Abstract
The article deals with the problem of the ‘animal-man' in prose by V. Shalamov. Life in a prison camp obliterates the boundary between intelligent human nature and the animalistic one. A man becomes a slave to his own body, his mind only preoccupied with physiological needs: food, sex, urination, and defecation. Shalamov views such a situation as tragic, yet leaves it up to the character to overcome the forced primacy of corporality. The article also compares Shalamov's approach to the problem with that of A. Platonov. Both writers portrayed oppression of thought in a totalitarian state. The beastlike quality of their characters is another common feature in Platonov's and Shalamov's work. Yet Platonov's use of anthropozoologism has various connotations, whereas in Shalamov's view, animality in a human being is always a tragedy. Platonov proclaims independence of mind from the body and the immortal nature of consciousness. Shalamov's philosophy is far more materialistic. However, both writers fought for the ‘rule of reason' and revealed their struggles in their books.
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