Writer Mikhael Sholokhov, a member of the Communist Party who accepted the Nobel Prize, and writer Sartre, who refused it!

 

Tamil writer Sugan had shared the following statement by writer Ambai on Facebook:

“In 1964, Jean-Paul Sartre refused the Nobel Prize for Literature because he believed that accepting it would turn him into an institution and would limit his ability to act independently as a writer and intellectual. He had always refused official distinctions and said he did not want to be ‘institutionalized.’ Furthermore, he expressed concern that the Nobel Prize was mostly awarded only to ‘Western writers or rebels from the East,’ and he did not want to be seen as someone who fit that mold.” – (Ambai)

As far as I'm concerned, Sartre refused the prize — that was his right. But using that instance to generalize the issue is not acceptable. Just because one person refused, it doesn't mean everyone else did too. Those who accepted it should also be acknowledged.

The famous Russian writer Mikhael Sholokhov also received the Nobel Prize. His works had earlier earned him the Stalin Prize and the Lenin Prize. In 1965, he was awarded the Nobel Prize. He was also a member of the Soviet Communist Party. Sartre refused the prize in 1964. Sholokhov accepted it in 1965. That doesn’t lessen my respect for Sholokhov.

It is not right to generalize Sartre’s refusal as the only correct stance. For him, it was right. But that doesn’t make Sholokhov’s acceptance wrong either. Ambai expresses concern that "the Nobel Prize is mostly awarded to Western writers or rebels from the East." But this post is meant to point out that the prize has also been awarded not just to rebels from the East, but to supporters as well.