Means of the comic as a way of representing ideology in I. Bahrianyi`s novel “The Garden of Gethsemane”

The article engages in an attempt to survey I. Bahrianyi`s novel “The Garden of Gethsemane” on the subject of comic elements. The novel is perceived as a realistic depiction of inhumane Soviet reality, so the question of how risorial culture is blended seamlessly with the text is relevant. The aim of the article is to find out the nature of the comic as an aesthetic category, in particular its varieties: irony, sarcasm, grotesque, and to analyze how the comic functions in the novel, what forms it takes, what functions performs. The descriptive method was used during the work. In I. Bahrianyi`s novel the most frequent manifestation of the comic is irony, which is used on different levels: in journalistic excursus, in depicting the interior, exterior, and most of all – in the dialogues between characters. Humor is also an inalienable part of prisoners’ lives. As a result of processing the material, we came to the following conclusions: the theme of I. Bahrianyi`s novel “The Garden of Gethsemane” envisages a profound pathos, but the comic elements are harmoniously woven into the fabric of the text. With the help of irony and sarcasm the author supports the anti-Soviet ideology and exposes the drawbacks of the Soviet system. The discrepancy between reality and the image, created employing irony draws attention to the issue, foregrounds it. In the dialogues between the two antagonists: the investigator and the prisoner – the irony serves as a means of characterizing the depicted world and the nature of the relationship between them, outlining the author's attitude to what is being said. Irony reduces the significance of Soviet reality as if depriving it of power because it recategorizes everything: now the absurd reality inspires not terror, but disdain. This way of reacting in a borderline situation protects the psyche of prisoners from feelings of doom and persecution. For prisoners irony and humor are one of the available ways of escapism, as well as the ability to preserve the integrity of one's self.