Good works to include in a Russian Literature unit?

Question by Amanda: What are some good shorter works to include in a Russian Literature unit?
I am preparing a Russian literature unit for junior or senior level high school students. I have already decided to include Ivan Turgenev’s “Fathers and Sons” for the longer work.

Now, I need shorter works (such as essays, poems, or short stories) to include with the unit. I’m thinking maybe some Chekhov stories or Pasternak poems…but the question is which ones? Or is there something better out there that is appropriate for high school students?

Please let all of your suggestions have English translations readily available.

Thank You.

Answers and Views:

Answer by B P
If your students are on the mature side, ‘Heart of a Dog’ by Bulgakov is an exceptional novella. (translator: Glenny)

If you are looking for short stories that would really demonstrate what life was like in the recent past, I would suggest village prose or women’s prose from the 20th Century. I.e. Baranskaya’s ‘A Week Like Any Other” (Translator: Monks) Although that might be a little boring for your students. On the same note of short stories, I strongly suggest “The Queen of Spades” by Pushkin (translator: Kahn) especially for a high school audience. Chekhov’s ‘Ward No. 6’ is also great – there are so many Solzhenitsyn, Gogol, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky all have great short stories too.

I don’t have too many sources for Russian poems. Pushkin’s “Bronze Horseman” is great, especially if you want to do a little work on the history of St. Petersburg. Anything by Pasternak really would be great.

Fathers and Sons is a great choice, by the way. Turgenev had a troubled relationship with Tolstoy – who often held ideological, religious, and other beliefs completely at odds w/ Turgenev. ‘Father Sergius” by Tolstoy would be a great piece to juxtapose against F&S.

Hope this helps.

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