In Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita, many types of sin and corruption are illustrated in both Moscow and Yershalaim: people are rude and abrupt towards others without reason, accept bribery, act and speak hypocritically, spy on and betray others, etc. In Moscow, every person who commits these sins is punished by Woland, the arbiter of punishment. Attention to the sin of cowardice in particular and its consequences makes it possible to assert that Bulgakov considers cowardice the worst of vices. Cowardice is certainly the worst sin committed by the characters in Bulgakov's novel; However, it is only through cowardice at the expense of others that Bulgakov judges and punishes most severely, and committing this sin does not mean that one cannot obtain absolution. It is therefore difficult to consider it as an “ultimate” sin. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay Two very important characters are presented in The Master and Margarita as the antitheses of the cowardice that reigns in Moscow and Yershalaim: Margarita and Yeshua. When looking at the cowardice of the other characters, it is important to first examine Margarita and Yeshua; they provide models of good behavior against which Bulgakov measures cowardly characters. In the Moscow part of the story, Margarita is an example of total bravery in the face of extreme odds. If cowardice is tolerating an evil system out of fear for one's personal well-being, then Margarita defies it at every turn. Although she is married to a very important man (who is also kind, honest and handsome), has an entire floor of a house to herself, her own garden, lots of money and she never needs to work, she turns away from all this freely. (Bulgakov 187) She is of royal blood (Bulgakov 215), and this kind of behavior is what gives her this distinction: other people, wanting to maintain their status and get more for themselves, lie and betray for things desirable that Marguerite willingly accepts. abandoned. She refuses to conform to the system that says she should be happy with her position in life and instead abandons that position to get what her heart desires. She stops at nothing in her pursuit of this desire, not even Satan's ball, becoming a witch, bloodbaths or following the devil. She is merciful to Frieda (Boulgakov 241) and devoted to the Master, for whom she offers (and essentially does) to sell her soul. (Bulgakov 190) His counterpart in bravery in Yershalaim is Yeshua. Perhaps even more than Margarita, he is the antithesis of cowardice. He saw his last minutes crucified on a stake where he was blistered by the sun, tortured by flies and in immense pain - and more importantly, he risked this situation because of his own beliefs, by submitting to the torture of crucifixion. willingly. (Bulgakov 150) He refuses to adhere to what society demands of him; even when Pilate gives Yeshua a chance to lie about what he said about Caesar, Yeshua refuses and admits what he did. (Bulgakov 22) Importantly, the power that sustains him throughout all of this is never even postulated as divine. In the chapters in which Yeshua is interrogated and tortured, there are no miracles, no triumphal entries into Yershalaim, no disciples (a single scruffy tax collector), and no mention of the resurrection. Bulgakov takes Yeshua's level of bravery to a level that all men and women should be able to achieve. He is brave without the benefit of divinity or crowds and defends hisunwavering sense of truth with only his own strength of mind to support him. There are three characters or types of people who can be compared to Margarita and Yeshua, Moscow and Yershalaim. : the critics and members of Massolit, Pilate and the Master. The critics, and members of Massolit like Berlioz, are examples of the kind of cowardice that Bulgakov condemns: out of fear of losing their position and way of life, and out of fear of being condemned, these people believe one thing but spout the other, to the detriment of those around them. Latunsky and the critics who condemn the Master and ruin his life secretly admire what he wrote; the editor is clearly impressed with the Master, wondering why no one has ever heard of him and where he came from, but says the novel cannot be published. (Bulgakov 119) Critics don't say what they want to say – that the Master's novel was good – because they are afraid of the consequences. (Boulgakov 121) Other guys, like Berlioz, say things they don't believe: Berlioz puts forward arguments that are inexcusably ignorant for a man of his education, but he does it because he has to follow the party line. (Bulgakov 223) What Bulgakov thinks of the cowardice of these characters is clear when he compares their revelry to Gribodeev at Satan's Ball. The celebrations are eerily similar: at midnight, the band turns on and plays loudly and dissonantly, people dance wildly and with abandon, someone shouts "Hallelujah." (Bulgakov 49-50, 224-5) Even the quote: “O gods, my gods, poison, give me poison” recalls the most cowardly character of all, Pilate. (Bulgakov 50) The people at Satan's ball are criminals and evildoers, and the members from Massolit to Gribodeev are compared to them. They own material goods because they have capitulated and decided to live within the confines of a system that demands the sacrifice of conscious and moral truth; they choose to live, because of their fear and cowardice, a life of petty interests, materialism, greed, envy, betrayal, competition and corruption. Massolit has his parallel in Yershalaim with Pilate, although his cowardice is even more extreme, judging by his punishment. He embodies perhaps the most dangerous type of cowardice: one who aspires to good but betrays it by failing to oppose evil. Just as divinity is absent from Yeshua, so that his goodness is more pronounced, so any influence such as Woland's is absent from Pilate's questioning and condemnation of Yeshua. Although Woland claims he was there, the reader never sees or hears his presence; thus, Pilate's betrayal is the result of his own choices. (Bulgakov 34) The prosecutor comes face to face with Yeshua, depriving him of any justification for his actions. Pilate has sympathy and compassion; he doesn't want to destroy Yeshua for nothing and is actually willing to save Yeshua and hide him in his home. (Bulgakov 21) But this sympathy is of no use. Pilate wants, more than helping Yeshua, to maintain his position and not irritate those in power. He fears Caesar's power, making sure to speak loudly about Caesar's greatness and refusing to release Yeshua once he learns that Yeshua disrespected Caesar. (Bulgakov 22-3) He is extremely afraid of informants and of losing his career and position in life. (Bulgakov 24) He makes one last weak attempt to help Yeshua, but gives in to Kaifa and, knowing the terrible crime he is committing against his conscience and his sense of truth, consents to Yeshua's execution. (Bulgakov 28) His cowardice forces him to spit in the face of his own knowledge of good and evil, and he becomes nothing more than a tool in the service of evil will. His terrible sin can.