The Message of Hate in Yevgeny Yevtushenko's Babi Yar
There are very few people in the world who are willing to go against the popular trends and do what they feel in their hearts is correct. But Yevgeny Yevtushenko is one of those people. In his poem Babi Yar, he tells the story of the modern persecution of the Jews, focusing on atrocities like those of the massacre at Babi Yar and the pogroms at Beilostok, and also the general anti-Semitism that killed men like Dreyfus and pervades the entire Russian people. The poem uses many literary devices, such as graphic imagery and contrasts, while painting a very clear picture of the scenes of pure horror.
Babi Yar is written in many different voices, all of which, however, have
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He says that he too must be a Jew for he is afraid of what his people and his society have become. Many years ago, in the "ancient days," it would not be such a shock to see the Jews enslaved in Egypt or crucified as a means of torture and death, but even in modern times the same things are going on-he still has the marks from where the nails pierced him. The author has used classical examples of Jewish persecution which every one knows is gone in the physical sense, but show how they still exist in the theoretical aspect, as the persecution is still occurring.
In the next three stanzas, the poem takes the standpoint of three figures whose stories are pertinent examples of what Yevtushenko is trying to rely in this poem. First the voice of Dreyfus is used, and the stanza describes how horribly and unfairly he was treated, and how the country and its leaders turned their backs on him.
There are two important literary devices used in this section. First the author puts the word "pettiness" on a line by itself. This is used as a declaration of what the author feels anti-Semitism is based on. It is because of pettiness that Dreyfus was accused and further because of pettiness that he was not pardoned when it was proven that he had not committed any crime. The next important device is the description of ladies with their umbrellas. This is an image to the wealthy
By ending the poem with this it leaves the reader stunned and at awe, for one could never fathom the pain of such horrific task. It is here that I was most drawn to “An Anti-Semitic Demonstration” because it really goes into depth of showing how horrendous and fearful life was for the Jewish people. It also gave the poem a greater meaning when we discover he is discussing this about his own mother.
In my opinion, the author gives an interesting logic to the audience. More often than not, we tend to judge people without knowing more about them. Actually, in most cases, we tend to stereotype them according to the shallow information we have about the general character of their background. We rarely pause and ask ourselves why they behave like that. We just pass judgment, which mostly is usually biased and reasoned according to our background. No time is given to them to give their side of the story; our summary judgment is usually final. “’Jew bastards will charge me if you break anything’ he cursed” (70). Without any prior knowledge
French wants to draw attention to the harrowing nature of Hitler’s ideas. We are then forced to contemplate and question the dramatic pause and about how these prejudicial ideas impacted upon the lives of the Jewish people.
In paragraph five, he explains what he asked his father when he was a young boy: “I remember: he asked his father: “Can this be true? This is the 20th century, not the Middle Ages. Who would allow such crimes to be committed? How could the world remain silent?” This explains his feeling and from his point of view as he was a young boy. In paragraph nine, the author explains his emotions of suffering: “Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Whenever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion or political views, the must-at the moment-become the center of the universe…” He expresses his feelings and emotions of suffering toward the Jews that were persecuted and all the lives that were lost . He explains when something bad happens, men or women being persecuted, it becomes the center of attention for what they need to focus
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The Holocaust becomes the center of this. Whether it be at his Hebrew school, where Jewish history shaped not only the curriculum they learn. But, also as a collective identity shared by a new and contemporary Jewish generation. While still being connected to the past. This is a struggle for Mark, who does not even identify himself as Jewish for most of the story, He is continuously challenged with where to place himself in this new world, as a second-generation immigrant to Toronto. For Mark, being a young Latvian Jew is not easy.
In this short extract, the hatred in the lines radiates off the page. The reader is given a clear picture of how Racial discrimination was so evident in those days. The hostility and hatred between Christians and Jews is very well presented and written. It allows the reader to further understand how life was back then and how it may or may not have changed. The author’s use of language and literary devices was cleverly used to show the reader what he was trying to
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By using uncomplicated terms, Yevtushenko underscores his poem is about all people and for all people because it can be understood even by those with limited literary analysis skills. This is in keeping with his view of himself as, “a man of socialist convictions” (Schmemann).
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