Breaking Stalin's Nose Community Quotes

WE are Borg. WE are One of Forty-Eight. Prepare to be assimilated. Jamming to patriotic songs in the a.m. might seem fun (for roughly two minutes), but communal living in this society is an exercise in extreme groupthink.

If you're thinking the Young Soviet Pioneers sounds like a Boy or Girl Scout type organization, you win the Internets! The Pioneers borrowed heavily (or, less politely, openly pilfered) from the Boy Scouts movement, but with an added bonus of political indoctrination throw in for good measure. From the ages of nine through fourteen, the Pioneers were the main community that Soviet kids associated with.

Here, no one is stepping out of line—literally. Community, in lots of ways in this novel, is about conformity and groupthink (groupwalk?). The image of the men and Sasha marching almost unconsciously in lockstep reinforces how they must conform even in their other actions and thoughts, or else they pay a hefty price, which we see in the example of Sasha's dad getting thrown into prison.

This is an action that we might expect from a truly tight-knit communal living situation. But, no: Sasha soon finds out that she's only tidying up the joint because Stukachov and his family are taking over (and throwing Sasha out basically on his can).

This seems pretty harsh and cold-hearted. We would imagine family would stick by each other. That whole "blood is thicker than water" thing, right? It doesn't seem to work that way in Sasha's world. Why is it such a risk for Aunt Larisa to take him in?

The children learn from a very young age that the only community that matters in this world is that which grows out of the barrel of a gun. Lucky for Sasha and Four-Eyes, snowballs stand in for that threat in the boys' rather macabre playground game.

Remember that Sasha writes in his letter to Stalin what make up the duties of the Young Soviet Pioneers. How might Nina Petrovna be twisting the meaning here? On the other hand, how might she be completely correct about her new definition of the Pioneers' duty?

While it's not quite an oxymoron, demanding "spontaneous applause" is just not right. It's as genuine as the clapping you get from a poor production assistant on the set of America's Funniest Home Videos holding up the "Applause" sign when they show the five hundredth video of a groom taking a header just before he says, "I do." So, basically not spontaneous at all, falsely over-exuberant and therefore totally ungenuine.

Oh, this is such a heart-warming image, ain't it? Cute little kids walking hand-in-hand, in peace and harmony. Right? Not a chance. You've heard that saying, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer"? Well, that's what's happening here. These kids aren't holding hands because they like each other, but rather because no one trusts anyone else. They're watching each other—kind of like a low-tech (way low-tech) surveillance system.

Carrying the banner of the Young Soviet Pioneers would be the ultimate display of conformity and Sasha's acceptance by The Powers That Be. This action would re-integrate him back into the school's community after his outcast status has been so rudely revealed to everyone.