<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Two of the novels which are deeply related to the experience within the limits of the totalitarian regime in the Eastern blocs are The Joke, by the Czech writer Milan Kundera, and The World in Two Days, by the Romanian writer George Bălăiță. Both Kundera and Bălăiță present in their novels the stories of individuals who pay the price of their destiny for the mistake of deviating from the imposed norms. Even if these two works present differences at the level of the narrative style, The Joke falling mainly within the modernist one and The World in Two Days in the postmodernist one, having allegorical characters, they have a series of common elements at the content level. Thus, the two novels propose a common theme, which reveals the collapse of a sacred world that falls prey to individuals obsessed with controlling other individuals’ lives.</p>
</abstract>

Two of the novels which are deeply related to the experience within the limits of the totalitarian regime in the Eastern blocs are The Joke, by the Czech writer Milan Kundera, and The World in Two Days, by the Romanian writer George Bălăiță. Both Kundera and Bălăiță present in their novels the stories of individuals who pay the price of their destiny for the mistake of deviating from the imposed norms. Even if these two works present differences at the level of the narrative style, The Joke falling mainly within the modernist one and The World in Two Days in the postmodernist one, having allegorical characters, they have a series of common elements at the content level. Thus, the two novels propose a common theme, which reveals the collapse of a sacred world that falls prey to individuals obsessed with controlling other individuals’ lives.

The Tragic Nature of the Joke. The Joke Vs. The World in Two Days

Assist. Prof., PhD, ‘G.E. Palade’ University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mureș, Târgu Mureș

Acta Marisiensis. Philologia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"The Tragic Nature of the Joke. The Joke Vs. The World in Two Days"}

Two of the novels which are deeply related to the experience within the limits of the totalitarian regime in the Eastern blocs are The Joke, by the Czech...

The Tragic Nature of the Joke. The Joke Vs. The World in Two Days

Published Online: Oct 21, 2023

Page range: 1 - 6

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/amph-2023-0094

Keywords
Milan Kundera, George Bălăiță, The Joke, The World in Two Days, comparative criticism, communism, realism, allegorical novel

© 2023 Roxana Cotruș Ispas, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The Tragic Nature of the Joke. The Joke Vs. The World in Two Days

Published Online: Oct 21, 2023

Page range: 1 - 6

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/amph-2023-0094

KeywordsMilan Kundera, George Bălăiță, The Joke, The World in Two Days, comparative criticism, communism, realism, allegorical novel

© 2023 Roxana Cotruș Ispas, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Milan Kundera, George Bălăiță, The Joke, The World in Two Days, comparative criticism, communism, realism, allegorical novel