wow. You people have absolutely no sense of humor. I understand that we are all intellectual (some more than others...;) but really, let's have a nice alliterative comment.
ReplyDeleteSuperb Synthesis John!
I will say though that I feel sympathy for Nyeudobnov. Sure, he is painted as this didactic Totalitarian who blindly acccepts everything the party feels him. However, he is a lost man; lost in his own ideaology. As Belzberg so artfully articulated, Nyeudobnov proves the continuing presence of competition, attempting to take the extreme to the more exteme. I think Grossman wants to see the pity of this character. Yes, we feel awful for the victims who must fear all the time the presence of men like Nyeudobnov. But we must also feel bad for Nyeudobnov, for he is a man imprisoned by the ideal, and not the people carrying it out.
I agree with Killian in the fact that the reason totalitarianism was such a beast was because not only did it make people faceless in the presence of proponents of the institution, but it also caused everyone no matter who they were to question one another and their allegiance. It created a state of enemies and for a government that was supposed to bring together a nation under one rule, all it did was bring dealing with adversity to a different level. Now if someone disagreed or offended you, you could just kill them. It neutered society and scared them so deeply that any originality people apart of it once possessed was indefinitely dormant or lost completely.
ReplyDeleteI believe, as does Viktor, that Stalinist Russia, despite its many flaws, is still better than Nazi Germany. I haven’t experienced both firsthand, so I’m not entirely qualified, but still, it’s understandable why Viktor says what he does. Case in point: suffering racism daily is better than having your family gassed to death. But it’s still an uncharacteristic thing for Viktor to say. Viktor also said that there is no such thing as German physics or Soviet physics… just physics. Somehow, I feel like he is a man in pursuit of a higher calling than any nation’s – that of knowledge. He doesn’t do it for Communism. He does it for Science! Like Doctor Frankenstein! I think that in saying this, Viktor might be undergoing a slight slip out of character because, as we all know, Grossman is using this book to press his own agenda (Writer on Board!).
ReplyDeleteAt the bottom of page 362, Karimov states that "Soviet scientists are very fortunate" for the reason that their discoveries do not help Hitler. But this point of view is extremely shortsighted because it fails to acknowledge various forms of evil besides the most obvious which is in the form of the Holocaust. Karimov fails to understand that Russian discoveries and inventions will only be used to supress and kill in Russia, much in the same way that they would be used for in Germany. Indeed, the "terribleness" of this situation extends beyond something specific to Fascism. But in this kill or be killed society, there is little room for empathy. Everyone would rather contribute to the killing rather than be killed themselves.
ReplyDeleteExcellent observations, John.
ReplyDeleteNyeudobnov’s “constant vigilance” is just another reminder of the total control that Stalin had over his subjects. Nyeudobnov is so scared of committing an error against the Party that he looks for errors in the characters of other party members. This in itself depicts the utter control of Stalin. I agree with your comment that Nyeudobnov has a “seemingly blind faith” in Communism because he has not been on the negative end of the spectrum. While he enjoys the rewards of being a Party officer, Nyeudobnov has never had to suffer the fate of the common subjects of Stalin. Nyeudobnov’s blind faith also illustrates the shortcomings of Stalinism. While Stalin hoped to unify the Soviet Union under one Party, he did not foresee men like Nyeudobnov who would be myopic in their view of Stalinism. On page 341, Grossman writes: “Nyeudobnov is a remarkable man, a man of crystal purity, an unshakeable Communist in Stalin’s mould. But he does have one slight fault—there are times when he fails to sense the breath of change….Sometimes he seems unable to learn from life itself” (341). Thus, Getmanov insightfully remarks that Nyeudobnov is clouded by his myopic view of Stalinism. Nyeudobnov intransigently refers to the “classics” and relies on “quotations” in order to convey his points. Despite his ardent loyalty to Stalin, Nyeudobnov fails to adapt to his present life and stubbornly clings to the past. In this way, he can never truly envision Stalin’s Russia and ultimately will never be able to “understand the State he’s living in” (341).
Nyeudobnov's character is interesting to me because he is the perfect example of the kind of person a totalitarian State needs to have around. Nyeudobnov knows something important, and that is that one of the best ways to escape suspicion in a paranoid world is to be busy accusing everybody else of betrayal. He is so relentless in suspecting others of disloyalty that it is almost impossible for anyone to have the time to suspect him, let alone really evaluate what he does. This kind of perverse character is important for a totalitarian State to succeed. He brings the terror!
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