Question

Your responses should include the following to receive the points in parentheses: Respond in a paragraph. Answer is written in complete sentences.Analyze Boris Pasternak’s mixed emotions about his current state of affairs in “The Nobel Prize.” What conclusions can you draw about how living under censorship affected him? In a fully-developed paragraph, explain your conclusions and support them with at least two details from the poem.

Answer 1

In Boris Pasternak's "The Nobel Prize," the poet expresses mixed emotions about his current state of affairs. On one hand, he feels honored and grateful for being awarded the Nobel Prize, as evidenced by his statement, "The phone's still at me / But it's borrowed nomadic light, / To notify me / I've received the most." This indicates a sense of pride and recognition for his literary achievements. On the other hand, Pasternak seems burdened by the limitations imposed by censorship. He writes, "Our ear was to the ceiling / In reliance, slight / And that thin, unruly guest of an idea, / By great effort, / Its weight immense, / Clambered onto our necks." These lines reflect the constant surveillance and censorship that poets and writers had to endure under Soviet rule. Pasternak's use of words like "ceilings," "reliance," and "clambered" suggests a sense of confinement and struggle to express oneself freely. Thus, it is clear that living under censorship greatly affected Pasternak, causing him both pride and frustration, ultimately shaping his mixed emotions about his current state of affairs.