Realism In 'The Cave' By Yevgeny Zamyatin

The region has witnessed two bloody wars both committed by the Russian military to suppress the Chechens,who wanted to break away from the Soviet Union and form their own independent nation, just like the ones in Central Europe. A Small Corner of Hell by Anna Politkovskaya is about the stories of local Chechens, who lived under the constant threat of the Russian military and unfortunately most of whose stories have been told are no longer alive today, including the author. This book is particularly important because amidst all the upbeat futuristic promises of globalization, there are regions in the world such as Chechnya whose people till today live in an inhumane situation. Overlooking the injustices that have been done to Chechens would set a very bad precedent and would encourage dictators around the world to freely abuse and oppress its citizens without fear of condemnation or

Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich exemplifies many true historical situations. The life of a Russian work camp prisoner was that of misery, constant fear, and loss of human dignity. By means of cruelty and hazing by the hand of a warden, guard, or trustie, the workers are forced to live in ignominy. This novel portrays the life of one prisoner, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, in an impressive manner; the book contains no chapters, and takes place in a time span of one day. The storyline implements a solid structure of the everyday lifestyle within the mind of the reader; it certainly did this for myself. To elaborate with emotion and realism, Solzhenitsyn writes the thought process of Shukhov for every single event, without skipping a beat.

In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley presents us with a Dystopian society, for as we read, there is a revelation of the true nature of the society. The basis of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is that the shadows in which the trapped conformists see are the flawed reflections of ideal forms, such as beauty. Within the society of Brave New World, the entire population appears perfect for they are manufactured to be that way, therefore, the ‘outsiders’ appear as the flawed reflections of their ideal forms, which is present in the Allegory of the Cave, as well as other similarities.

The short story, “The Knowners,” is a fictional tale of an alternate reality where mankind has invented a technology which can divine the exact day, upon which a person will die. The story focuses on the impact upon one woman’s life from knowing her own ‘expiration date.’ The story was written by Helen C. Phillips.

The rebellion of Animal Farm was to escape man and his cruel ways, but can they escape the reality of power and corruption? Animal Farm is a novella written by George Orwell. In this book the animal 's desire more freedom than they are allowed. In order to achieve an equal and harmonious society they rebel against farmer Jones. Rather than resulting in a utopian civilization the animals are oppressed by the very pig who encouraged their rebellion.This novella is an allegory to the Soviet Union. Each individual character represents an important group of people in history. All of which contributed to how we run our government today. In this book man takes from the animals without producing anything in return, the

Saint Petersburg, the setting of Crime and Punishment, plays a major role in the formation in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s acclaimed novel. Dostoyevsky’s novels focus on the theme of man as a subject of his environment. Dostoyevsky paints 1860s St. Petersburg as an overcrowded, filthy, and chaotic city. It is because of Saint Petersburg that Raskolnikov is able to foster in his immoral thoughts and satisfy his evil inclinations. It is only when Raskolnikov is removed from the disorderly city and taken to the remoteness of Siberia that he can once again be at peace. This is exactly what he does with the character of Raskolnikov, while in the process indicating that Crime and Punishment is not one of a crime, but one of a discovery of the motive behind

Power. It is the world’s most dangerous asset anyone can hold on to. It can be used for prosperity or for a complete destruction depending on the person. As the famous Lord Acton 's quote says, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Animal Farm stands for the best example that can display this matter in a clearer and funnier version. It portrays the 1917 Russian Revolution atmosphere with the replacement of Russia into Animal Farm. The characters also did not fail to resemble the real people involved in the revolution. Power leads to greed, used to take advantage and manipulate.

In contrast, the Russian serfdom has been disregarded in film, literature and public discourse. This may be associated with a separation of the two concepts on a base of the cultural differences in the development of the two types of oppression and most importantly the different races of the oppressed population. Despite the fact that the area of comparison between Russian serfdom and American slavery is understudied a number of investigations reveal the crucial similarities in the patterns in development of the two systems. In one of such studies Hine (378-384) demonstrates the parallels between serfdom in Russia and slavery in America, which include common features in the treatment and position of slaves and serves. This paper will apply this parallels as the comparison criteria for the two fiction texts that depict one type of oppression each: Harriet Beecher Stowe 's Uncle Tom 's Cabin and Aleksander Radishchev 's Journey From Petersburg to Moscow. Through the comparison of the two texts the essay will argue that serfdom can be regarded as a form of slavery because despite the difference in the scale and race, oppression that existed in Russia and America was

From 1775-1825, citizens of Haiti, British America, Spanish America, and France revolted against their absolutist governments. Inspired by Enlightenment ideas, including equality for all, the power of a ruler comes from the people, and that everyone has unalienable rights that cannot be denied, the citizens of aforementioned colonies and countries successfully replaced the absolutist rulers and were able to gain freedom. These revolutions influenced many other groups of people who had been petitioning for their own rights to act. The fact that these groups were successful gave abolitionists, women’s rights activists, workers’ rights activists, and people moving to end serfdom the confidence that they too could attain their rights.

Post WWl, Russia was still not industrialized, suffering economically and politically and in no doubt in need of a leader after Lenin’s death. “His successor, Joseph Stalin, a ruthless dictator, seized power and turned Russia into a totalitarian state where the government controls all aspects of private and public life.” Stalin showed these traits by using methods of enforcement, state control of individuals and state control of society.

Between the years 1861 and 1914, many Russians thought the treatment of peasants remained unjust despite their emancipation. There were an immense amount of peasants compared to the general population, yet they were treated with very little value. Many thought the peasants should receive education, resolve the conditions of the areas of their residence and receive more rights.

Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin, is a Magical Realism story of a young girl named Liz who must live on after she died so young. Magical Realism is characterized by six distinguishing traits. Magical Realism stories are characterized by an equal acceptance of ordinary and extraordinary, lyrical fantastic writing, an examination of the character of human existence, an implicit criticism of society, particularly the elite, and an acceptance of events contrary to the usual operating laws of the universe as natural, even remarkable which can be seen in authorial reticence and cultural hybridity. Each of these traits are what make a story a Magical Realism and what make Elsewhere a Magical Realism.

In “Notes from the Underground”, a fiction book by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the Underground Man is not like the traditional main character in most other fiction books. Often books have a tragic hero where he or she either saves the days or unfortunately is killed. But that is not the case for this book, the main character shows characteristics that do not fit along the lines of a tragic hero at all. This paper argues that the Underground Man is most definitely not the tragic hero, but instead an anti-hero.

Power. It is the world’s most dangerous asset anyone can hold on to. It can be used for prosperity or for a complete destruction depending on the person. As the famous Lord Acton 's quote says, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Animal Farm stands for the best example that can display this matter in a clearer and funnier version. It portrays the 1917 Russian Revolution atmosphere with the replacement of Russia into Animal Farm. The characters also did not fail to resemble the real people involved in the revolution. Power leads to greed, used to take advantage and manipulate.

Aries, Phillipe. Western Attitudes toward Death: From the MIddle Ages to the Present. Baltimore and London: John Hopkins UP, n.d. Print.