My First Goose

My First Goose

    Isaac Babel’s short story “My First Goose” depicts the emotional
instability of the human being as the main character from his piece, a soldier
from a Russian regiment named “Luitove” is slowly and unconsciously
being possessed by the evil and bloodthirsty nature of war.
    The character of the narrator in Babel’s piece undergoes a transformation
which leads his thoughtful and sensible personality to emulate the violent  
cold-hearted Russian soldiers, the Cassacks. However Babel remarks in  
different instances the internal struggle that the narrator faces as Luitove  
demonstrates an act of violence, by taking the life away from an defenseless
goose, simply to earn respect among the Russian soldiers, action that
highlights the evidence of an inevitable change that Louitove is force to  
endure, yet not without suffering the consequences of intense torment and
guilt as he realizes that the cruel environment that surrounds him will either  
take him to become an assassin or a victim.                                                                                          
    Nevertheless is important to note that, even though the narrator is told by
sawistky (a respected military commander) that in order for him to fit in with
the soldiers he should “go mess up a lady… you’ll have the boys patting you
on the back.” Right away the frail narrator hesitates at the commander’s
statements indicating his rejection towards the suggestion to rape a woman.
These as well as the fact that Isaac Babel indicates that the narrator used
other’s men sword in the slaughter of the innocent goose brings out the idea
that although the narrator does go through with the killing he does not fully
under take the role of a soldier, but rather momentarily assumes the soldiers
persona in order to gain acceptance.    
  Babel emphasizes the killing of the goose by using it as a symbol that
relates to Loutove’s innocence,...