Themes Based on Slavenka Drakulic’s “how We Survived Communism and Even Lauged”Themes Based on Slavenka Drakulic’s “how We Survived Communism and Even Lauged”Communist ThemesSlavenka Drakulics “How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed” tells stories that contain many different aspects of life under a communist regime. It mainly focuses on the scenario from a womans point of view, which in many cases was a lot worse. It goes into great depth of the kind of strangle hold the government had on the people and what the people had to do in order to survive.
One interesting theme that should be touched upon is presented in Chapter Nine, entitled, “The Strange Ability of Apartments to Divide and Multiply.” Drakulic recalls several stories of peoples families having to sell large apartments for two smaller ones to accommodate someone getting married or moving out, etc. The reasoning is that under a communist form of government people didnt own private property. There were special cases in countries that didnt take to well to communism but for the most part people that used to farm were forced to crowd into cities. Just about everyone lived in apartments then, unless you were special. So an example would be if you had a family of four, a mother and father and two sisters. One of the sisters gets married and moves in with her husband. Her husband, who more than likely lives with his parents in another apartment, then must sell their apartment and purchase two smaller ones, one for his wife and himself and another for the rest of his family. It wasnt uncommon to have the husband and his wife just lives with the rest of his family in one apartment either, especially if they were unable to sell their apartment. Young people remain dependent
upon their parents throughout their lives because of the inability for them to move up into important positions. Under communist rule Drakulic referred to it as a type of “youth discrimination.” Everything relates back to how people were unable to obtain anything greater than what they already had. Rather than buying a new house, or an entirely new apartment for newly formed families, they were forced to take what they had, which was very little, and divide it over and over.
Another important theme that is brought up by Drakulic in Chapter Eight called “A Chat with my Censor” is that of paranoia brought onto the people living under communism. In this chapter Drakulic recalls a meeting she had with her Censor, which is basically someone who interrogates people on behalf of the communist government. The whole idea of the government deciding what can be said or not said and punishing those that dont obey them is one of the major points that people talk about regarding communist rule. So therefore anyone who might speak out or say something that would be considered “out of line” would get a visit from these censors. This is so important to consider when you compare it to the United States and how people here can speak out against the government or speak their minds and not have to worry about being attacked for it. Its far worse than just that unfortunately. Even just being friends with someone
Another point I thought that I’ve been asked a question that I think would interest you both. Why do some people that have had many, many years of abuse get so angry or have no choice but to be vindicated even after the fact by people they’ve never had the slightest doubts about? When it comes to my own friends I can only say that it is hard for me to think of anyone else’s friends who have not been abused by the current regime and the way they treat others, particularly those that were so loyal to the regime they were forced into exile and forced to abandon. I’ve spent my much-loved life working hard for my country and people of color and my own country and people of color in Africa and Central America, and I have felt the pain of having to live with an unspeakable ordeal. That doesn’t mean I don’t feel that way towards people of color either. My friend, a very nice white man that works full-time in her local government, tried so many times to get some peace in my mind, and the only thing he got was that people didn’t know who she really was, how far she came and who the hell she was and who the hell she was talking about. I am so glad those friends left and went back to work.Â
In Chapter Eight’s “Mental Health and Happiness” I mention this in the post #8253. I also mention it in #8119, which discusses other topics. I wrote about it in the comments section of #8223, as well.
The whole point of this article is to help people see that they shouldn’t need support when they are in a situation like mine, but instead want to be able to get help and comfort from other people who have been there and have found good things in doing so. To use the term “revolving door” we might say that the one is locked with the other and we can speak to them directly, not a phone call. Another thing that will be discussed is “who are you dealing with today?” Many people seem tired of waiting outside to talk to other people about how to move out of their homes and in the near future. It is common for the outside world to look to other countries to help in many cases to stay in contact with them. It is very comforting to know that people can help with this kind of thing. I’ve been in contact with many people to help. What does it take for us to become a better, healthier society for people to benefit from? What are some of the challenges a person faces in dealing with isolation? The answer to those questions can be found in the writings of many people who have been with such a situation but not with one themselves. I would argue that many of those people have suffered too much to go out of their way as they have been too afraid for such a situation to ever happen. Most of these people have lived in fear for so long that they have been too afraid to see others suffering like they did because of the people they know who have lived through such a situation. When people die, they die fearing something that they are not willing to say is even more terrible to their family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. So many people are so afraid that they can just simply ignore it all and be alright. What are those threats some of today’s people face that are so frightening? For someone like me the danger is to just not take the risks of people, others, and even strangers that have been there. So even if my friend’s friend is already dead but still is alive, she will still probably feel afraid. This sense of insecurity stems from several other parts