{"id":16098,"date":"2024-03-18T18:37:54","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T18:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.writemyessays.app\/blog\/questions\/read-and-write-a-polished-essay-of-750-1000-words-that-makes-a-historical-argument-based-on-what-you-can-learn-about-the-era-of-stagnation-from-vladimir-sorokins-the-queue\/"},"modified":"2024-03-18T18:37:54","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T18:37:54","slug":"read-and-write-a-polished-essay-of-750-1000-words-that-makes-a-historical-argument-based-on-what-you-can-learn-about-the-era-of-stagnation-from-vladimir-sorokins-the-queue","status":"publish","type":"questions","link":"https:\/\/www.writemyessays.app\/blog\/questions\/read-and-write-a-polished-essay-of-750-1000-words-that-makes-a-historical-argument-based-on-what-you-can-learn-about-the-era-of-stagnation-from-vladimir-sorokins-the-queue\/","title":{"rendered":"Read and write a polished essay of 750-1000 words that makes a historical argument based on what you can learn about the era of stagnation from Vladimir Sorokin’s The Queue."},"content":{"rendered":"

Write
\nthe whole essay in past tense.  <\/span>Read and
\nwrite a polished essay of 750-1000 words that makes a historical argument<\/span><\/b> based
\non what you can learn about the era of stagnation from Vladimir Sorokin’s The Queue<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

When you wrote about Maria Botchkareva’s Yashka,
\nyou were writing about a non-fiction memoir written by a historical figure
\nabout her personal experiences. In this essay, you will instead write about a
\nnovel–a work of fiction–but you will use that novel to consider the
\nhistorical era in which it was written. This essay asks you to explore what you
\ncan learn about a particular historical era from a cultural product of that
\ntime. <\/span><\/p>\n

Written in 1983 but initially banned in the Soviet
\nUnion, The Queue is a fascinating satirical novel, written as if you are
\neavesdropping on people standing for hours in a long line to purchase some
\nunknown shortage good. [Please do not make the same
\nmistake that others have in the past. This novel was written prior to the era
\nof Gorbachev\u2019s reforms. It is a document of the era of stagnation, not the era
\nof reform and collapse.]<\/span><\/b> You can go many different directions with this essay, and
\npart of your assignment is to devise an appropriate historical question and
\nanswer it. Your essay could focus on the particular cultural norms that develop
\nin a culture of queueing, or you could focus on the ambivalent Soviet attitude
\ntoward materialism under socialist rule. You might write an essay that looks at
\nthe role of humor in living through the last years of \u201cstagnation\u201d or
\ncontemplates attitudes toward men, women, and sexual relationships in the late
\nSoviet Union. You could write about privilege in Soviet society, or compare the
\nportrayal of Soviet society in The Queue <\/span><\/i>with
\nthat which you see in Moscow Does Not Believe in
\nTears <\/span><\/i>(though if you do this, make sure the book is the central
\nfocus). You could write about a growing cynicism among the population about the
\npromise of building Communism in the Soviet Union. Or you can choose any other
\ntopic that you find relevant to the novel. In short, you may write on any topic
\nthat interests you and relates the novel to the history of the period in which
\nit was written. Be creative<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

When reading Sorokin\u2019s novel, keep in mind that it is
\nsatire. Satire often takes a kernel of truth and blows it up into absurdity to
\nhighlight and poke fun at reality. No, Soviet citizens did not stand in line
\nfor days waiting for a product, when they did not know what the product was.
\nYes, standing in lines was an important part of late Soviet culture, and the
\nnovel captures and satirizes that culture. <\/span><\/p>\n

Many students in the past have made comments in their
\nessays that compare the world portrayed in The Queue<\/span><\/i> with
\ntheir own experiences in the capitalist United States. Although this should not
\nbe the central component of your essay, such comparison is acceptable if it
\nhelps to highlight features of your analysis. However, if you make such
\ncomparisons, please base them in reality rather than in some fictional ideal
\nthat does not really exist in American culture. For example, some students have
\nwritten that waiting in long lines is simply unknown in capitalist culture. The
\nidea is absurd on its face. (Think about lines for Black Friday sales, lines at
\nDisney World, lines to purchase tickets for the opening night of Star Wars
\nfilms, lines at the supermarket, lines at the airport ticket counter or
\nsecurity, the order of boarding a plane, and the like.) Rather than asserting
\nthat long lines do not exist in American culture, think about the conditions
\nand the implicit rules of those lines and how they might differ. Some have
\nfocused on privilege in the novel and how some are able to skip the line or cut
\nahead of others. This is usually portrayed as a sign of corruption and as
\nsomething non-existent in American culture. Again, the notion that the American
\nsystem always operates on a first-come, first-served basis is absurd on its
\nface. Whether we think of separate lines for first-class passengers at the
\nairport, paid Fast Pass options at amusement parks, or pre-boarding of planes
\nby passengers needing special accommodations or uniformed military personnel,
\nthe principle of first-come, first-served is often violated in practice. Think
\nabout the rules that governs those who board out of turn and whether those
\nprivileges seem legitimate or not. The interesting comparison is in the
\nspecific rules, their basis, and their perceived legitimacy. While the culture
\nof queueing in late Soviet culture is a fascinating and telling aspect of the
\nsociety we are studying, should you decide to make comparisons with how the
\nAmerican economic system works, make sure you have thought carefully about that
\ncomparison and about how the American economy actually <\/span><\/b>works.<\/span><\/p>\n

IMPORTANT NOTE<\/span><\/b>:
\nThis is NOT<\/b> a book review or a book report. For this essay, I
\ndo not care if you like the book, find it well-written, engaging, or any other
\nconclusion that would be appropriate in a published book review. This is
\nan argumentative subject essay<\/b> drawing upon the book as
\nevidence.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

You
\nshould assume that your professor is the audience for this essay. As such, you
\nknow that your audience has read the book and already knows what it is about.
\nThe essay <\/span>SHOULD
\nNOT<\/span><\/b> start with a sentence or a paragraph
\nrecounting the basic details of the book. If you come have a conversation about
\nthe book with me, you are not going to start by telling me what the book is
\nabout. Rather, <\/span>jump
\nimmediately into the topic of your essay<\/span><\/b>,
\nwhich is more than just the book. The book is the evidence you will use to
\nexplore your topic.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Your essay
\nshould have a brief <\/span><\/b>paragraph that
\nintroduces the question you will answer and provides an argument\u2014a thesis
\nstatement. (Think of it as a one-sentence summary answer to your question.) It
\nshould be narrow, clear, and specific. Your essay should have something you are
\ntrying to prove, and the body of the essay should be trying to draw evidence
\nfrom the novel to prove that argument.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The body of your essay then provides detailed
\ndiscussion of the novel, drawing evidence to support your thesis
\nstatement. The evidence should be specific and detailed.
\nIf you never find a reason to cite a specific page of the novel, your use of
\nevidence is too general and too vague. <\/span><\/b>Be sure to keep in mind
\nthat not all things can be answered based on the novel’s contents. Do not be
\nafraid to be uncertain. No single source can ever answer all of our historical
\nquestions. Every historical source provides but a limited slice of history, a
\nsingle point of view on events. The key is to understand what you can and
\ncannot answer from a particular source.<\/span><\/p>\n

The
\nconclusion sums up earlier points and gives the significance of the
\ninformation.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

You <\/span>may also make use of any other readings done for
\nthis class, lectures, and films<\/span><\/b>. You MAY
\nNOT<\/b><\/span> use
\nother sources<\/span><\/b> whether published or from the <\/span>internet<\/span> without explicit permission<\/span><\/b> from
\nthe instructor.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Re-read your essays for grammar and spelling. Essays
\nwith more than four spelling mistakes may be returned without a grade for
\nresubmission. Please type and double-space the essays with margins no greater
\nthan 1 \u00bc inches using Times New Roman 12-point font. The essays are due via
\nBlackboard on the due date stated herein.<\/span><\/p>\n

When
\nyou include short quotes, paraphrases, or reference to specific events or
\nmoments from the novel, cite the page number. Citations to the novel should
\nsimply be parenthetical notations. In-text citation should be like Ex: (<\/span><\/span>Sorokin\u2019s chapter
\n4 page 29.)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The best and highest graded essays will be well-written with a clear,
\nnarrowly-focused, and creative thesis, will show clear engagement with
\nSorokin’s novel including substantial use of specific evidence from the
\nnovel, and will explore the possible answers to the main question in some depth,
\nraising important issues for discussion. Among the things you must do in your
\nessay is show that you have completed the entire reading assignment<\/span><\/b>.
\nAs such, it is your responsibility to cite evidence from throughout the
\nreading. If all citations are confined to a few pages, the professor will
\nassume you only read those few pages and your grade will reflect that fact.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Write the whole essay in past tense.  Read and write a polished essay of 750-1000 words that makes a historical argument based on what you can learn about the era of stagnation from Vladimir Sorokin’s The Queue.      When you wrote about Maria Botchkareva’s Yashka, you were writing about a non-fiction memoir written by a historical figure about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"disciplines":[28],"paper_types":[],"tagged":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.writemyessays.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/questions\/16098"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.writemyessays.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/questions"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.writemyessays.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/questions"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.writemyessays.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.writemyessays.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.writemyessays.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/questions\/16098\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.writemyessays.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"disciplines","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.writemyessays.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disciplines?post=16098"},{"taxonomy":"paper_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.writemyessays.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/paper_types?post=16098"},{"taxonomy":"tagged","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.writemyessays.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tagged?post=16098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}