In Isaac Babel’s short story My First Goose, the narrator struggles to fit in to the world of war. Babel illustrates the paradox and duality of war as a heroic and brutal endeavor, and in order to properly display this paradox, the narrator must travel to a world separate from normal civilian life. Here, he initiates himself into the brutal practices of this new world in order to fit in. Babel then reveals the consequences that the narrator faces from sacrificing, or not sacrificing, an integral part of himself in order to survive in such a brutal environment. In order to make a place for himself in such an environment, the narrator must relinquish his innocence and morality, but his failure to do so leads to guilt and misery.
Babel depicts …show more content…
The Cossacks harass him by tossing his trunk “out through the gate” and “emitting obscene sounds,” but he does not turn back and go home (“My First Goose” 207). Instead, the narrator kills the goose in an act of brutality, initiating himself into the world of war; however, the Cossacks seemingly pay this act no mind. In fact, “they sat immobile and stiff like heathen priests” around their campfire, giving the entire action a ceremonial quality (“My First Goose” 208). His initiation proceeds in “discrete stages,” beginning with the sunset and his journey into this new world of war (Shcheglov 667). Then he interacts with his new companions and they shun him. He then kills the goose as a sacrifice and ceremony and he is finally admitted into their circle. Shcheglov points out the archetype of the “hero bespattered with feces” which he believes is the narrator because of the obscene sounds that the Cossacks direct at him. However, the goose itself is a much better representation of this. The goose is “stern-looking” and “placidly preening its feathers” when the narrator bursts its head “in the dung” (“My First Goose” 208). The goose is the hero that dies and that the narrator sacrifices. However, the goose represents a part of the narrator. The goose “placidly preening its feathers” presents calm image, innocent even, until the narrator kills it, thereby destroying his own innocence and contradicting his morals (“My First Goose” 208). By completing his initiation, the narrator furthers himself on his heroic
Babel depicts …show more content…
The Cossacks harass him by tossing his trunk “out through the gate” and “emitting obscene sounds,” but he does not turn back and go home (“My First Goose” 207). Instead, the narrator kills the goose in an act of brutality, initiating himself into the world of war; however, the Cossacks seemingly pay this act no mind. In fact, “they sat immobile and stiff like heathen priests” around their campfire, giving the entire action a ceremonial quality (“My First Goose” 208). His initiation proceeds in “discrete stages,” beginning with the sunset and his journey into this new world of war (Shcheglov 667). Then he interacts with his new companions and they shun him. He then kills the goose as a sacrifice and ceremony and he is finally admitted into their circle. Shcheglov points out the archetype of the “hero bespattered with feces” which he believes is the narrator because of the obscene sounds that the Cossacks direct at him. However, the goose itself is a much better representation of this. The goose is “stern-looking” and “placidly preening its feathers” when the narrator bursts its head “in the dung” (“My First Goose” 208). The goose is the hero that dies and that the narrator sacrifices. However, the goose represents a part of the narrator. The goose “placidly preening its feathers” presents calm image, innocent even, until the narrator kills it, thereby destroying his own innocence and contradicting his morals (“My First Goose” 208). By completing his initiation, the narrator furthers himself on his heroic