Essay Questions

How does Mikhail Bulgakov depict to the reader that humans are the agents of horror?

Throughout the stories, the author portrays animals as friendly, honest and loyal when compared to human beings. For instance, Miranda loves her cat pet than the person who bought it for her. Miranda's love for the cat shows that when animals are shown love, they become loyal and respectful. Not much is said about the dog, Poor Bibi. The reader is left to conclude that dogs are the most loyal animals when taken good care of. However, at the end of the story, the family gather to kill the dog without proper reason which shows that humans are cruel than animals.

Is Bibi the dog used symbolically by the author in the Heart of a Dog?

The author uses Bibi the dog in the Heart of a dog to show that human life is more important than that of an animal. However, for the readers to see this symbol, they must ask themselves why the family is calling the doctor. The reader assumes that the doctor probably is coming to kill the dog but not a human being. However, readers continue asking themselves why should the family conspire to kill Bibi the dog? The dog is part of the family and the author has not provided any reason why they do is being killed. However, the readers conclude that the family is killing the dog because human life cannot be equated to that of the animal.

Give one example of how the author uses the literary device irony?

The author builds themes revolving around animals and human characters. Miranda is among the characters that love pets. When Julius buys her a cat, Miranda ends up loving the cat than Julius who bought it for her. The reader finds it ironic that Miranda does not accord much love for Julius as she does to the cat. It is also noticeable that Miranda identifies herself better with animals than human beings.