In Fathers and Children, Ivan Turgenev shows the changing climate of society and his view of the societal shift from Pre-modernism to Modernism. Through the devolvement of Turgenev’s characters, we see Turgenev’s interpretation and feelings towards the push away from Pre-modernism towards Modernism, with the influence of Nihilism. Turgenev’s Characters show us that neither whole heartedly fallowing the old ways of Pre-Modernism nor swinging blindly into Modernism will a man be fully completed. He validates equality movement of Modernism, along with its willingness to reshape society, and the classical values of romanticism complete and bring a man to balance. Ivan Turgenev believes that if one completely fallows Pre-modernism, and the romanticism …show more content…
Nikolia, towards the beginning of the book, recently freed his serfs and made them into more of a working class. Nikolia, to a minute degree, starts to view his serfs turned employees as equal men and not slaves. The two areas of pre-modernism that holds Nikolia back revolve around his view of the past and his view of his mistress, Fenichka. Turgenev paints Nikolia as a daydream who holds too much to the romanticism of the past. As Nikolia reminisces about his wife, who died many years back, he states “Where had it all gone? She became his wife; he was as happy as few people on earth ever are…’But,’ he thought ‘those first sweet moments, why can’t a person live an eternal, immortal life in them? (Turgenev pg. 46)” Nikolia holds to the romanticism of Pre-modernism manifests itself through his failure to recognize what is around him, and so Nikolia neglects his duties as a father, husband, and lord or boss. Turgenev shows the progress towards the end of book and Nikolia’s shift into a more modernist viewpoint, when Nikolia better communicates with his son, marries his mistress, and works toward restoring the farm and assisting his workers. Nikolia does not completely abandon Pre-modernism, because Turgenev believes that the Romanticism of Pre-modernism and equality of Modernism work …show more content…
Bazarov personality constantly clashes with many in the book, Bazarov describes himself as a Nihilist or “a person who doesn’t bow down before authorities, doesn’t accept even one principle on faith, no matter how much respect surrounds that principle. (Turgenev pg.19)” Bazarov seeks to destroy the foundations of society, but a problem Turgenev with this idealogoy is that it replaces the destruction with nothing. Pre-modernism at least possess purpose, whereas Modernism replaces it with nothing. Bazarov constantly ridicules and neglects the past, and he also looks down upon those who still hold to the past. Bazarov wants society to change but does not have anything to change society into; just as he want his life to change, he has nothing to change his life to. Brozarov challenges those who fallow the old order, as he despises art, literature, music, and even allegiance to one's country because none of these things have any significance to him. Modernism looked to upset the current political and, from Ivan Turgenev’s perspective, did not have any viable replacement for it. Through Brozarov, Ivan Turgenev expresses his viewpoint that Modernism without some Pre-modern values only leads to destruction. Brazorov ends up dying by his own hand, through his carelessness of anything leading to an outcome befitting of his
Tolstoy transports the reader through these examples of sociological thought with the suffering of his hero. Ivan likely mirrors the thoughts that Tolstoy has in reference to his own life, shunning institutions of society, education and religion. It is in these examples of conformity that the reader sees err, and the justification of that err not to return to a life of perpetual discontentment and conformity, but to move ahead through the pain that Ivan experiences to learn a lesson of accepting freedom, not only on the terms of the freedom itself, but in the burden with which freedom presents itself.
...ndividual and the community, as in his system the individual could choose whether or not he or she would want to be a part of the community. While his tactics were active and occasionally violent, it is hard to neglect the fact that he fought for equality and liberty. Those two ideas were a split from the system at the time, as many people weren’t equal, nor did they have liberty. Modernism covers a broad scope, but it could be boiled down to a shift from the old to the new, which Bakunin helped usher in.
Therefore, it is apparent that the dystopian paradigm presented by Nabokov challenges the preconceived concepts of the future through exaggerations of conformity, forced abolishment of knowledge, and an individual’s metaphysical reality, thus highlighting that the future is contingent on the present to a significant
In the Tolstoys story “The Death of Ivan Ilyich,” he scrutinizes the life of Ivan Ilyich, a gentleman whose life has become an entanglement of loneliness and utter hatred towards his life. Tolstoy never fails to pinpoint the discomfort Ivan has in his own marriage and the constant pressure he feels from society. Ivan’s life is in shambles by the time he is about to die, but accepts it because he feels his life has no purpose and is only to torture others. Tolstoy examines the theme of meaninglessness in Ivan Ilyich’s life, and the reason why Ivan is discontent with the way he lives by paying close attention to Ivan’s social interactions and pressure to live up to society’s expectations.
Fathers and Children, a very intelligent novel written by Ivan Turgenev, presents the conflicts between the generations. Generation gap is common in our daily life, for different growing up environment generates distinctive cognitions. However, when Turgenev adds in the specific social background of the times, when old romantic idealists meet with a young nihilist, the conflict sublimates and becomes more intense. Among all of the characters in the story, Bazarov is absolutely the one who is the most attractive and the most controversial. Both as the nihilists, it is easy for people to link Bazarov with Pechorin, who is the main character in Lermontov’s The Hero of Our Time. Though both of them are
In life, there are few events such as love and death that serve as a transforming experience and makes an individual realize that he has not lived the way he should have. In the following essay, I will examine how love and death serve as the major themes in “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, “The Lady with the Little Dog” and “Shampoo”, by transforming the world views of the main characters. By examining the life and death of Ivan Ilyich, the love story between Gurov and Anna, and the story of George, a hairstylist who uses his charm and occupation to seduce beautiful women, I will analyse whether people are truly capable of change after going through life changing experiences such as the approach of death and the idea of love.
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is a world recognized master of the short story. He was able to raise many social issues and to send powerful messages that need deep reflection in relatively small texts. Almost all Chekhov’s works, both short stories and later plays, are devoted towards the fight against philistinism, narrow-mindedness, and intellectual poverty of people. Chekhov in his works also touched the subject of degradation of the human soul. Particularly, an author addresses this problem in a story “Ionych”. In this story, Chekhov acquaints his readers with Dmitry Ionych Startsev and shows his transformation from a young, talented and intelligent doctor of a small county town of S. to a flabby, greedy and miserable Ionych. By using an example of Startsev, Chekhov in “Ionych” revealed how the social environment, lack of real feelings, and a person’s own failure to resist the vulgarity and philistinism may cause degradation of the human soul.
Leo Tolstoy’s masterful novella, The Death of Ivan Ilych addresses the formation and continuation of cultural norms on a superficial society, propelled by wide-spread acceptance of unjust, unfulfilling means to happiness. The piece follows the life, and death, of Ivan Ilych, a dreadfully mundane man in a overbearing society, disillusioned by severe sickness and left alone to deal with the consequences of such discoveries. Tolstoy’s work successfully integrates the life of a judge as the means by which he is able to reflect the disastrous and unenlightened concepts propelled by both Russian Society and modern civilization. This harrowing texts brings forth a depressing and complex tale to a newfound audience through simplistic and metaphorical
Turgenov’s Fathers and Sons has several characters who hold strong views of the world. Pavel believes that Russia needs structure from such things as institution, religion, and class hierarchy. Madame Odintsov views the world as simple so long as she keeps it systematic and free from interference. This essay will focus on perhaps the most interesting and complex character in Fathers and Sons: Bazarov. Vladimir Nabakov writes that "Turgenov takes his creature [B] out of a self-imposed pattern and places him in the the normal world of chance." By examining Bazarov this essay will make this statement more clear to the reader. Using nihilism as a starting point we shall look at Bazarov’s views and interpretations of science, government and institution. Next we will turn to the issue relationships. Finally we examine Bazarov’s death and the stunning truths it reveals. These issues combined with the theme of nihilism will prove that chance, or fate is a strong force which cannot easily be negated. Nihilism as a concept is used throughout Fathers and Sons. To gain a better understanding of the ideas behind this term let’s look at what Bazarov says on the subject. "We base our conduct on what we recognize as useful... the most useful thing we can do is to repudiate – and so we repudiate" (123). The base concept of nihilism is to deny or negate, and as we learn later in the same paragraph, to negate everything. With this ‘destruction’ of everything from science to art there is no building for nihilists, as Bazarov says "That is not our affair" (126). Nihilists view the current structure of society as concerned with such trivialties as ‘art’ and ‘parliamentism’ while ignoring real life issues such as food, freedom, and equally. Nihilists are aware of these social woes and hence mentally deny to recognize any of the present authority or institutions which only serve to perpetuate a myth. Bazarov agrees with the statement that nihilism "confine[s] [oneself] to abuse" (126). "... I don’t believe in anything: and what is science—science in the abstract? There are sciences as there are trades and professions, but abstract science just doesn’t exist" (98). For Bazarov anything that is not tangible and concrete doesn’t exist. Psychology, quantum mechanics, neurochemistry would be scoffed at by Bazarov. It seems peculiar that Bazarov would say, "... nowadays we laugh at medicine in general, and worship no one," (197) while at the same time he pursues a career as a doctor.
In the short story “The Lady with the Pet Dog”, Anton Chekhov demonstrated a great ability in mood shift and presenting some of the most dynamic characters. One could argue both of the main characters undergo metamorphosis, but it seems clear that the male character undergoes the most radical transformation. In fact, Charles Stanion argues “One of the story's most impressive aspects is Dmitry Gurov's gradual metamorphosis” (402). Throughout the story, the reader witnesses the transformation of Gurov from treating Anna as a mere conquest to developing a true love for her. Chekhov’s short story is one characterized by many details that support this transformation. In this essay, I will prove how Gurov’s radical change parallels the complexity and precariousness human
.That Tolstoy, owing to these contradictions, could not possibly understand either the working-class movement and its role in the struggle for socialism, or the Russian revolution, goes without saying. But the contradictions in Tolstoy’s views and doctrines are not accidental; they express the contradictory conditions of Russian life in the last third of the nineteenth century. The patriarchal countryside, only recently emancipated from serfdom, was literally given over to the capitalist and the tax-collector to be fleeced and plundered. The ancient foundations of peasant economy and peasant life, foundations that had really held for centuries, were broken up for scrap with extraordinary rapidity. And the contradictions in Tolstoy’s views must
It is the human condition to question the nature of our existence: philosophers, musicians, artists, and writers have all sought to address these issues. However, sometimes the patterns and events of our lives do not reveal their meaning to us, they are imperceptible us and appear as fate. In Lermontov’s classic novel, though some would argue it does not fit the definition of a novel, A Hero of Our Time, the author discusses the concept of fate from the perspective of the protagonist, Pechorin. The quintessential Byronic Hero and superfluous man, Pechorin, is a self-questioning, obsessive, narcissist, and exists between idealism and cynicism. He possesses talent, ambition, intelligence and charisma; however Russian Society, of his generation, offers no opportunity for him to put his idealism into practice. Pechorin laments this fact, stating, “I was ready to love the whole world, but no one understood me, so I learned to hate.” Pechorin is a product of the society in which he lives and his character is influenced by the values of that society, and in turn, his view on fate. Lermontov’s concept of fate is outlined through a series of vignettes. They are not connected sequentially, yet, they provide the readers with several perspectives on the protagonist, Pechorin. The protagonist’s characteristics parallel the author’s concept of fate.
...Russian society and social norms. The greatest reminder of this is found in the fact that Lopahkin, the man who Ranevsky once spoke to condescendingly, is now the family’s last hope for survival. Ironically enough, Lopahkin is often glancing at his watch, a reminder that time is changing, and a message that he, himself, is a testament to.
It is important to keep in mind that Turgenev was an outsider belonging to the Romanticism age, he was not a nihilist. He was attempting to capture their value, their philosophy, and to depict who they are. The hero of the novel, Bazarov was the son of a poor doctor, he worked and put himself through school, he did not steal from others, and he never asked anyone including his parents for charity. Bazarov emerged from his life experience and his education, a strong man of intellect and an empiricist. Being an empiricist, he believed that all knowledge originated from sense experience, thus he “acknowledge[d] only what can be examined with one of the five senses.” He called human feelings Romanticism. According to Bosorav, principles were unnecessary, authority and morals are nonsense. He said, “A nihilist is a man who doesn’t acknowledge any authorities, who doesn’t accept a single principle on faith no matter how much that principle may be surrounded by respect.” The concept of love for a woman and the beauty of art, music, and nature was utterly nonsense. Bazarov repeatedly reminded the reader that he does not have a belief system, but in actuality he did. Pisarev calls it calculation, but I call it survival. The latter is very informal, but in a nut shell that is what it was. Bazarov took medicine when he was sick
... of Lebeziatnikov. Lebeziatnikov’s socialist and nihilistic ideals represent exactly what Dostoevsky rejected and the portrayal of his idiotic character is utilized to negate the western ideals of Marxism and nihilism.