This thesis examines how the devil is depcicted and characterized in Nikolai Gogol's Dead Souls, Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, and Revelation 12-13. By exploring their respective historical situations, I connect how all three depictions are linked to satire; however, I reflect upon the differences between the literary and religious, most notably the grotesque physical portrayals and allusory nature of Revelation. The three texts are given their own sections, each divided into three parts: historical situation, textual analysis, and literary commentary. From this analysis, it is shown that the devil carries with them a history of sins within great societies and within individual humans. It is through understanding the literary devil that the power of these sins can be understood, and by studying the literature, there is hope that we can recognize and be ready for when the devil returns to society.

Mikhail Afanasievich Bulgakov was a Russian novelist and playwright active in the first half of the twentieth century. The work of this author is unforgettable for the modern Russian literary art of the fist half of the twentieth century. Known by writings with very strong plots and engaging storyline, he did not fear confrontation or conflicts within individual works. His dialogs are masterfully constructed and his feel for humorous vision of life and description of the world is regarded as unreachable. A fascinating and almost unbelievably inspiring Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita has become the model for this diploma thesis. Due to its multi-layering, broad topical range, two intersecting storylines and the content, the thesis has been named The Novel "Universe". It contains everything that makes life life: love, death, betrayal, courage and cowardice, generosity and envy… Bulgakov's success received thanks to this work is rooted in the masterful connection of the two parallel stories (ongoing in Moscow in 1930 and in Jerusalem at the beginning of our era), in fantasticality and in the view of the contemporary social situation, which are depicted in the novel, and lastly in the description of the human characters constancy. Due to these arguments, the thesis focuses on the following...