A Marxist Reading of Nikolai Ostrovsky's How the Steel was Tempered

Running Head: ENGLISH 1
A Marxist Reading of Nikolai Ostrovsky's How the Steel was Tempered
Author's Name
Institutional Affiliation

EDUCATION 2
Abstract
During the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century, capitalism spread in various
countries in Europe. As a result, the struggle of the common masses became more organized and
conscious. As the conflicts between the upper and lower class became more profound, the
philosophical thought of Marxism spread rapidly. In “How the Steel was Tempered,” written by
Nikolai Ostrovsky, Pavel Korchagin is the protagonist and the hero of the story. The plot of the
novel shows how he progresses from a passive lad to a steel soldier full of determination. The
paper makes an analysis of Marxism in the novel and how Marxist theories are applied in the
novel. The paper discusses inequality between classes, anti-capitalism anti-capitalistic attitude,
class conflicts and how the novel demonstrates the exploitation of the lower class. The
autobiographical novel enjoys excellent significance in the history of Soviet literature. The novel
is divided into two sections, where the first talk about childhood and adolescence while the latter
part is about the mature years and illness.

EDUCATION 3
Introduction
How the Steel Was Tempered was authored by Nikolai Ostrovsky and it is a fictionalized
autobiography that draws inspiration from Ostrovsky’ s life. Socialist Realism is based on the
rhetoric of remaking of human capital as a social project based on. socialism experience
(Dobrenko, 2007, p.113). Socialist realism expressed itself in the art and literature. The novel is a
famous example of Socialist Realism as it is infused with the ideology of socialism. It takes the
reader through the autobiographical journey of the author and those many incidents and events,
one learns about the spirit behind socialist Russia and how it as shaped. It was written during the
era of Joseph Stalin. Pavel Korchagin is the protagonist of the socialist realist novel. .
Marxism in literature
Marxism in literature explores the importance of economic beliefs in people's lives.
Marxist perspectives on literature and culture are evident in the literary traditions of Russian
revolutionary poets (Askari, 2011, p.134). Marxism is important in the history of human
thoughts and helps tried to understand human existence. However, at the same time, Marxism
has sacrificed a lot to safeguard its ideological integrity and cohesiveness. It has thrown
overboard some sociological and biological factors that remain as they are irrespective of
political upheavals and ideological shifts. Marxism has recognized some continuing values of its
own due to the irrational human nature and man-made ideological products as stated by Askari
(2011, p.131).
During the Stalin period, writers like Georg Lukàcs and Bertolt Brecht made significant
contributions to the Marxist theory of literature (Birchall, 2003, p.92). Nikolai Ostrovsky wrote
in the Gorky tradition and created a new literary hero (Prokofieva, 2002, p.15). He portrays a
young worker in the early years of the Revolution. Ostrovsky’s mother, placed out of her

EDUCATION 4
environment was an “ethnic outcast” who had to accept the common values of a Russian
imperial nature (Kraliuk, 2004). The fact that Ostrovsky ran away to fight for the tsar shows that
he was educated as a Russian Empire loyalist. Pavel Korchagin lives in a Ukrainian environment
but develops a negative attitude toward people who are proud of being Ukrainian (Kraliuk,
2004). Today, Nikolai Ostrovsky may mean nothing to the younger Russians, Ukrainians, and
others, but the name was a role model for young communists. The author played an important
role in Soviet propaganda system (Kraliuk, 2004). Ostrovsky spent much of his time as a
mechanic in the railway depot to escape the atmosphere of corruption. It was here that he learned
of the workers’ struggle, human rights and about Lenin and his ideas (Prokofieva, 2002, p.5). He
delved into the works of the classic Russian writers such as Tolstoy, Chekhov, Gorky, Pushkin,
Gogol and more.
Summary of the novel
Ostrovsky was born in the Viliya village in 1904. His father, a seasonal worker, was
barely able to support his family with his meager earnings (Prokofieva, 2002, p.5). There were
dire poverty and exploitation everywhere for the agricultural laborers and poor workers.
Ostrovsky, even as a child could sense the social injustice and human degradation that stemmed
from class segregations. He worked as a shepherd and hen in a railway kitchen. When he worked
with his brother, a mechanic, he learned about the workers’ struggle for human rights
(Prokofieva, 2002, p.5).“It was there that he learned of the workers’ struggle for human rights,
and heard the Bolsheviks speak of Lenin and Lenin’s ideas” (Prokofieva, 2002, p.5).
Men like Garibaldi and the Gadfly are the real heroes for him during his adolescent years. He
becomes a voracious reader and reads many Ukrainian classic writers and revolutionary poets.