Black Ships

Black Snow is a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov. This apparent platitude is full of contradiction. The book is perhaps better described as an autobiographical episode, with Bulgakov renamed as the book’s central character, Maxudov. It’s also a satire in which the characters are precise, exact and often vicious caricatures of Bulgakov’s colleagues and acquaintances in the between-the-wars Moscow Arts Theatre, including the legendary Stanislawsky. In some ways, Black Snow is a history of Bulgakov’s greatest success, the novel The White Guard, which the theatre company adapted for the stage under the title The Days of the Turbins. The play ran for close to a thousand performances, including one staged for an audience of a single person, one Josef Stalin who, perhaps luckily for Bulgakov, liked it.

Black Snow is also a sideways look at the creative process, itself. Maxudov is a journalist with The Shipping Times and hates the monotony and predictability of his work. Privately he creates a new world by writing a novel in which the author can imagine transcending the mundane. But the product of this and all creation is useless unless it is shared. Only then can it exist. Only then can the author’s relief from the self he cannot live with be realised. But when no-one publishes the novel, when no-one shows the slightest interest in it, the author is left only with the isolation that inspired the book, but now this is an amplified isolation and more devastating for it. So he attempts suicide. But he is such an incompetent that he fails. It’s the same middle class Russian incompetence that Chekhov celebrated in Uncle Vanya where no-one seems able to aim a shot.

But then this unpublished book is seen by others, for whom it seems to mean something quite different from the author’s intention. Instead of a novel, they see it as a play. They ask for a re-write, complete with changes of both plot and setting. Effectively, the only way the work can have its own life, its own existence, is for it to become something that denies the author’s own intentions and thus nullifies the reason for writing it. And so Maxudov goes along with things and thus in effect he is back again doing what he does for The Shipping Times, in that he is writing things that others want.

And here is where Black Snow becomes a parody of what was happening later in Bulgakov’s own career. He wanted to write a play about censorship and control. This, obviously, was impossible in Stalin’s Soviet Union, so he set the play in France, basing it upon the historical reality of Moliere. After four years of tying to prepare the play for performance what finally emerged was a costume drama from which all allusions to censorship had been removed or watered down. So Bulgakov’s intended comment on Soviet society was lost. And the play flopped.

So the satirical caricatures are truly vicious. We have an impresario who is incapable of remembering the playwright’s name. We have the opinionated arty intellectual, full of biting criticism and dismissive posturing until he realises he is speaking to the author and then he does an instant, blushing volte-face. We have a character that is so sure about every detail of organisation and experience that they are almost always wrong.

Ultimately, Black Snow is about a creative process where a writer can create whatever is imaginable. But then in communicating it, the receivers change it, transform it into what they want it to be. The writer makes the snow black, the recipients read it as black but change it to white and then probably argue whether it has already turned to rain. Black Snow is an enigmatic, super-real and surreal satire.

About the Author:

Philip Spires
Author of Mission, an African novel set in Kenya
http://www.philipspires.co.uk
Michael, a missionary priest, has just killed Munyasya. It was an accident, but Mulonzya, a politician, exploits the tragedy for his own ends. Boniface, a church worker, has just lost his child. He did not make it to the hospital in time, possibly because Michael went to the Mission to retrieve a letter from Janet, a teacher, and the priest’s neighbour. It is Munyasya who has the last laugh, however.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Philip Spires Reviews Black Snow by Mikhail Bulgakov

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No one can say no to a lover who is proposing during a cruise. You’re like Romeo and Juliet struck in an amazing moment of pleasure, the only difference is you won’t find yourself gasping for breath due to ship sinking. What’s more if he proposes while on board a classic ship? Romance, love, affection and pleasures; every positive word that could enter your mind is exactly the feeling which will envelope you.

There are ships that were created long time ago, thus they project classic look. But wait, you need not to worry about being drowned or something because all of them are still highly functioning. Thus, people should be thankful these days that they are able to have a taste of how it is to live during older generation. However, because of the new SOLAS regulation which simply stand for Safety Of Life At Sea, cruising using these ships may no longer be possible in the nearing 2010. Now that you have still the time, grab the opportunity right ahead! A number of ships will be covered by this ordinance except the QE2.

Here are the lists of some ships that you can book a cruise:

MV Funchal

Known as the princess of the sea which would never fail to put a smile on every person who wishes to travel, it was created during 1961. Back then, it originally featured a black hull that contains yellow funnel with a little black lining. However, in the year 1973, the ship was subjected to a major change and the finish product is an all white yacht comparable to a cruise ship. Although it does not fall among the four and five star ships, still no one can deny the unusual experience that MV Funchal can give.

Doulos

Bookworms would definitely go crazy over this ship, not only does this provide a comfortable ride but it is jam-packed with literary pieces at a very reasonable price! Thanks to the group of students who created an organization to provide support to unfortunate individuals all across the globe. They call their goal as the Operation Mobilisation wherein they would bring educational literature to those who cannot afford the original price on common bookstores. A floating book fiesta indeed!

Stella Polaris

If you want to go back to the 30s then riding on this vessel would give you a ticket of how people back then operates. Originally, the ship was owned by Bergen Line. Usually, it can carry up to 200 passengers but since the crew would normally number up to 130, only a small number of tourists can board the ship. Just try to imagine what kind of service they are offering! Nowadays, it contains a haven of restaurants that people could still visit which leads the ship to be called as the Floating Restaurants of Scandinavia although the name Stella Polaris is still marked on her bows.

Romantica

Before the war begins, this boat together with her sister Orsono would sail Hamburg down to Carribean. During the war, it was changed into a submarine depot which later on headed straight to Norway to act as a supply ship of Germany. Outstandingly, the ship was able to survive all the bombing that the war provides. Through the years, it went to different processes of remodeling thus the passenger capacity increases into 773 passengers.

About the Author:

PART 2 – For part two of this article, head on to
Classic Ship
where you can also get the best deals on a
Carnival Cruise Line Ship
vacation.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – The Ancient Beauty of a Classic Ship