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The Clash between the Ideal and the Real in Early Soviet Society

Your assignment is to compose a cohesive, well-organized essay that analyzes the incongruity between ideal aspirations and actual, everyday reality in Soviet society of the 1920s—by focusing on either the short stories of Zoshchenko or Bulgakov’s Heart of a Dog.

First, you need to provide a clear overview of the most idealistic aspirations of the early Communist period. Think of Marxist theory and its predictions for the future; the aspirations of writers and artists to create a new proletarian culture; and, more generally, the grandiose project of building a completely new revolutionary society and giving birth to the New Soviet Man. Try to draw as much as possible from texts we have read and artistic works we have discussed.

Then, you need to establish logical connections between these ideal aspirations and what we see in either Zoshchenko or Bulgakov. Close analysis of your chosen text(s) is crucial. To what extent can we observe faint vestiges of revolutionary ideals and ideology in Zoshchenko or Bulgakov? Or the ironic and unintended consequences of Communism’s grandiose ambitions? Or are we witnessing the complete perversion of the revolution’s objectives? Be sure to support your claims with specific passages from the texts. In particular, try to focus on those aspects of Zoshcehenko’s or Bulgakov’s works that capture everyday Soviet reality and the mentality of the new Soviet person most poignantly.

Your paper must have an informative and original title, a well-formulated thesis, and clear logical connections between ideas.