Dec 29, 2009

Night | Critical Essay on "Night"

In this essay, Sanderson argues that Alexei in Tatyana Tolstaya's "Night" is more than what he seems on the surface.

One of the most startling events in Tatyana Tolstaya's "Night," a tale filled with amazing and surprising images, is Alexei's apparently sudden interest in becoming a writer. Alexei is a middle-aged retarded man whose occupation as a builder of cardboard boxes keeps him and his mother, Mamochka, housed and fed—not a typical candidate to pursue the life of a writer.

Tempting as it may be to dismiss Alexei's unexpected declaration that ‘‘I'm going to be a writer’’ as the ramblings of a half-wit, Tolstaya does not disregard his comment. Tolstaya closes her story with Alexei...