Kazohinia - Plot Introduction

Plot Introduction

As in the Gulliverian prototype, the premise is a shipwreck with a solitary survivor, who finds himself in an unknown land, namely that of the Hins, which contains a minority group, namely the Behins. Accordingly, this work by a Hungarian writer relates not so much to Swift's work, but more precisely to Brave New World by the British writer Aldous Huxley. As in that work, there coexist two dissimilar societies - of course separately -, one developed and the other backward.

The Hins are a people who have solved all economic problems: Production and usage of goods is based on need instead of money, and the standard of living is impeccable. The Hins live without any kind of government or administrative body, as their belief is that such would only hinder production. They lead their lives according to the "pure reality of existence," which they call kazo. They experience no emotions, love, beauty or spiritual life.

There are two different main interpretations of the author's intentions:

• Although the theme can be seen as a criticism of developed society, where highly progressive invention goes hand in hand with the loss of human feelings, Dezső Keresztury, the writer of the epilogue of the Hungarian edition stated that this is not what Szathmáry intended - he created the Hins as the ideal society that occupies itself with the "real" stuff of life instead of "unreal" phantasmagories such as nations, religion, and money, that, regardless of intentions, cause people considerable misery.

• Another interpretation is that the author satires both human society and communist utopias – which, in his assessment, lead equally to such disastrous consequences as massacres.

The protagonist, bored with the inhuman life of the Hins, chooses to live among the insane Behins, who reportedly conform better to his outlook on life. He hopes that in the Behins, living in a walled-off area, he will meet humans with human feelings, similar to himself.

The Behins, however have a totally insane society, where living conditions are supported by the ruling Hins while they themselves are preoccupied with what to the protagonist seem to be senseless ceremonies and all too frequent violent brawls. The Behins deliberately arrange their lives in such a way as to turn reality and logic on their heads, while among the Hins everything is arranged according to reality. While living among them, the protagonist suffers hunger, extreme misery, and even danger of death. This part of the novel is in fact satire, with each insanity of the Behins translating to facets of the Western, Christian society of the protagonist such as war, religion, etiquette, art, and philosophy.

To further emphasize the satire, the protagonist doesn't see the obvious parallels between his homeland and the Behin world, but the writer outlines it by giving the same sentences into the mouths of a Behin leader and a British admiral, replacing only the Behin words on ideals and religion with their English counterparts. The Behins are indeed "real" humans, but as their symbols and customs differ from his own, the protagonist sees them as mere savage madmen.