Analysis Of Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master And Margarita

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The 20th century has been a rough time for Soviet-American relations. Since its post-World War 2 enactment, The Cold War did more damage than previously thought. While not a single shell was fired during the war, the cultural embargo that was in effect ravaged each country. The effects of which are still felt in today’s modern society. Now, nearly 20 years after the ending of the Cold War, American and Russian cultural exchanges have started taking shape. While each culture is beginning to share and draw off one another, problems still exist. The problems of translating the language barrier in a post propagandized world have taken their full effect, and are playing heavily on the remnants of Cold War ideologies. By highlighting some problems …show more content…

But due to the fact that it is one of the world’s most well know Russian novels, the problem of translation needed to be answered. How could his novel be transferred into the far corners of the world, translated into any and all languages, and still hold its narrative prowess? The answer is: very carefully. But alas, these attempts to translate the manuscript, particularly into American English, have not held true to Bulgakov’s initial story, in a few particularly key …show more content…

The proper translation of the Russian idiom would be, according to the commentary, “quiet as a fish on ice” (352). Something much more befitting to the scene as either the fish in question is in a frozen body of water, or dead and chilling on ice. A more appropriate translation to American audiences would then be instead, “quiet as a mouse,” in that it instills the same level of perceived quietness expected from the scene. This Russian idiom is another example of culture lost due to translation. Whether that idiom was well known in the Soviet era, it is undecided, but the proper translation would have lent a better understanding, and recognition, of a Russian idiom and its proper use. Why the translators chose to leave out the proverbial quality of this line is unknown. The problem of translation is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to an American understanding, and cultural acceptance, of Bulgakov’s work. The next issue comes about due to the remaining trends and foreign policy ideologies after the ending of the Cold

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