Russia: Chekhov's Fiction; Daniil Kharms, Vvedensky
Russia (basic information):
the US Department of State has information on World countries with
statistics. This can be helpful for social studies courses. Compare US
information with a site in the UK. Russian Culture
Russian Revolution
Russian Civil War: Short Formalist Film
Rasputin
Soviet National Anthem
News articles
Russian Poets
Architecture
Sports
Russian recipes
Rap Battles: Rasputin vs. Stalin (strong language warning!)
By far, the most influential film maker of early Russian film was Sergei Eisenstein. Please read this article on the state of contemporary Russian Film.
Anton Chekhov is considered to be one of the greatest short story writers the world has ever known. We have read The Sea Gull, and some of you may have read other Chekhov plays (Uncle Vanya, The Cherry Orchard, The Three Sister, The Bear (or The Boar), The Marriage Proposal, Ivanov, etc.) Consider the elements of a fine fiction story. In normal fiction, a character is exposed when conflicting forces meet in a cause/effect situation. What is most important in standard fiction is not the PLOT or events of the story, but how these events or conflicts AFFECT a character (i.e., how the character reacts to the situation). Let's examine this phenomenon in Chekhov's short story.
In Daniil Kharms "Mini Stories" this is not the case. Instead, he is poking fun of the fictional form. Each mini-story is constructed like a joke, with a powerful punch line at the end. Characters, plot, and conflicts are simply there to create the illusion of importance, significance, and relevance that one expects from a standard story. In this way, Kharms is at once writing meta-fiction (fiction about fiction), but also commenting on the absurdity of human beings and the odd way our brains work. These stories are sprinkled with overstatement, understatement, hyperbole, incongruity, non-sequitars, and often: situational irony. We laugh because the cause and effect we have come to study in plot is illogical or missing. We laugh because characters we hardly know come to tragic ends in odd ways. We laugh because there is something at once true, albeit absurd, hidden within the lines of these short stories.
Writing Assignment: Gather 2-5 photographs (at least one of these should include a landscape, and another should include a human figure). Retell the fictional story of a travel or vacation with these photos. Write an absurd mini-story or play scene of your own. (Recall the absurdity of Vvedensky's Christmas with the Ivanovs). Form these like short narrative jokes, with a punch line ready at the end that redirects the story or adds the subtle juxtaposition of human meaning at the end. You may wish to write a symphony of your own, or pick a real author or historical figure and write fictional Anecdotes about his/her life.
You may wish to do several of these pieces. Turn in your draft by next class. Prepare your coffeehouse reading piece.
Russian Revolution
Russian Civil War: Short Formalist Film
Rasputin
Soviet National Anthem
News articles
Russian Poets
Architecture
Sports
Russian recipes
Rap Battles: Rasputin vs. Stalin (strong language warning!)
By far, the most influential film maker of early Russian film was Sergei Eisenstein. Please read this article on the state of contemporary Russian Film.
Anton Chekhov is considered to be one of the greatest short story writers the world has ever known. We have read The Sea Gull, and some of you may have read other Chekhov plays (Uncle Vanya, The Cherry Orchard, The Three Sister, The Bear (or The Boar), The Marriage Proposal, Ivanov, etc.) Consider the elements of a fine fiction story. In normal fiction, a character is exposed when conflicting forces meet in a cause/effect situation. What is most important in standard fiction is not the PLOT or events of the story, but how these events or conflicts AFFECT a character (i.e., how the character reacts to the situation). Let's examine this phenomenon in Chekhov's short story.
In Daniil Kharms "Mini Stories" this is not the case. Instead, he is poking fun of the fictional form. Each mini-story is constructed like a joke, with a powerful punch line at the end. Characters, plot, and conflicts are simply there to create the illusion of importance, significance, and relevance that one expects from a standard story. In this way, Kharms is at once writing meta-fiction (fiction about fiction), but also commenting on the absurdity of human beings and the odd way our brains work. These stories are sprinkled with overstatement, understatement, hyperbole, incongruity, non-sequitars, and often: situational irony. We laugh because the cause and effect we have come to study in plot is illogical or missing. We laugh because characters we hardly know come to tragic ends in odd ways. We laugh because there is something at once true, albeit absurd, hidden within the lines of these short stories.
Writing Assignment: Gather 2-5 photographs (at least one of these should include a landscape, and another should include a human figure). Retell the fictional story of a travel or vacation with these photos. Write an absurd mini-story or play scene of your own. (Recall the absurdity of Vvedensky's Christmas with the Ivanovs). Form these like short narrative jokes, with a punch line ready at the end that redirects the story or adds the subtle juxtaposition of human meaning at the end. You may wish to write a symphony of your own, or pick a real author or historical figure and write fictional Anecdotes about his/her life.
You may wish to do several of these pieces. Turn in your draft by next class. Prepare your coffeehouse reading piece.
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