TOTALITARIAN REALITY IN TADEUSZ KONWICKI’S NOVEL “A MINOR APOCALYPSE”

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of aspects of totalitarianism on the basis of the novel “A Minor Apocalypse” by the Polish writer Tadeusz Konwicki, which was first published in 1979 in the Zapis magazine. The totalitarian regime left a huge imprint not only on the socio-political life of many states, but also on the way of thinking of their inhabitants. For its part, this regime became the object of reflection for artists who tried to expose the flaws in the system’s influence on people.

In his work, Tadeusz Konwicki focuses on the destructive impact of the totalitarian system on freedom and creativity. The writer touches upon the themes of adaptability, socialist Poland’s dependence on the USSR, and the government’s restriction of individual expression in art, architecture, and other areas of human activity. As it turned out, the author highlights the absurdity and hopelessness of existence in a totalitarian society, using metaphors and evaluative vocabulary with negative connotations, but sometimes he also resorts to direct criticism of the regime. Interesting are the elements of determination of the time paradigm, which emphasise the monotony of everyday life in a state with such a system, as well as the absence of the main character’s name, which resonates with the desire to make all people not so much equal as the same. With the help of vari- ous artistic means and techniques, the writer skilfully depicts the socio-political atmosphere that prevailed in the Polish People’s Republic at that time and states that it actually leads to the moral degradation of the population. The novel “A Minor Apocalypse” became a real encyclopaedia of the totalitarian reality of the twentieth century, reflecting the author’s serious concerns about the future of his country and nation.