The Good Soldier Švejk (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Jaroslav Hašek
- First Published: 1930
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Satire
- Time of Work: World War I
- Setting: Bohemia and Austria
- Genres: Long fiction, Satire, War fiction
- Subjects: Gambling, Police, Mental illness, World War I, Military life or service, Soldiers, Espionage or spies, Austria or Austrians, Chaplains, Hospitals, Czechoslovakia or Czechoslovakians, Errors
- Locales: Austria, Bohemia, Prague, Czechoslovakia, Austro-Hungarian Empire
Characters Discussed
Josef Švejk (YOH-sehf shvayk), a Czech recruited to serve in the Austrian army during World War I. Švejk’s military experience is a series of mishaps that repeatedly land him in jail, yet Švejk avoids serious punishment, even execution, through the same bizarre behaviors that get him into trouble. Švejk is a deceptively complex character, appearing both imbecilic and ingenious, as well as both honest and deceitful. When confronted by bureaucratic red tape and the harsh, often unreasonable conditions in the army, Švejk foils the establishment....
[The entire page is 958 words long]
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