Summary

Pages 91 - 96 – Dmitri reflects that irony is necessary in order to survive in a harsh and unforgiving world like that of the USSR, but that irony can easily degrade into sarcasm. Dmitri thinks of sarcasm as destructive, while irony may possibly be used to protect things that a person values, such as music. Dmitri recalls Maxim having to vilify his father on a school music exam, and he realizes that irony was of no use in that situation. Dmitri then thinks of Shakespeare and the female Russian poet Akhmatova, and he compares them as figures using poetry as modes of expression in the face of authority. However, Dmitri then reflects pessimistically on the brutality of the USSR and how he personally does not possess the skills or the social background necessary to remain in the government’s favor. He thinks...