VIOLENCE AND THYRANY IN SOFI OKSANEN’S “PURGE”
BÁNYAI BOTOND-PÉTER
11.12.2014
FINNISH LITERATURE
SCANDINAVIAN STUDIES
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
UNIVERSITY OF OULU Contents
INTRODUCTION 3
THE PLOT(S) 3
TITLE 4
HYSTORICAL BACKGROUND 4
TORTURE AND FEAR 5
WHAT DOES BEING A SURVIVAR MEAN? 8
CONCLUSIONS 8
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SOURCES 9
INTRODUCTION
Purge is the third novel written by the famous Finnish author, Sofi Oksanen. In the beginning she had written this masterpiece as a play. It was performed at the Finnish National Theatre and had a huge success. The novel carrying the same name was written a year later (2008) based on the play and brought her instant fame and the unique chance to be listed among the best contemporary authors. The …show more content…
TITLE
The title of the novel – “Purge” is strongly connected to the Stalinist regime, one whose deeds cannot ever be forgotten or deleted from history. The title is an allusion to the “Great Purge”, a practice via which Joseph Stalin got rid of any political opponents. Using torture and terror, only in Russia thousands and thousands “enemies of the nation” were eliminated; those who had anti-Soviet political views were also considered enemies, and the punishment was the same.
Around 1918, Estonia was to become an independent, but in this case freedom was only a naïve thought because it did not last for too long. In 1940 this country was occupied by the Soviets, and later on, in 1941 attached to the USSR. This is the moment when 50 years of torment begun. The novel is exactly on the same theme.
HYSTORICAL …show more content…
This is why she places characters such as Aliide Truu, Ingel, Hans and Linda Pekk back in those dark times. Hans Pekk, one of the most significant characters in the novel secretly “collaborated with the Germans during the Second World War -- more sympathetic to him and the cause of Estonian independence than the Russians --, and with the Soviet victory he was no longer able to live out in the open.” (http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/suomi/oksanen.htm) Ingel, Aliide’s sister marries to this Hans Pekk. In order to protect him, the sister built a secret room where he stood hidden for a very long time. In order not to create any suspicions, they have faked Hans’ death, but the authorities were still skeptical. The marriage between Martin Truu (a NKVD officer) and Aliide was not a coincidence. According to the Soviet documents from the end of the book, the true reason of this marriage was that Martin could spy on them better. The idea was ingenious, but Marin found nothing
BÁNYAI BOTOND-PÉTER
11.12.2014
FINNISH LITERATURE
SCANDINAVIAN STUDIES
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
UNIVERSITY OF OULU Contents
INTRODUCTION 3
THE PLOT(S) 3
TITLE 4
HYSTORICAL BACKGROUND 4
TORTURE AND FEAR 5
WHAT DOES BEING A SURVIVAR MEAN? 8
CONCLUSIONS 8
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SOURCES 9
INTRODUCTION
Purge is the third novel written by the famous Finnish author, Sofi Oksanen. In the beginning she had written this masterpiece as a play. It was performed at the Finnish National Theatre and had a huge success. The novel carrying the same name was written a year later (2008) based on the play and brought her instant fame and the unique chance to be listed among the best contemporary authors. The …show more content…
TITLE
The title of the novel – “Purge” is strongly connected to the Stalinist regime, one whose deeds cannot ever be forgotten or deleted from history. The title is an allusion to the “Great Purge”, a practice via which Joseph Stalin got rid of any political opponents. Using torture and terror, only in Russia thousands and thousands “enemies of the nation” were eliminated; those who had anti-Soviet political views were also considered enemies, and the punishment was the same.
Around 1918, Estonia was to become an independent, but in this case freedom was only a naïve thought because it did not last for too long. In 1940 this country was occupied by the Soviets, and later on, in 1941 attached to the USSR. This is the moment when 50 years of torment begun. The novel is exactly on the same theme.
HYSTORICAL …show more content…
This is why she places characters such as Aliide Truu, Ingel, Hans and Linda Pekk back in those dark times. Hans Pekk, one of the most significant characters in the novel secretly “collaborated with the Germans during the Second World War -- more sympathetic to him and the cause of Estonian independence than the Russians --, and with the Soviet victory he was no longer able to live out in the open.” (http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/suomi/oksanen.htm) Ingel, Aliide’s sister marries to this Hans Pekk. In order to protect him, the sister built a secret room where he stood hidden for a very long time. In order not to create any suspicions, they have faked Hans’ death, but the authorities were still skeptical. The marriage between Martin Truu (a NKVD officer) and Aliide was not a coincidence. According to the Soviet documents from the end of the book, the true reason of this marriage was that Martin could spy on them better. The idea was ingenious, but Marin found nothing