Penguin Lost Thesis

This thesis paper is on Penguin Lost by Andrey Kurkov. This book is the sequel to Death and the Penguin by the same author, both of which share a thematic focus. The books follow a writer who embarks on adventures through Ukraine after the Soviet Union collapsed. While going through his journeys, the writer interacts with many characters, and we find ourselves in a commentary on post-Soviet bloc life. As inferred by the titles, Penguin Lost and Death and the Penguin are both centered around a penguin named Misha. Misha isn’t just a penguin, however, he’s our protagonist’s best friend. In the first book, we see him receive the heart of a human child to save his life. This is just the beginning of where Kurkov compares humans and animals in

Penguin Lost is about coping with hard times and what we’ll do to make it by in such a situation. The book shows us a world where, in what seemed like a victory to the western nations, life did not get better. In acts of desperation, we revert to our natural instincts to survive, even if our methods are “savage” or unconventional. I will share many examples of this to support my claim, of course. The author uses these comparisons to show us how all it takes for people to lose their humanity is a few hungry nights. Stealing dog food, choosing easier health care over proper alternatives, political corruption, and even compassion can bring different species

Pet owners like myself can relate to this, where I love and care for my dog as if she were my own child. Love does not restrict itself to any species. In the previous book, Viktor talks with a penguinologist, Pidpaly, who says about penguins that “they’re quick to distinguish mood – in people and other animals, of course. Apart from that, they’re very unforgiving. They’ve also a good memory for anything good.” Although not from the book that is the center of my focus, it is still the same story and has connections to the sequel. The most blatant example of compassion in the book is when Viktor literally gives Misha a human heart to save his life in the previous book. “It’s a long time since I switched from humans to animals” said Semyonovich when treating Viktor. The fact that Viktor chose to go to a veterinary surgeon over a human surgeon shows how post-soviet Ukraine was doing amidst the rapid changes. This also shows the comparison between humans and animals, that we’re not all that different. The very penguin that Semyonovich performed surgery on is Misha, the penguin who received the heart of a human child. The same man who performed a delicate surgery on a penguin treats a human’s wound later