Background 

- In 1938 great britain and france conceded the german government to take over 
sudetenland in the munich agreement 
- During the 1960s Czechoslovakia faced slow economy; the government responding 
by cre 
- During the 1960’s Czechoslovakia faced a slow economy the government responded 
by creating reforms to help boost the economy 
- The czech government started to create new reforms in order to start 
de-stalinization. The soviet union was afraid of these changes before of the 
hungarian uprising of 1956 and decided to establish a more conservative a pro soviet 
government in prague. Invasion in 1968 
 
Political history 
 
The novel takes place in prague in late 1960s which was a place that got greatly affected by 
outcomes of ww2. Czechoslovakia was leaning politically towards communism so the 
concept began to spread throughout the nation 
 
Stalin was in rule in Russia through these times and czechoslovakia was under his control 
which caused the czechs to reform in order to get independence. Alexander dubcek was 
the leader of the reform known as prague springs, which kundera joins in order to seek 
freedom from stalinist rule 
 
1968 as dubeck got power russians invaded with an armed force in order to keep activists 
under control to persecute them. A lot of emigration towards the west occurs of so called 
dissident intellectuals who were reform activists. 
 
 
Kundera lived through these events and as a result wrote ​The Unbearable Lightness of 
Being. 
 
 
Soviet Invasion (warsaw Pact) 
 
The Warsaw Pact, was a surprise for the western world, since their reform and development 
was increasing. 
 
Prague was completely taken over and communism and transportation links were cut. The 
soviets struggled to get complete ahold of the government in the country  
 
With the invasion of the soviets there was a longer period of time from the separation of 
eastern european communism and no intervention from the west occurred The UN Security 
COuncil tried to persecute the actions of the Soviets but failed.  
 
In 1969 Dubcek was forced out of power, and once again there was censorship and no 
freedom in czechoslovakia had to join the Warsaw Pact, Again 
 
Prague Spring 
 
Alexander Dubcek was appointed first secretary of czechoslovakian communist party. 
During his time in office he tried to repress the soviet regime with another one he called 
“communism with a human face. After it became clear to moscow that dubcek was trying 
to be anti-soviet. They were impulsed by other stalinist and communist governments to 
attack and take control of the country again.  
 
NATO 
 
The soviet invasion caused for the detente plan between the us and the soviet union to be 
held back which made the tensions between the nations grow bigger.  
 
NATO allies believed in a peaceful pact and the tensions occurring between the two nations 
did not let that occur but the allies were scared to intervene. 
 
Brezhnev Doctrine 
It was a soviet policy in 1968 called the warsaw pact troops to intervene in any nation that 
intervened with the communist rule of the soviet  
 
-After the war the Soviet Union made sure that many if not all nations would do what they 
wanted them to do. A sort of Pact ro military alliance to counter Natio 
- the term was used by the media, and socially as opposed to the Soviet Union.  
 
It was very successful until Russia gave up and ended the Cold War. 
 
Long-Term Effects 
- The country’s economy suffered a downfall and eventually Czechoslovakia had to 
split into two countries in order to lower the costs of keeping the country together. 
- Both the Czech Republic and Slovakia had to face years of reconstruction because 
of the war 
- Slovakia has decreased its economy since it's not a popular destination today.  
- The soviet leaders justifies the use of force in prague under the Brezhnev Doctrine 
which stated that Moscow had the right to intervene to any country that had 
threatened the Soviet Government  
 - Moscow had the right to intervene to any country that had threatened the soviet 
government.  
 
Interactive Oral-Isa and Dani 
 
Lightness 
- You go into the moment knowing that the event will never occur, which makes it 
meaningless, since it will not happen again. 
- Something that only happens once thus having a lot of meaning Ephemeral. 
Unbearable because you can't sustain it- it will end in some point 
 
Kundera's Philosophy  
- He Believes opposite to nietzsche, that humans live a life that only occurs once  
- Events in life occur only once, since it is almost impossible to relieve the same 
moment again in one’s life.  
- Decisions don't matter because everyone's life is insignificant  
- If everyday actions were significant that would mean that humans would have 
something pulling them down everyday. 
- That is why he believes life is unbearable  
 
Weight 
- The Notion of eternally returning  
- Each event reoccurs therefore is a heavviness and pressure ongrowing  
- Trying to find meaning in the same event every time, puts weight, since it hurts. 
 
Nietzsche's Philosophy 
- Time and the universe are infinite. Therefore there are infinite moments and events 
that occur in a lifetime that can be arranged in different ways.  
- Nietzsche says that if Earth would go to equilibrium in order to balance things, it 
would have already done it. Therefore events will always be recurring like a loop  
- People will have to relive this life over and over again. 
- Life can be boring sad frustrating and it will recur until Earth Ends  
 
What connections did you find between issues in the work your own cultures and 
experience? 
 
Tomas 
- A man who is completely light and therefore follows the Philosophy of Kundera 
- He looks for something in woman, but never finds it, and every time it is a new 
experience for him, which is light because it only occurs once and leaves.   
- Womanizer and is trying to balance his love for his wife (weight) and his womanizing 
(light) He believes that sex and love are completely different things. 
 - Tries to separate his soul from his body  
- Tomas life is therefore unbearable and the goal is to find the balance between 
weight and lightness.  
Tereza  
- Tereza on the other hand is the example of Nietzsche philosophy since she is 
relieving the same life everyday  
- Since she was a young child she has been wanting to find the soul within the body . 
She sees them as a connection that complement each other.  
- As a child Tereza's mother made her feel very self conscious about her body and 
objectivized her 
- Her stepfather would harass her and this made her feel that she needed to find a 
connection to her soul.   
- She leaves her small town in order to go and find a new life but lives the same life 
that she live with her mother 
- A representation of this eternal return is that thomas does not love her and she 
keeps returning to him. Eternal Return 
 
Issues today culture and own experience  
- In today's culture and experiences lightness and weight are issues that are always 
being balance unconsciously bas on opinion 
- Society today, reaches for a successful life, and in order to be successful work and 
school are needed. 
- Eternal return every day wake up to got to school and relive the same type of 
life until grown up same routine wake up and work  
- Weight because there is nothing new occurring there is no real goal that will 
100% be accomplished  
 
- The social part of life is in a sense light  
- Parties and social life only occur once, since it is an event that happens out of the 
normal.   
- Meeting someone for the first time and feeling of satisfaction and emotional 
connection only occurs once and this light which makes it unbearable because the 
feeling felt once there will never occur again 
- The stereotypes that occur in life like trends that come out and everyone start to uy 
are light because the become so overused that they begin to have no meaning, this 
is Kitsch. 
- These two things are balance that personally occur in her society   
 
Prague  
- Extremely heavy place highlights Terezas personality; a weak country makes Tereza 
Stronger  
- Both Tomas and Tereza always find their way back in Prague. They “eternally return 
to Prague because they find their individuality there.  
 - TOmas always mentions how Tereza “came to him like a baby” and that the reason 
that he goes back to her because she needs him. They always find themselves in the 
place where their love story started  
- Prague is the only place where tereza finds something of her own: Photography. She 
believes that if she belongs to prague than she wont belong to Tomas.  
- Because of their return to Prague, Tomas and Tereza find their eventual demise.  
 
Geneva 
- Light place: Helps to compliment Tomas and Sabina and emphasize how their 
relationship is full of lightness  
- For tomas, geneva is a place where he can go discover sabina and disconnect 
himself from tereza’s weight 
- Franz is introduced shows contrast with Geneva since he is a heavy character (goes 
after Sabina again and again)   
- Sabina realizes that she is not happy and that she has to start fresh in order to 
continue being light.  
 
Zurich 
- A balance between lightness and weight: Zurich represents different things for 
Tomas and for Tereza  
- For Tomas Zurich feels like a light pace because he is free to visit Sabina and he has 
found new women to discover  
- for Tereza, Zurich represents weight because it emphasizes how her life has lost 
meaning to tomas: She follows Tomas and depends on him.  
- Zurich represents a change (transcendental) but also highlight how tereza is 
destined to find weight in her life.  
  
New York  
- Extremely light place: a turning point for Sabina’s life (she goes there to commit her 
ultimate betrayal   
- Sabina is the lightest character: she is always seeking something different and to 
transcend her mistakes( moving to a different place in order to find herself) 
- New York is where sabina deis and choses to cremate herself (light betrayal)   
- By going to NYC Sabina left her past life and everything/everyone was weighing her 
down.   
 
DEBATE ON LIGHTNESS AND WEIGHT AND WHICH ONE IS MORE PRESENT IN OUR 
SOCIETY NOW.