Sunday, March 15, 2009
Post #3: Literary Elements
I believe that in the novel Absurdistan, Shteyngart primarily makes use of satire. Everything in the novel seems to be blown out of proportion. For example, the sad nation of Absurdistan, controlled by foreign powers and surviving only because of its oil, reflects how America and other imperialist nations have abused other areas of the world. Misha Vainberg makes reference to the "Belgian king of Congo", which is exactly what is happening in Absurdistan. The Americans in the novel don't care if many Svani and Sevo people die, they just want to protect their interests and could care less about the conflict. Another illustration of Shteyngart's satire is the depiction of post-Soviet Russia as a corrupted and wasted nation. People blow others' heads off with little consequence and everyone seems to be drunk. This may be true, I wouldn't know, but it seems to be awfully exagerrated. Russia is so bad that Misha, a proud Russian, seeks Belgian citizenship. Shteyngart also seems to have a fondness for listing off random brands and corporations. This further elevates the satire with corporations such as Kellogg, Brown and Root, which is a deviation of the Kellogg brand.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I completely agree with your post. The connection with the Belgian king of Congo and American exploitation of Absurdistan is very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI definatly agree about the large amounts of satire. And more so than in any book i have read before i really do see parallels in the satire staring right at me. Its really well written
ReplyDeleteSATIRE SATIRE SATIRE i would say we are bathing in it peter, but i myself am not in a tub of any sort at the moment. BUT I DO AGREE not in jest with your statement of the abundance of satire. BUT i do see that you say that Shteyngart blows things out of proportion, and then turn around and agree that the tragedies are no less than that of those which occured under the "Belgian King of Congo."
ReplyDelete?POR QUE, ESSE?
I like how you said the setting is completely blown out of proportion. However, it doesn't seem like the satire is over the top. It's constant, but not overly hysterical or overly critical. It almost puts the reader in a satirical state of mind so they can chuckle once in a while, making themselves feel like they knew what he was about to say all along, and now can say "Yeah, that's right. I guessed it."
ReplyDeleteAt least that's exactly what it does for me :)
Good point about how satire is used in the novel. It adds to the impact of the book and helps people relate to Misha.
ReplyDelete