The Anonymous Newspaper Article Symbol Analysis

The anonymous newspaper article denouncing Sofia for defending Natasha symbolizes the tense and paranoid social climate of the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Nobody, it seems, is safe from scrutiny, as evidenced by the fact that Sofia attracts suspicion simply because she stood up for Natasha by saying that her friend made a typo when she typed “the Ret Army” instead of “the Red Army.” Her superiors insist that Natasha meant to type “Ret,” and that it’s a sign that she wants to undermine the Communist Party—an utterly ridiculous claim. And yet, nobody stands with Sofia when she suggests that Natasha made an innocent typo. To the contrary, an anonymous editorial appears shortly thereafter, and the unknown author insinuates that Sofia herself should be reprimanded and investigated for sympathizing with someone like Natasha. The fact that this article is anonymous is a perfect representation of how willing people are to turn on one another in the fraught political context of the Great Purge. By instilling a sense of paranoia in the country, the Soviet government essentially incentivizes people to turn against their fellow citizens, as if doing so is the only way to avoid suspicion oneself. The newspaper article thus comes to symbolize the disconcerting possibility that anyone could be betrayed by one of their peers at any moment.