When I read “The Story of How One Russian Peasant Fed Two Generals,” the only thing I could think of is Bong Joon-ho’s triumphant tragicomedy “Parasite.” Although these two pieces are infinitely separated in origin they both employ fairy-tale element and satire to make a commentary on the parasitic nature of the upper class. While “Parasite” begs the question of which class (wealthy or poor) is the most parasitic in its narrative, the Russian short story makes it distinctly obvious that the rich generals are the parasitic creatures. The peasant’s pseudonym of “lazybones” is extremely ironic as the generals are the people who are lazy and unable to be self sufficient while the peasant is their ultimate savior. I also found the focus on food as another striking similarity between these two works. The poor family in “Parasite” is only seen to buy food and liquor with their newfound wealth, while the short story spends most of its run time focusing on the pursuit of food and the generals’ hunger. I wonder why is food is a central focus in the parasitic creatures in these works. The scene where the generals almost resort to cannibalism is the most striking out of all the hunger scenes. Food is possibly used as a symbol of unrelenting hunger (or want) of parasitic creatures. Almost an idea that they need to be constantly satisfied and won’t conform to any other way. Overall, I think these two works both show the issues with the socio-economic systems in both scenarios, but also shows how higher class needs there to be a lower class to survive.
The Russian “Parasite”
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