In the second part of this essay expanding upon my reading of nineteenth century Russian authors, the short stories of Anton Chekhov, “The Lady with the White Dog” and the “Medical Case” will be compared. These two great authors’ whose stylistic qualities often create problems in interpretation for non-Russian speaking readers like me that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed.
Back in the days of the Odyssey and The Iliad, heroes were classified by their accomplishments. From Odysseus to Achilles, all of the men who were idolized as heroes were so idolized because of their world-altering deeds and conquests, unfathomable wealth, and achievements that would forever be remembered in history. But today, in a world pillaged by war, poverty, controversy, drugs, disease, and economic blunders, who truly deserves to be called a hero? No longer are there titans on the earth, bloodthirsty men with chain mail armor, lances and swords, leading enormous armies into battle. And yet, though circumstances have changed, people haven’t, and the need for heroes, for role models and beings of unfathomable perfection, has not dissipated from society even as the ancient hero has. In America today, the concept of a hero is much different. People in the ancient world were idolized because of inconceivable strength, wealth, or intelligence, however the people that modern Americans admire and model themselves after poses qualities such as selflessness, bravery, and determination that make them true role models.
Elie Wiesel, the author of Night, took the time to inform the world about his experiences as a prisoner of Auschwitz during the Holocaust in order for it to never happen again. Wiesel uses a language so unbearably painful yet so powerful to depict his on memories of the Holocaust in order to convey the horrors he managed to survive through. When the memoir begins, Elie Wiesel, a jewish teenager living in the town of Sighet, Transylvania is forced out of his home. Despite warnings from Moshe the Beadle about German prosecutions of Jews, Wiesel’s family and the other townspeople fail to flee the country before the German’s invade. As a result, the entire Jewish population is sent to concentration camps. There, in the Auschwitz death camp, Wiesel is separated from his mother and younger sister but remains with his father. As he struggles to survive against starvation, physical, emotional and spiritual abuse he also looses faith in God. As weeks and months pass, Wiesel battles a conflict between fighting to live for his father or letting him die, giving himself the best chance of survival. Over the course of the memoir, Wiesel’s father dies and he is left with a guilty conscience but a relieved heart because now he can just fend for himself and only himself. A few months later, the Allied soldiers free the lucky prisoners that are left. Although Wiesel survives the concentration camps, he leaves behind his own innocence and is forever haunted by the death and violence he had witnessed. Wiesel and the rest of the prisoners lived in fear every minute of every hour of every day and had to live in a place where there was not one single place that there was no danger of death. After reading Night and Wiesel’s acceptance speech of the Nobe...
Dostoevsky’s noteworthy literary works each contain similarities in theme, character development, and purpose when analyzed beyond face value. Dostoevsky’s early life and ideals, intertwined with life-changing events that shifted his ideologies, and critiques of fellow Russian writers during his time period lay the groundwork for Dostoevsky’s recurring arguments for the way which Russian society would be best-off, as well as ways in which the people of Russia would be suited to live the most fulfilling, non-corrupt lives.
Dostoevesky, Fyodor Mikhailovich. The Brothers Karamazov. The Constance Garnett Translation revised by Ralph E. Matlaw. New York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc., 1976
Nietzsche’s philosophy relied on the idea of the growth of the individual. He rejoiced the divinity of humanity rather than one of a higher power. He is most famous for his statement “God is dead,” which rejects Christianity and forces humanity to find purpose within itself. His concept of the Übermensch, a super-human or superman, is the finest execution of this belief, presented in his novel Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
During Russia’s transition to communism in the early 20th century, conflict and unease permeated every part of life. Nothing was stable and very little of what the Bolsheviks had fought for had come to fruition by the time the USSR disbanded in 1991. The “classless society”, which was to work together for the prosperity of everyone, never became a reality. In the end, the majority of Russia’s 20th century was an utter failure on a grand scale. However, there were many amazing products of the system do to the great importance of education in Russian culture. Priceless novels were written, timeless movies were made, and great scientific endeavors were realized despite the rigid control placed upon Russian persons by the government. In fact, some of the most memorable written works of the time were written protests to the creativity-stifling situation many writers found themselves in. Because of the danger to their lives should the wrong people be upset by their writings, Yevgeny Zamyatin and Mikhail Bulgakov wrote their most popular, Soviet-life condemning novels under the guise of satire. Even though they’re satirizing the same subject, in both We and The Master and Margarita respectively, they take very different paths to do so.
The aristocratic women or rather the “mothers” enjoy the benefits of wealth and high society and use their perspective abilities to influence men. These women portray three very different kinds of female roles. Arina Barzarova the selfless caretaker, Evdoksya Kukshina the independent feminist, and Anna Odintsova who is both guardian and liberal, but all maintain emotional, social, and romantic control over the men in their lives. Arina Vlasevna Bazarova, the overly emotional mother of Enyushka Bazarova, is an intensely superstitious woman who “believed in all manner of omens, soothsayings, incantations, and pr...
On the contrary, the ultimate purpose embedded in Christian morality consists in the blind faith in truth. The will to the belief in an unconditional and the overvaluation of truth both lead to an age of cynicism where people become more skeptical about the value of illusion as opposed to the Greeks. Nietzsche also emphasizes in his texts that people need to emancipate themselves from the Christian moral tradition to project onto the world certain values of their own making that give rise to a new mythology. In conclusion, the passive acceptance of the Jude-Christian worldview destroys the motivating force behind all human actions, thereby devouring life of myth and beauty.
...the horrific incident of his murder to his dearest Porphyria. Finally, the employment of the clever use of irony serves in proving the persona’s inner madness, as what he thinks and does is contrary to what Porphyria has done earlier prior to her death. Though the persona’s execution of his late lover was done to keep his everlasting moment of intimacy with her, the act was still malevolent and evil, and was a poor and foolish attempt in displaying his own affection for his love. In the end, it greatly epitomized his greediness over keeping Porphyria to himself, and his cruelty by taking away her life for his own benefit.
A romantic is someone who neglects societal norms and has a higher intellect and purpose. He possesses qualities like selflessness, that put him above the rest, and has an elevated sense of natural beauty, leading an atypical life driven by emotion and self-criticism. In the introduction of the novel, Maksim Maksimovich describes Pechorin to the readers and the traveler, “ He was so very elegant, his complexion so nice and white, his uniform so brand new, …” (Lermontov 16) thereby highlighting his “handsomeness”, a characteristic that gains Pechorin attention and makes him appealing to other characters in the book. Pechorin also develops a bitter outlook on life, as a result of its monotony. Despite being surrounded by the constant activity of the military in the present, it is ironic that he is unable to seek some challenge or thrill. His cynicism towards life is heightened when he complains to Maksim “My soul has been spoiled by the world, my imagination is unquiet, my heart insatiate”(Lermontov 70) demonstrating how his imagination led him astray giving him hope for adventure in his life, but he feels dissatisfied because his desires were futile . Additionally, he has an intense desire to travel perpetually, as shown by “My life grows emptier day by day. One expedient only is left to me-travel.”(Lermontov 71). Furthermore, Pechorin makes exaggerated claims of misery and boredom, and
First, Dostoevsky gives the reader the character, Raskolnokov. He is the main character, whom Fyodor uses to show two sides of people their admirable side and their disgusting side. He loves Raskolnokov, which is why Fyodor uses Raskolnokov’s point of view throughout the whole novel. Personally, Fyodor dislikes some of his qualities but understands that all people are plagued with some bad traits, and that Raskolnokv is trying to make emends for some of his wrong doings, i.e. the murder of the pawnbroker and her sister. He knows that what he did was wrong and is willing to suffer for his crime, and he does throughout the whole book with his constant depression. Dostoesky believes in punishment for your crimes, this is why he shows Raskolnokov suffering through most of the novel, to show his great love for penance. Dostoevsky likes the kind giving nature of people; this is why he portrays the main character as a kind, gentle, and giving, person. Often, Raskolnokov thinks only of others benefits such as when he helped Katerina by giving her all his money for Marmelodov, as well as his caring about what happens to his sister with her marriage to Luzhin. Raskolnokov hates Luzhin’s arrogant and pompous attitude, which reflects Dostoevsky’s animosity of the same qualities in people in the real world.
Hansen, Bruce. “Dostoevsky’s Theodicy.” Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 1996. At . accessed 18 November 2001.
5) Oliva, L. Jay. Russia and the West: From Peter to Khrushchev. Boston: D.C. Heath and Company, 1965.
Night is a true story of a young boy, Eliezer, experiencing world war II as a jew. his terrible journey started in Sighet, Romania where he gets separated from all the women in his family, leaving him only with his dad. with him he will survive to all the concentration camps he was sent to like Auschwitz, Buna and Buchenwald still continuing to fight for the lived through cold, hunger, sadness and sickness. at the end of the war only he survives as his dad dies from exhaustion only a couple of days before the end of the war. Throughout his journey, Eliezer grows to being a man haunted by the death and trauma he witnessed.