What is the novel Cancer Ward about?
Q: What is the novel Cancer Ward about?
A: Cancer Ward is a semi-autobiographical novel by Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. It tells the story of a small group of cancer patients in Uzbekistan in 1955, and explores the moral responsibility of those who stood by whilst their fellow citizens were arrested, sent to labor camps, exiled or executed during Stalin's Great Purge.
Q: When was Cancer Ward first published?
A: The novel was first published in 1967.
Q: What did Stalin's Great Purge involve?
A: Stalin's Great Purge involved a large-scale purge of the Communist Party and government officials and the Red Army leadership, as well as repression of peasants. There was widespread police surveillance, suspicion of "saboteurs", imprisonment, and arbitrary executions.
Q: What does Oleg Kostoglotov realize at the end of the novel?
A: At the end of the novel, Oleg Kostoglotov realizes that there will be no healing or normal life now that Stalin has gone due to all the damage done to him and Russia.
Q: How does Shulubin describe people like Oleg Kostoglotov?
A: Shulubin tells Oleg Kostoglotov that he hasn't had to do much lying compared to others who had been herded into meetings to 'expose' him and made to demand firing squad verdicts for people like him.
Q: What does Oleg see when he visits a zoo near the end of his stay at cancer ward?
A: When visiting a zoo near the end of his stay at cancer ward, Oleg sees animals which remind him people he knew from before; he realizes they have lost their idea rational freedom if suddenly set free from their cages.
