Motives of "The Game" in Gulag Camps in Shalamov's Prose

Student: Tokareva Veronika

Educational Programme: Philology (Bachelor)

Final Grade: 7

Year of Graduation: 2021

In this paper, we consider a new point of view on the texts of Shalamov's "camp prose": the motif of the game, which is key to understanding the author's works. This motif is used by Shalamov for a more complete illustration of the horrors of camp life – the meaning of the game turns in its diabolical sense, there is a game not of a person with a person, but a game of the fate of a person. In the thesis, several types of such a game were considered, and a motivational analysis was carried out. As a result of the study, it was revealed why Shalamov uses the motif of the game as a key one in his texts: the motif of the game illustrates the inversion of the camp world, its proximity to infernality, and its remoteness from the real world. Additionally, the basic principles of evil are investigated and the main types of heroes who commit it are described. The results of the work can be used in further research of the theme of motives in Shalamov's camp prose.

Full text (added May 25, 2021)

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