Behind the Urals
The United States that we live in makes it very hard for us to fathom what a struggling nation is like to live in. In the United States, we are socialized to believe that America is the most superior of all the countries and our prosperity will continue to grow. We are very fortunate to be born into a relatively high standard of living as a society, thus we cannot comprehend what it is like for countries trying to build societies from the bottom up. John Scott portrays this brilliantly in his book "Behind the Urals" as he examines individual people and their struggles as they worked in Magnitogorsk. These citizens worked in the most inhumane conditions, all with the intention to help their country develop under the new system of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union had just gone through an entire turn around in their political, social, and economic spheres as they went from one extreme to another. The old Czarist government was always out to serve the rich landowners, while treating the peasantry as second-class humans rather than equals. However, when the Russian Revolution came to a head, and the Red Communists or Bolsheviks defeated the White Czarists, Russia was left with an entirely new system of though
Valdek, a Pole who traveled to Magnitogorsk, was a welder who was dissatisfied with his life in his homeland. He, like many others, worked with enthusiasm and perseverance to help the birth of Communism and the Soviet Union. Poland was known for being very harsh on the working class, as it drove many Poles like Valdek to the Soviet Union. Valdek is a prime representative of the people who traveled to Magnitogorsk, not solely for the food or more money, but chiefly for a life that was easier on workers, and did not concentrate so much on the well being of the upper class. Valdek was much respected in Magnitogorsk and many of his fellow workers questioned the lack of a revolution in Poland. Valdek explained to them that if there were talk of a revolution, the revolutionaries would be immediately thrown in jail. Another interesting character was the peasant who traveled for two weeks on foot with his cow. His story exemplifies the struggles that were taking place in both Europe and Asia. He, like John Scott but for different reasons, left his home, the famine, and unemployment to set out for the Soviet Union where jobs and food could be attained. Unfortunately, the peasant found nothing more than he left back home. He managed to find some work but food was scarce and the living conditions were even worse than what he had left. His cow could provide him with little milk due to the lack of food for humans, let alone the animals. The reader can only imagine what the peasant left behind in his homeland, as it can be inferred that it was as bad as an area could be. In contrast to Scott, who left a somewhat run down United States, the peasant's living conditions in both Europe and then the Soviet Union. This is one more instance that we cannot comprehend because of the prosperous society we have grown accustomed to. The first worker we are introduced to in "Behind the Urals" is a man named Koyla, Scott's roommate at his arrival in Magnitogorsk. He was depicted as a young, strong man and a hard worker that had a huge responsibility for his age. There are not many 22-year-old men that hold the position of foreman and have power over a sizable group of men. He was a strong leader that had one agenda and that was for the prosperit
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1519
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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