Response To 'A Letter To A Roommate'

Wade Dietz
14185024
24 April 2015
Chris Sutton
A Letter to a Roommate Peter, I write to you because of the conversation we had earlier about my Russian class. You said earlier that you noticed some of my homework sitting out and were interested in learning more. Well, after some thought, I wanted to share with you my thoughts on the class. You might think of a history class as pouring over lengthy texts, speculations made by historians, and memorizing dates. In truth, those can be useful tools, but do not adequately describe the course I’m taking. Instead, we have explored various fictional authors and how they can provide insight into a historical period in ways that those other devices may not. For example, we’ve been reading the work
He was known for poking fun on the difference facets of everyday Soviet life, especially some of its hardships. Because of his massive popularity and influence at the time, Stalin worried that his works (especially the ambiguity of their meaning) could spark dangerous thoughts in the minds of his readers. For the story we read, he was expelled from the Union of Soviet Writers and, until 1950, his work no longer appeared in print. When I read “The Adventures of An Ape”, I felt that Zoshcheko’s story was natural, almost as if you are having a conversation with him about an experience he’d had the day prior. He starts by describing a small zoo in an unnamed Russian city, listing off some of its different exotic residents, then remarking, “…and, naturally, various minor items—birds, fish, frogs, and similar insignificant nonsense from the animal world” (Zoshchenko, 699). Setting a more relaxed tone, I felt engaged by what he had to say- as if I were sitting in a quiet bar across the table, sharing a few drinks as he recounted his story. He goes on to say, “At the beginning of the war, when the Fascists bombed the city, one bomb fell directly on the zoo. And it
Without knowing where, when and who did (or, in our case, wrote) what, there’d be very little we could do to understand the significance of Zoshchenko’s stories. For example, in another story by Zoshchenko named, The Bathhouse, he compares the differences of an American and Russian bathhouse. He says, “I hear tell, citizens, they have some excellent bathhouses in America. For example, a citizen just drives in, drops his linen in a special box, then off he’ll go to wash himself. He won’t even worry, they say, about loss or theft. He doesn’t even need a ticket… Well, we have bathhouses, too. But not as good. Though it’s possible to wash yourself” (Zoshchenko, 23). Although one can definitively say that at one point in time, it appears that American bathhouses may have been higher in quality that Russian bathhouses, what makes this story significant is knowing when and where this story was released. Because of the relationship between the United States and the U.S.S.R. was strained, and because of the oppression and censorship in Russia at the time, and because the author of this story was not only Russian, but a significant cultural influence at the time, we may be able to more easily infer the impact that this short story had. Zoshchenko continues on his journey, explaining the process of bathing. He