Article : MIKHAIL BULGAKOV MASTER AND MARGARITA

This paper will relate to chapter a lot, but you may also need to read chapter 1-4. Details for response paper are in other files. I also attached a PPT that contains some background for author, might helpful. There is also a image from class contains some notes which gives some parallels or similarity between chapter1 and 2, might helpful.

In his novel, The Master and Margarita, Bulgakov's description of the heretic Yeshua Ha-Nostri is itself religiously and politically heretical. That is, his portrayal of Jesus challenges Soviet atheism and deviates from official religious doctrine (the Gospels). Why do you think Bulgakov chose to deviate from the Gospels?

Why did he make Yeshua a multi-lingual vagrant without a family, who doesn't conform to accepted religious or political views? How does he use the tale of Yeshua's betrayal, arrest and trial to comment on Soviet Russia in the 1930s?

In your essay, I will ask you to closely focus on two or three quotations from "Chapter II: Pontius Pilate" and potentially chapters set in Moscow. Your essay should have a central idea (a thesis) that explains why Bulgakov changed the Biblical narrative.

Here are some more questions to help you formulate a thesis:

1. How are the social, political and historical realities of Rome and Moscow similar?

2. What is Bulgakov's purpose in writing the Jerusalem chapters? What is he trying to communicate to his Soviet readers?

3. Who is Bulgakov's audience? Why is it necessary to fictionalize the Biblical tale?

4. What sorts of emotions do you think Bulgakov tries to stir up in his readers with the story of Yeshua's suffering?

5. In what way do the two narratives preach faith in a higher power?

Essay Organization:

Introduction

-capture reader interest

-introduce the source text

- summarize the part (s) of the text you will discuss in the essay

-state your thesis

Body Paragraphs: Close readings/reactions to quotations

-introduce the quotation (what is going on at this point of the book?)

- include the quotation exactly as it appears in the book and use MLA in-text citation

-explain your reaction(s) to this specific part of the text, react to specific words/phrases/ideas

-connect this reaction to your thesis

Conclusion:

Restate your overall response and return to the question presented in your intro.

Response Paper

1000 words