The Role of Animals in the Unbearable Lightness of Being and Poems New and Collected

Since animals, usually pets, are sometimes an essential part of one's life, it is not surprising that we find frequent references to its role in works of social realism, such as Wislawa Szymborska's Poems New and Collected and Milan Kundera's Unbearable Lightness of Being. Animals in literature could be used to symbolize all sorts of things, but in particular, animals may represent the personality of a character. This is because as humans and animals co-exist in the same atmosphere, certain aspects of a character reveal themselves in the compassion or even hatred towards the animal. Since animals are often known to trigger the interests of humans, the attitude of the humans towards the animals contributes much to character revelation. Both Szymborska and Kundera use animals to symbolize character personality in their works. Therefore, through looking at animals, although it does seem to be a very commonplace topic, we may gain insight to what the writers are trying to convey about the character. This paper will compare the ways the writers use animals to determine a character's personality or characteristics.

A recurring character in Kundera's Unbearable Lightness of being is Karenin, a dog saved from death by one of the novel's protagonists, Tomas. He had wanted some sort of a distraction that would keep Tereza's attention off him so that he could persist with his life that he believed he had control over:

At last he made his choice: a bitch whose body seemed reminiscent of the German shepherd and whose head belonged to its Saint Bernard mother. He took it home to Tereza, who picked it up and pressed it to her breast.â„-

Through the novel, Karenin, the 'ugly dog' Tomas brings home for Tereza, develops a bond between Tereza, which grows throughout the novel. Tereza is portrayed as a 'heavy' individual with considerably heavy burdens on both her shoulders. One other burden Tereza carries is, essentially, Karenin. It takes the place of Tomas when Tereza is alone, therefore - Tereza is bound, with love, to it. Kundera shows here, how Karenin affects Tereza's personality by being next to her and being a comfort to her at times when heaviness settles in.

Furthermore, with no baby between Tereza and Tomas' marriage, Karenin acts as Tereza's responsibility, both emotionally and financially. It seems that Tereza can make decisions only because she has Karenin by her side; as she has someone to talk to:

And having told herself all this, she pressed her face against Karenin's furry head and said, "Sorry Karenin. It looks as though you're going to have to move again.І

The passage shows Tereza as if she is guilty to Karenin that she will have to take him back, but it is also as if she confirms her decision by talking to him.

Szymborska, on the other hand, does not have a particular, constantly recurring animal in her poetry. However she does have a considerable amount of animals in her poems, varying from merely being part of nature to being worshipped as gods. Szymborska, in her poem of "The Monkey," specifically outlines how animal hatred or over obsession could be an aspect in human characteristics by being

Considered edible in China, he makes boiled

or roasted faces when laid upon a salver

Ironic as a gem set in sham gold

His brain is famous for its subtle flavor

Though it's no good for trickier endeavors

for instance, thinking up gunpowderÑ-

Here, humans are characterized as 'barbarians', almost animal-like. We notice the irony, while humans are known to be so close to animals, just as Tereza is to Karenin, or biologically, their treatment to animals is sometimes appalling as Szymborska shows in the "Monkey" poem. The poem runs through all sorts of humans of the centuries, outlining how the 'monkey' had been taken advantage of, another example is "In Europe they deprived him of his soul."

Humans are also characterized as over-obsessed species when dealing with some animals, such as the monkey which is

Worshiped in Egypt, Pleiades of fleas

spangling his sacred and silvery mane,

he'd sit and listen in archsilent peace:

What do you want? A life that never ends?

He'd turn his ruddy rump as if to say

Such life he neither bans nor recommends

We can see the monkey as a god now, a figure that even has power to give "life that never ends," such a contrast after the total mistreatment, above. We see how the animals determine human characteristics: either overly mistreating, or overly obsessed.

In the poem, Cat in an empty apartment, Szymborska again criticizes the uncaring characteristic of humans and the role of animals in the poem as a mere irritation or a vexation.

Die - you can't do that to a cat

Since what can a cat do

in an empty apartment?

Climb the walls?

Rub against the furniture? ...

From this we can perceive that animals in Szymborska's poems serve to prove that in their co-existence with