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57 pages 1 hour read

Mikhail Bulgakov

The Master and Margarita

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1967

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Essay Topics

1.

The Master and Margarita are permitted to spend eternity in peace rather than go to heaven or hell. Is this a reward or a punishment?

2.

Woland is the adopted identity of Satan. How does he use this identity to play with people’s preconceptions about good and evil?

3.

In what ways does The Master and Margarita satirize bureaucratic systems?

4.

What role does magic play in the novel and to what extent are people desperate to dismiss supernatural events with natural explanations?

5.

The novel presents the battle between subjective perceptions of reality and any kind of single, objective truth. In what way does the novel argue that reality is a composite of competing subjective experiences?

6.

Woland offers people deals using his powers. Can these deals be described as Faustian? Does Margarita sign a Faustian pact?

7.

How does the novel present Pontius Pilate as a sympathetic figure?

8.

In what ways does Levi Matvei illustrate the extent to which self-loathing and blame can become internalized?

9.

Who is most changed by the events of the novel?

10.

How does the Epilogue of The Master and Margarita explore the societal reaction to supernatural events in an atheistic society?

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By Mikhail Bulgakov