Individualism In Grossman's Life

In the article Krylova divides her argument into three parts, one of which discusses the changing notions of individual and society in the post-war Soviet era. In her critique of Kotkins's methodology of analyzing Soviet history she condemns his application of the "anti-individualist" concept on the post-war period as a part of his 'fixed ideas' discourse. Krylova claims that one of the major cultural shifts of that (post-Bolshevik) era is the deviation from the unified perception of individual and society. A distinctive feature of the post-Bolshevik discourse is that the reemerged notion of an individual does not appear per se, but develops in conjunction with the notion of the society, as it aims to "connect individual predispositions and goals with the social good" (171). This paper will examine how this reinterpretation of the role of an individual in the society is reflected in Grossman's Life and Fate. The shift towards self-centered discourse can be observed from the very name of the Grossman's novel. Even without reading a novel one would

Here the author depicts a "society inside of a society", which lives in accordance with its own rules and where no orders from above matter. The House 6/1 is a house with its own individuality, where each inhabitant is depicted as unique and distinct. Sergey Shaposhnikov describes the inhabitants as: "Не совсем ясно, подобрались ли в доме "шесть дробь один" удивительные, особенные люди, или обыкновенные люди, попав в этот дом, стали особенными..." (I; 61). The life of this house does not fit in the image of an occupied house, as Polyakov bakes pancakes and Vengrova takes care about the kitten. Here the characters are not only individualized but they also all together constitute an image of a self-governed society, main interest of which is freedom, as Grekov claims: "Свободы хочу, за нее и