Abstract
Isaak Babel’ is the author of two stories, “Iisusov grekh” [The Sin of Jesus], 1921, and “Pan Apolek,” 1923, that are written in the tradition of menippean satire. These stories are filled with the kind of blasphemy, profanation, and desacrilization Mikhail Bakhtin describes as salient characteristics of menippean satire. “Sin” is a graphic example of the menippean sub-genre of “fantasticheskii rasskaz” [the fantastic tale], and “Apolek” has clear affinities with the ancient genre of “Cyprian’s Supper.”“Sin” and “Apolek” highlight prominent menippean features that pervade Babel’’s fiction. His Odessa stories are filled with carnivalistic, scandalous, and grotesque motifs that are very much in the menippean spirit. Babel’’s contribution to the menippea is his creation of a multiplicity of different, even conflicting plausible texts within the body of a single story. For Babel’, heretic and blasphemer, menippean satire is the perfect vehicle for expressing his contradictory relationship with the culture he lived in.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
