Abstract An analysis of Mikhail Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita". The author describes the use of structure, text and style in the novel often referred to as 'fantasy'. The author discusses how these reveal the theme of good and evil in the novel.
From the Paper "Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita is a tale of black magic and of a spiritual journey. Ivan Bezdomy, whose surreal spiritual adventure, is the eye of the story's illusionary hurricane, doesn"t even get his name in the title. This discussion, based on the premise that this is more Ivan's story than the Master"s, attempts to track the trickery that masquerades as Bulgakov's search for a hero. Careful analysis of structure, text and style reveals that Ivan and the Master are actually schizophrenic halves of the same character. The style in which Bulgakov chooses to write this novel, has been variously described as "magical realism" (Grenier 286), ? bizarre phantasmagoria? (Wakeman 240), and a "fantasy" (Calendar 76). This style is brilliantly suited to Bulgakov's intent which is not only to satirize Stalinist Russia, but to deeply ponder the nature of good and evil and to present the union of Ivan and the Master as a foil for Satan."
A discussion of whether Mikhail Bulgakov's use of the fantastic in "The Master and Margarita?" is designed to undermine, even to ridicule, the "certainties" of the materialist world-view.
1,851 words (approx. 7.4 pages), 0 sources, 2002, $ 59.95
Abstract This paper reviews Mikhail Bulgakov's book "The Master and Margarita" and examines his views on the accepted Soviet stand on fate, human nature, atheism, censorship, personal identity documentation and forced literature. It looks at how through the use of the fantastic in his novel Bulgakov seeks to ridicule and undermine the foundations of these Soviet certainties. It shows how throughout the novel Bulgakov's use of implausible and incredible happenings effectively undermine the "certainties" of the materialist world. It analyzes how Massolit is destroyed, bureaucracy is ridiculed, xenophobic attitudes are parodied and institutions and theories are mocked relentlessly, even in the epilogue. It examines how the Soviet machine is even able to rationalize the supernatural and how this rationale creates such absurdities as people arresting cats and furthermore, giving glowing references for their release. Bulgakov's use of the fantastical as a device to satirize and thereby undermine accepted "certainties" of his time is genuinely masterful.
From the Paper "Throughout the novel, Bulgakov bends the parameters of space, time and imagination, for the Moscow residents, and the reader. Passports, papers, people and money all come and go at Woland's will. Parties that last for hours take only minutes. Guns have no effect and people start to fly. Despite the fact that Soviet Citizens are generally used to mysterious disappearances, and unexplained circumstances, such as those that often lead to arrest, during the Devil's stay in Moscow, they are understandably bewildered. The rumours cannot be put down until the Devil and his retinue have left."
This paper examines Mikhail Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita", a satirical portrayal of Soviet repression in 1930s, focusing on censorship of artistic and religious expression.
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 1 source, 1994, $ 47.95
From the Paper "This study will examine Mikhail Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita", focusing on the the novel's portrayal of Soviet life in the period from 1929 to 1939 (that is, how citizens were expected to act, think, and express themselves). The study will discuss Bulgakov's critique of this culture, and will discuss the author's alternative to this repressive culture insofar as it is implied in the novel.
Bulgakov is interested in one specific aspect of the relation of the repressive governmental structure to the individual, and that aspect has to do with artistic creation. As the translator writes in the introduction, Bulgakov has a "lasting concern with the relation of the artist, the creative individual, to state authority, and with the fate of the artist's work" (Bulgakov xi-xii). This concern was due in part to the ... "
Abstract This paper considers aspects of satire, farce and political conscience within "Heart of a Dog." Also considered, is whether "Heart of a Dog" is primarily a polemic or a comic piece, and what can be understood about the author's own feelings toward the new political order through his writing.
From the Paper "In order to fully appreciate Mikhail Bulgakov's "The Heart of a Dog", it is necessary to consider the author's position at the time. The novella was written in 1925, the New Economic Policy period and life was improving for the playwright. Several of his plays had been performed on stage and he had published a few short stories, which although not received well by state newspaper critics, were popular. The NEP period promised a softening of otherwise crippling and ridiculous policies and must have been heartening for Bulgakov, who, as Lesley Milne writes, had a style of writing that was "unashamedly elitist and an affront to the revolutionary ethos of the time". In "Fatal Eggs" written a year before "Heart of a Dog", Bulgakov had predicted that by 1928 Muscovites would be all housed and well dressed, and that even the bourgeois treasures of Moscow's galleries would be protected in a state of emergency. During the time of writing, Bulgakov was optimistic, and it is in this context that "Heart of a Dog" should be viewed."
Abstract This paper examines the themes of Michael Bulgakov's Stalinist era novel, "The Master and Margarita". The author analyzes the analogies, discusses the significance of the interwoven stories, and explores the New Testament aspects of the book.
Examination of the frontiers of power as portrayed in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and Mikhail Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita."
Abstract This paper is a discussion of the struggle for political power as portrayed in both novels. It looks at the themes of power of the individual against the machinery of history, dehumanization, and re-humanization.
From the Paper "Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude and Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita are both novels which concentrate thematically on the relations of power between humans, and the violence of authoritarian control. Both contain characters in the midst of, and at the mercy of 'great history', and both portray the dehumanising effects of ideological struggle."
Abstract This paper explains that, in M. Bulgakov's "The Heart of a Dog", the theme of deification leads into 'the crux of the professor's tragedy', which is found in the Bulgakovian principle that creation always has undertones of its anti-thesis, anti-creation. The author describes Preobrazhenskii as a victim because, by the end of the book, he is visibly older (quotation in Russian) and he speaks in a voice that is (quotation in Russian) clearly deranged. The paper relates that the language used in the book is akin to that of the murderous act taking place - 'shouts', 'swoops', 'pierces' and 'plunges'; the professor 'growls', 'roars' and 'hisses' as he clenches his teeth. Written in English with many quotes in Russian throughout the paper and in the footnotes, most without translation.
From the Paper "Sharik, at the beginning of this novel, is a trustworthy character. He displays a broad range of qualities, which endear him to the reader - an infectious humour, a sense of moral awareness and a sense of wisdom uncannily advanced for a dog . He cuts across boundaries that are commonly assumed to separate the human world from the animal world. Consequently, the reader sympathizes with Sharik and feels trust and affection for him. Preobrazhenskii is described by Sharik as if he had a halo cast over him. In sharp contrast to this description of Preobrazhenskii is the portrayal of the act of the operation."
From the Paper " Male characters in a number of modern novels face the need to prove their maleness in a world in which what maleness means is not always clear. In two novels by Vladimir Nabokov--Invitation to a Beheading and Despair--and one by Mikhail Bulgakov--The Master and Margarita--the male characters are artists in some degree, separate from the mass of men by their artistic sensibilities, and seeking to prove their worth through their art. In all three novels, reality is suspended as these characters interact with the world more directly in their own minds than in reality.
In Nabokov's Invitation to a Beheading, the main character is a man sentenced to die. Cincinnatus C. is the perpetrator of some hideous crime. In truth, he lives in an imaginary land largely of his own making, and all the people in this land are.."
Abstract This paper analyzes whether Professor Preobrazhensky in Mikhail Bulgakov's 1925 novella "Heart of a Dog" is a positive figure or a negative figure. Reasons for the ultimate assessment of Preobrazhensky are given and the author explains how he reached the conclusion he did.
