10-20-2009, 05:42 PM
Are you sure he's not an historical figure? I seem to recall in the introduction to the novella that he was. Gogol's book is based, in part, upon his traveling to that area and recording the ballads which detailed various exploits.
It's good narrative and well depicts some of the "positive" aspects of STS such as fierce loyalty, determination and camaraderie. The political excuses for slaughter (confessional variations) may seem weak to us...until we look around, perhaps, at our own.
Not for those with a weak stomach, I suppose: it's a Russian, not an English novel. But for those seeking to understand the nobler aspects of STS (in contradistinction to the slime ball division) it might be useful.
A person might get a sense of the intensity of personal character involved which might allow one to quickly polarize from one extreme to another.
~P
It's good narrative and well depicts some of the "positive" aspects of STS such as fierce loyalty, determination and camaraderie. The political excuses for slaughter (confessional variations) may seem weak to us...until we look around, perhaps, at our own.
Not for those with a weak stomach, I suppose: it's a Russian, not an English novel. But for those seeking to understand the nobler aspects of STS (in contradistinction to the slime ball division) it might be useful.
A person might get a sense of the intensity of personal character involved which might allow one to quickly polarize from one extreme to another.
~P
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