Suggested Essay Topics
Chapter 1
1. Describe the Professor’s conversation with Berlioz and Ivan. In what ways
does he dispute the notion that God does not exist? How do his prophecy and
specialty in black magic influence the impact of his claim that Jesus did
exist?
2. What oddities does Berlioz encounter by the Patriarch’s Ponds, aside from the Professor’s appearance? How do these oddities provide a backdrop for his and Ivan’s encounter with the Professor?
Chapter 2
1. Describe the ways in which this chapter illustrates Pilate’s weariness. How
does his weariness contrast with Yeshua’s character?
2. How does the story of Pilate and Yeshua told here differ and elaborate on the Gospel accounts of the relationship of Pilate and Jesus?
Chapters 3-4
1. How might Berlioz’s death serve as a seventh proof of God’s existence?
2. Discuss Ivan’s chase after the professor, the choirmaster, and the cat. How does the chase further the sense of surrealness and artifice created by earlier chapters?
Chapters 5–6
1. Compare Ivan’s belief that unclean powers have caused Berlioz’s demise with
the disbelieving reaction of the doctor and the people at Griboedov’s to his
testimony.
2. Analyze the character of Riukhin. Why does he curse the statue along the boulevard? What is the meaning of his confession that his poems are lies and his recognition that his life is miserable?
Chapters 7-8
1. Analyze the history and current events at apartment 50. What could explain
the peculiar events at the apartment?
2. Describe Ivan’s mental and emotional condition in chapter eight. Why does no one believe Ivan’s stories about Pilate and the death of Berlioz?
Chapters 9-10
1. Discuss Bosoy’s crime of speculating in foreign currency. What does his
acceptance of the bribe and arrest indicate about corruption in Communist
Moscow? 2. Analyze the attack on Varenukha. In light of earlier events, what
does it reveal about Woland and his retinue? Why might Varenukha be
attacked?
Chapters 11-12
1. What does the title of chapter 11 mean? How might Ivan be said to have split
in two?
2. How does Woland’s magic show bring out the dark, material desires of Moscow’s citizens and bring them to fruition? What are Woland’s reasons for fulfilling these desires?
Chapter 13
1. How does Ivan and the master’s shared knowledge of the Pilate story change
the credibility and objectivity of that story? Has the story become more
convincing as a result?
2. What are the possible reasons for Ivan’s refusal to believe he met Satan at the Patriarch’s Ponds? Given the events in the novel thus far, is Ivan’s disbelief well-founded?
Chapters 14-15
1. Discuss the importance of the scene at Rimsky’s desk. What accounts for the
change in Varenukha? How does the cock’s crowing recall the Gospel story of a
cock crowing three times?
2. How does Bosoy’s dream, with its emphasis on exposing people who hide illegal currency, fit in with the novel’s theme of artifice and secrecy? Similarly, how do the theatrics of his dream compare with the theatrics of Woland’s magic show?
Chapters 16-17
1. Compare the surreal feeling of Bosoy’s dream and the events of chapter 17 to
Ivan’s dream, with its realistic depiction of the execution at Bald Mountain.
How does this comparison highlight the unreality of Communist Moscow and argue
for the truth of earlier claims that God and the Devil exist?
2. Discuss Matthew Levi’s relationship to Yeshua and his actions at the execution, including his rage at God. What has inspired Matthew Levi to come to the execution and cut down the three bodies?
Chapter 18
1. Compare the prophecy that...
(This entire section contains 1206 words.)
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Andrei Fokich Sokov will die of liver cancer, and his response to the prophecy, with the prophecy of Berlioz’s death and Berlioz’s response.
2. Discuss the difficulty Poplavsky has in seeking to occupy Berlioz’s apartment. Why do Azazello and the cat treat him so roughly, and how does their treatment of him contrast with Koroviev’s treatment of him?
Chapters 19-20
1. Describe Margarita’s character as it is revealed by her response to
Azazello. Why is she so willing to confront him?
2. Margarita’s dream is one of a series of dreams thus far in the novel. Compare her dream to the earlier ones. Why does she respond so optimistically to her dream?
Chapter2 21-22
1. Analyze the globe Woland shows Margarita. What is the significance of the
globe and the events shown on it?
2. How does Margarita’s flight reprise the novel’s theme of the mutability of space and time?
Chapter 23
1. Describe Margarita’s performance as the hostess of Satan’s ball. What
enables her to withstand the pressures involved with serving as hostess?
2. Discuss the purpose of Satan’s ball. Why do the condemned souls emerge once each year? Describe how the décor and atmosphere of the ball contrasts with its guests.
Chapter 24
1.Woland grants the master and Margarita several wishes. This generosity
conflicts with his earlier cruelties. What has inspired his generosity, and
what do the couple do with their wishes?
2. Examine the conversation between Margarita, Woland, and his retinue before the master appears. What does it reveal about their personalities?
Chapter 25
1. The appearance of the huge dark cloud at the start of the chapter, and the
sun’s emergence as Aphranius goes to Pilate, exemplifies the role weather has
played throughout the novel in setting scenes, highlighting plot movement.
Examine this role, and the symbolic presence of weather in the novel thus
far.
2. Judas and his love of money is one example of the relationship between money, luxury, and morality explored by the novel. Compare Judas’ passion for money and Pilate’s desire for material comforts with Yeshua’s rejection of a drink before he dies.
Chapter 26
1. Niza’s betrayal of Judas to Aphranius is part of a web of secrecy and deceit
involving Yeshua’s execution. How does this web contrast with the character of
Yeshua himself?
2. Describe Pilate’s moonlight dream. What does it mean? What significance lies in it beginning at midnight?
Chapters 27-28
1. How does the inability of the Moscow police to catch Woland and his retinue
contrast with the Soviet state’s extensive monitoring and control of its
citizens, as portrayed in this novel?
2. Margarita is one of several characters who have access to the master’s novel about Pilate. What is the impact of his novel being revealed through several different characters?
Chapters 29-32
1. Discuss the relationship between the master and Margarita. What
characteristics do they have in common? Why is Margarita so devoted to the
master?
2. Matthew Levi does not dispute Woland’s assertion that evil is essential to life on earth. However, he does seek peace for the master and Margarita. What have they done to deserve peace, and why don’t they deserve the light?
Epilogue
1. Ivan’s fate is inconclusive, in contrast to the decisive fate of most of the
novel’s characters. What is the significance of his inconclusive fate, and of
his actions during the annual festal spring full moon?
2. Discuss the description of the aftermath of Woland’s visit to Moscow. How does the persecution of so many alleged perpetrators contrast with the inability to stop Woland and his retinue from wreaking havoc on Moscow?