Book Analysis Essay on The Magic Lantern

Introduction

Timothy Garton's "The Magic Lantern: The Revolution of '89 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin, and Prague" was written during the 1989 revolutions that took place in Eastern Europe (Warsaw, Poland; Budapest, Hungary; Berlin, Germany; and Prague, Czechoslovakia). Timothy Ash gives a personal account of the political revolution that takes place and how the Eastern European countries are reacting. Ash provides a first-person point of view narration, thereby giving us a glance into the evils of communism. Communism here is taken to mean a social system where all economic and social activities are controlled by an autocratic state which is governed by a single ruling party (Hardt, 2010). The Magic Lantern is, therefore, an in-depth account of the undoing of the communist reign.

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The book begins with Timothy Ash giving his personal experience at the end of the Poland revolution. The events of the Eastern Europe revolutions begun in Poland and continued to Hungary, Budapest and the rest of the Eastern Europe countries. The author chronicles that the Poland revolution is brought about by Solidarity's (Polish labour union) victory ten years after its birth in Gdansk. This victory results in the peaceful abolishment of communism in Poland. Ash then takes the reader through the Hungarian and Budapest revolution in which the revolutionaries seem to mirror the Poland revolution. The author points out that the Hungarian revolution is fuelled by the dismantling of a section of its Iron Curtain resulting in the exodus of the East Germans through Hungary hence the destabilization of East Germany.

Following the success of the Hungarian revolution, Ash takes us to Berlin just as the great wall of Berlin is destroyed. This takes place on November 9, 1989, and continues up to November 1991. The destruction of the Berlin wall symbolizes that people in Berlin are free to go and do whatever they wanted, wherever they wanted. Shortly after, the author travels to Prague, where he gives a detailed account of the happenings in Prague as he is present at the Forum with the rioters. Ash's account of Prague becomes quite personal as he has befriended several people fighting against the communist rule. This leaves us to wonder whether or not Ash can remain objective on his reporting of the Prague revolution. There are always two sides to the story, but Ash's account and narration leave us to wonder about the views and opinions of the Pro-Communist supporters.

Timothy Ash then adds his views and addresses such questions as to why the revolution took place in 1989 and comments on the significance of the same. Ash also mentions that in as much as these countries have managed to stage successful revolutions against communism, it is merely the beginning of things and that they are bound to face hardships on their fight for democracy and a capitalist economy.

The author finally mentions that Eastern Europe is now not so different from Europe and that the journey to creating in Europe is well on the way. Ash's very detailed account of the 1989 revolution has made this book stand out and become quite popular. Without this very in-depth reporting, the occurrences of the 1989 uprising may only be known to the few that were involved and the information may by now be very distorted.

The major problem that exists with Ash's account is the fact that he writes in the first-person point of view. This eliminates room for a second opinion bearing in mind that he is human. In retrospect, Ash carries his views and beliefs on matters democracy and communism, which are probably one with those of the English government. In essence, Ash's personal views are bound to have some influence on his account of the 1989 communist revolution, thereby impacting his work as a journalist. If for instance, Ash had been a communist regime supporter, his accounts and narration of the revolution would have been those of the pro-communist supporters. The Magic Lantern is however seen to give a one-sided view of the 1989 revolution which makes Ash's narration incomplete and being only one-sided. We can also not ignore the fact that Ash was friends with some of the anti-communists. His accounts can be seen to emphasize these people's views, beliefs, thoughts, and opinions.

Despite these shortcomings of The Magic Lantern, Ash gives some insightful information on the revolutionaries, and his accounts show that he had some impact on them. Ash makes a note of an instance where he gave a speech on Democracy and a certain leader, Adam Mi Chick, led them there and gave him an audience.

In as much as Ash's opinion hold an element of truth in them and may go undisputed, he does not precisely give the reader space to develop their reasoning and judgment. This can be attributed to the one-sided reporting the occurrences of the revolution. He concludes the book with excellent insights as to the uprising of these revolutions. He points out that several factors fuelled the rise of the 1989 riots, the main one being the fact that the people were tired of the one-way mode of thinking. The people in these countries were often unable to hold their own opinions on matters of the state. They lacked the freedom to elect their leaders or hold opposing views. Hence the culture of acting in one way and thinking in another way. Ash compares the 1989 revolution to that of 1849.

The economy is one of the significant factors that led to the revolution. Ash makes note that the economy is under significant shambles due to the communist regime. Another contributing factor was Gorbachev, who is a ruler of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev introduces new policies which caused the government to lose its grip on Eastern Europe, thereby allowing revolutions to be carried out without the interference of the Soviet Union. We notice that the beginning of the revolution in Poland creates a boomerang effect on the other Eastern European Nations. With each rising revolution, it is imperative to note that the process was smoother and took less time. Hence Ash's comments to Vaclav Havel, "In Poland, it took ten years, in Hungary ten months, in East Germany ten weeks; perhaps in Czechoslovakia, it will take ten days!" (Ash, 98). It is quite apparent that these revolting countries were able to draw lessons from one another and create significant adjustments on the strategies used by each country. A combination of all these revolutions and the forces applied to abolish and eliminate the communist regime spell new dawn and lead to change for these countries and their people.

In essence, there is hope for democracy and freedom. Timothy Ash does not fail to mention that all these revolutions were peaceful and did not, therefore, lead to any wars or uprisings. The lack of involvement of the Soviet Union may have had a hand to play in this. The communists seem to concede to defeat seeing as there appears to be no future for them.

Communism seems to be at the end of its road owing to the fact the economy is itself failing and the majority of people and countries were against it. Communism seems to be bringing more negativity than positivity, and it set countries back politically, socially and economically. Hence, the revolutions of 1989 spelled an end to the communist regime in Eastern Europe.

Ash points out that what is remaining is for the Eastern Europe countries to rebuild what was destroyed by communism and establish democratic governments for the sole purpose of bringing about stability to their nations. Ash does not fail to mention that the process will be tough and that the people are likely to face a lot of hurdles on the way, but they will reap good fruits. With the revolution, the people and Eastern Europe countries seem to finally be able to escape from the dark that they languished in while the Western countries prospered.

Timothy Ash concludes by acknowledging the fact that these countries will experience changes with each passing day. This is very true because up until now, these countries have managed to remain democratic, giving light to the fact that Communism is yet to set up its roots again. These countries have managed to establish democracy all on their own, and they have done it peacefully and harmoniously.

Ash's accounts and narrations are a clear testament to the fact that with unity, countries can conquer and create major milestones for themselves. The Magic Lantern instils in the reader a sense of national pride and accomplishment and gives hope to nations that are still languishing in the effects of communism. This book teaches excellent lessons on communism and lauds the people's commitment to a peaceful fight for democracy. In the Magic Lantern, Timothy Ash bears witness to the significant historical events, and he offers an in-depth account of these events. We are therefore able to travel to and catch a glimpse of past events, that have shaped the future of many countries, through his eyes.

References

Ash, T. G. (2014). The magic lantern: the revolution of'89 witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin and Prague. Atlantic Books Ltd.

Hardt, M. (2010). The common in communism. Rethinking Marxism, 22(3), 346-356.