The Master and Margarita - Essay Example

The Master and Margarita The Master and Margarita is a complexly themed novel written by Mikhail Bulgakov. The story is set in Moscow where a group of satanic men lead by Dr. Woland has created trouble and terror in the city. Because of this evil association, the people of the city especially artists, civil workers, and all those working with the establishment, are being targeted and tortured. This book reflects several aspects of Bulgakov’s anti-communist views which the readers are reminded of at various occasions. Bulgakov himself worked as a playwright in a time when Soviet regime was powerful in Russia and this book contains several elements which point out towards a repressive government that seeks to control the lives of its citizens, often using harsh means. The book presents a rather satirical and humorous response to the Russian government of the time and the conditions of the civil society. Dr. Woland and his entourage of evil followers aim to disclose the wickedness of the upper class living under a communist government. Thus, the supposedly devil-like company of evil men represents central characters trying to provide reason for life under a repressive society. In the book, we may find reflections of Bulgakov’s own experiences as he lived through a time of Soviet regime where the government did not allow him to publish many of his works and manuscripts. Thus, the fear of Dr. Woland’s entourage might represent the discovery of the repressive Soviet society. Also, the Master may characterize the story of Bulgakov’s own radical writings which were not given the chance to be published due to government pressure. Bulgakov has designed the theme in a comic manner to attack the powerful and repressive government by making fun of their personified characters. In particular, Bulgakov targets his humor at the bureaucracy and ignorance of upper classes (Blake, 52). He has attacked the political system by making them a cue for laughter to present a subtle humorous but bitter response (Blake, 76). Bulgakov has subtly tried to make his point by using humor and personal credibility as he tries to establish the impact of repressive communist government policies. At several occasions, however, the humor gets dark as he subtly tries to criticize the Soviet system under the Stalin government. As it comes out, Bulgakov has developed the character of the disguised Dr. Woland to symbolize a dark and bitter character which has similarities with the Stalin regime of the time. The character, Dr. Woland occasionally performs black magic at his magic show on the Variety Show where the magical displays disguise evil under money and materialistic gains thereby trying to engage the people in greed (Bulgakov, n.pag.). Furthermore, the theft of Mikhail Alexandrovich Berlioz’s head from his coffin right after his beheading that too in daylight demonstrates a state of lawlessness and a land governed by confusion. Here Bulgakov has tried to mix humor with criticism as it humorously depicts the state of the Russian society during the time when the theft of a beheaded person’s head occur during the day and investigators become helpless as they try to look for supportive evidences. Bulgakov also presents several characters with a supposedly comic personality but which gets no humorous response from the attendants. One such event occurs when Georges Bengalsky, the master of theatrical performances arrives to address the attendants and gets distracted to tell a joke which is not responded quite well by the audiences (Bulgakov, n.pag.). He mentions that quite a large number of citizens are present to watch his performance. With this he proceeds to tell a story when he told his friend to come to watch the performance because half of the Moscow citizens do. And his friend replied that he did not because he lived in the remaining half of the city. His gesture of waiting for the audiences to laugh at his unfunny joke is what makes the whole incident hilarious. Although the audience may not seem amused by Bengalsky’s unfunny sense of humor, the setting humorously reflects the sense of humor of both entities, Bengalsky and the audience, which is programmed by the society to exhibit repressiveness. In the end, Koroviev comments on Bengalsky’s deceptive tactics which exposes him in front of the audience and the same audience which had not been responding previously, now burst out laughing at the situation. This unkind and derogatory laughter is meant to unveil the “true face” of those being deceived by Bengalsky (Bulgakov, n.pag.). This incident, as Arnold mentioned, marked the exposing of Bengalsky who characterized a symbol of dictatorial power being used to repress communication and free expression of opinions (n.pag.). Bulgakov has demonstrated immense wisdom by creatively criticizing the Stalin regime and the communist system by using humor to subtly express his viewpoint. It occurred that Homeless and the editor of a journal were arguing on portraying Jesus too much like a real character sparks humor within a person. The notion shows that the Stalin government promoted such repressive behavior that the editor did not want the writer to create Jesus as a realistic figure. Also, the government possessed the right to force into an artist’s house with or without any proof if they expressed anti-communist attitudes. The government was oppressing the artists and preventing them from freely expressing their perspectives. Anyone who did so could find himself in trouble for expressing anti-governmental sentiments. So, the system inhibited open and free flow of viewpoints and ideas. The book is a satirical response to the communist and anti-religion governmental agenda which meant to inhibit people from freely expressing themselves but to follow governmental thoughts. This inhibition of the anti-communist attitudes may also be to prevent any actions that may be against the communist government. Bulgakov skillfully fictionalized the story to represent a theme and characterization which was relevant to the time during which he wrote the book. For several years due to the repressive government agenda, the book remained unpublished which editors would not publish due to the radical ideas presented in the book. Hence, many elements of the book affirm the satirical reaction to be made against the repressive government of the time. Bulgakov tries to make fun of the people including the authorities, the military association, psychiatrists, and so on who are so involved in seeing themselves as powerful representatives that they ignore the fact that the emperor does not have any clothes. As Bulgakov concludes Book 1, the reader is sure to perceive the humorous book ahead of them. Thus, the main targets of Bulgakov’s satirical and humorous criticism were the players in the communist regime of the time, in particular Stalin and his societal concepts. The Master and Margarita’s characterization of the fictional characters represent a juxtaposition of the prosaic and the supernatural. Bulgakov achieves this by combining the magical and dark aspect to Dr. Woland and his team at the same time retaining the unappealing and boring aspect of these people as performers in the Variety Theatre. Bulgakov also represents the juxtaposition in the character of Margarita and Pontius Pilate. Bagsby also emphasizes in his articles of how the two characters are juxtaposed (27). This is because the two characters are protected by their respective masters. For example, Pilate is saved by Yeshua and Margarita by the master. The yellow color is also stressed as we are first introduced to Pilate and the yellow color has a great impact in perceiving him as a character in despair and sadness. Margarita too, as we are told, is unhappy despite her supposedly extravagant life with her husband. Ever since she moved to the house, she has been unhappy. When Margarita met the Master she was holding yellow flowers which repulsed the master however it is nevertheless significant in understanding their meeting. As Margarita says, her life was empty before she met the master and the affiliation gave her happiness. Therefore, the two characters illustrate a juxtaposition of the mundane with the supernatural so as to eliminate despair from their lives. Also, the devilish entourage of Dr. Woland which symbolizes the communist government under Stalin represents the juxtaposition of the supernatural, that is, magical world with the mundane. Dr. Woland and his team who often performs at the Variety Theatre present a spectacle of dark, gruesome, and magical experience to the public. Woland in reality is a devil who has disguised as a professor and is more commonly known as Dr. Woland. Thus, his dark and magical performances at the theatre represent a supernatural perspective of his evil character. At various occasions the readers feel that the writer has combined a dark and supernatural aspect with a character’s personality. An example of the mundane aspect of Dr. Woland’s entourage is their interaction with the unresponsive citizens during their display at the Variety Theatre. The references to Pontius Pilate are also of vital importance in understanding the juxtaposition of two aspects, the mundane and the supernatural. The book presents a connection between the earthly and spiritual figures as the Master writes a book on the subject of Pontius Pilate which has a completely unfamiliar version of Christ’s judgment and then punishment. Although, the writer creatively presents a new story to the trial of Yeshua Ha-Nozri (Jesus), it is more understandable that Bulgakov did it to present an unconventional idea to emphasize the reaction of the editors who wanted to present Jesus as a twisted historical character far from reality. This aspect is just to demonstrate the government agenda of controlling the publishing of manuscripts and banning the plays of the artists whom they deemed to be harboring anti-communist thoughts and attitudes. The purpose of juxtaposing the criticism with the mundane and supernatural world is to cleverly blend the message of the book to communicate the satirical account of communist Stalin regime. This provides the writer with an effective way of giving out a message but that which is done in an intriguing way so as to communicate his message to the public. Many juxtapositions of the earthly and the supernatural have been demonstrated within the various characters particularly Dr. Woland and his entourage due to their connection with the diabolical black magic world. Also, Pontius Pilate is symbolized by a rather spiritual character as the Master writes a non-traditional book about Yeshua’s judgment by Pilate and later his execution. The juxtaposition allows the characters to evolve into protected individuals. Also, it allows the readers to transport into a supernatural place where the characters depict by humor and satire. Thus, The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov presents a reflection of his own life experiences during the time of Stalin’s communist government whose agenda discouraged the free expression of thoughts. The Stalin government was quite skeptical and strongly discouraged free thoughts as they felt it would promote anti-communist feelings had artists been freely allowed to publish their manuscripts. The master’s unpublished manuscript also speaks about a similar story where the publishing is hurdled by repressive governmental agendas. Thus, the writer has effectively communicated his views using a satirical and humorous account of the communist era. Works Cited Arnold, Yanina. Through the Lens of Carnival: Identity, Community, and Fear in Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita. Toronto Slavic Quarterly (n.d.). Web. 3 Dec 2013. . Bagby, Lewis. "Eternal Themes in Mixail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita." International Fiction Review, 1. 1 (1974): Print. Blake, Barbara. "Elements of Satire and the Grotesque in the Prose of MA Bulgakov." McMaster University Library, (1968): Print. Bulgakov, Mikhail. The Master and Margarita. The Master and Margarita Archive, 1997. Web. 3 Dec 2013. . 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