Leo Tolstoy may have not been always agreeable in the eyes of others, but even enlightened, wholesome characters who challenged the static injustice of the world were either met with resentment or death. Tolstoy had certainly earned the resentment from the radicalism of his religious ideals and his insistence on the reform of Russian hierarchy. While others resented his ideas, others regarded him a brave genius who wrote beautiful works to stand against what is wrong and fight for a world of right. The Tolstoy name was that of a noble family dating back to the 14th century that was prominent from the time of Peter I. Both Leo Tolstoy’s grandfather and his father, Count Nikolay Ilyich Tolstoy, has a gambling problem that hit a wall when the family’s fortune ran out. However, his father was able to earn back the wealth he had always known by marrying a great name and fortune, Maria Volkonskaya. Her dowry included a the grand estate Yasnaya Polyana along with its 800 serfs that she would come to inherit. On September 9, 1828, their fourth son, Count Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, was born on the family’s estate of Yasnaya Polyana. The estate (also spelled as Iasnaia Poliana) was located in the province Tula, approximately one hundred miles south of the Russian capital, Moscow. At the age of two, the Tolstoy home had transformed after the death of his mother, and his father asked his distant cousin Tatyana Ergolsky to take charge of the children and act as a governess. When his father’s death eventually came at the age of nine, the legal guardianship of the five children were given to their aunt, Alexandra Osten-Saken. She was described to be a woman of great religious fervor from which the radical beliefs of Tolstoy’s wer... ... middle of paper ... ... year to travel Europe and founded a dislike towards western Europe. His introduction to different European teaching methods and its various experts in education to inspire what would become an interest in academic systems. He returned with a wealth of knowledge and opened an experimental school for the peasant children living on his estate and lands. He applied the teachings and beliefs of his favorite philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and denied any use of reward or punishment as motivation, abolished grades, and emphasized spontaneity of education. He had developed a school that would cater to the uninterested minds that he was apart of as a young boy and adult. Finally satisfied of the years of freedom earned from his bachelor life, Leo settled to marry. He married Sofya (“Sonya”) Andreyevna Bers: a noble lady, well-educated, and appreciator of music and art. .
Dmitri was born on February 8, 1834 in Tobolsk, Siberia. His parents were Ivan Pavolich and Maria Dmitrievna Mendeleev. Mendeleev was one of fourteen children. Dmitri’s father struggled because he was blind. With him being blind, his mother had to take care of the entire family. The family was extremely poor, so Maria decided to open up a glass factory. Later on, it went to the ground because of finances . On a sad day , February 2, 1847 his father passed away . Maria was still determined to do good for her children, so she took Dmitri and walked to Moscow. She enrolled him in the Moscow University but he was denied. Then he went to Saint Petersburg and was accepted to the Pedagogy University . Mendeleev wanted to join the Pedagogy Course . A year later , his mother passed away . He decided he wanted to leave Saint Petersburg and find something better for his life . He then went to complete his education in Math and Science at Moscow .
As stated before he favored Pierre in his readings of Tolstoy’s War and Peace however he was very much like Prince Andrei and that quote shows how much he did not care whether his parents would have been heartbroken by this decision he would not care. Prince Andrei in War and Peace did not care that Natasha Rostova was ill because of what she had done to him this is relatable to
Chekhov is part of a non-typical category of artists, because he did not believed in his genius, on the contrary, there are evidence that he believed that his work will not conquer time and posterity. Spectacular, just like Russia at the border between the 19th and 20th century, Chekhov was born the son of serfs in 1860 (Tsar Alexander will abolish serfdom in 1861) only to become a landlord 32 years later, and a neighbor of Prince Shakovskoi. He bought the Melikhovo estate (unconsciously imitating Tolstoy, the patriarch of Iasnaia Polyana), not far from Moscow, with 13 thousand rubles of which he has paid an advance of five thousand.
Tolstoy portrays Ivan as a common, unassuming conformist that is more concerned with meeting society’s standards that making his own choices in order to criticize a very shallow, materialistic society dominated by aristocrats simply concerned with obtaining status and delving in pleasures above living real, authentic
Chekhov was born in Taganrog, Russia in 1860 to a woman named Yevgeniya and a man named Pavel. His father, who shares the name of the bishop, is described as being “severe” and sometimes went as far as to chastise Chekhov and his siblings (Letters
Dostoevsky’s St. Petersburg is a large, uncaring city which fosters a western style of individualism. As Peter Lowe notes, “The city is crowded, but there is no communality in its crowds, no sense of being part of some greater ‘whole.’” Mrs. Raskolnikov initially notices a change in her son marked by his current state of desperate depression, but she fails to realize the full extent of these changes, even after he is convicted for the murder. The conditions and influences are also noticed by Raskolnikov’s mother who comments on the heat and the enclosed environment which is present throughout the city. When visiting Raskolnikov, she exclaims "I'm sure...
The period is the early 19th century; those involved and discussed in this essay are for the most part Russian gentry. Increasingly relaxed social mores in the “developed” world, including the greater freedom to choose to whom one gets married to as well as increased women’s sexual rights, were much more uncommon during the time that War and Peace takes place. Tolstoy, an outspoken critic of arranged marriages, uses the characters in his novel as a way of exploring the various types of love, and in general the interactions between men and women of the time. This essay will attempt to focus on these relationships in an effort to get a better idea of Tolstoy’s views on the proper roles that men and women should play as friends, lovers, or spouses. By exploring the male/female relationships among the noble families, a detailed picture of both the expectations and realms of acceptable behavior will be established.
Merriman, C.D.. "Leo Tolstoy." - Biography and Works. Search Texts, Read Online . Discuss.. Jalic INC., 1 Jan. 2007. Web. 16 May 2014. .
Mikhail grew up what is considered an average life in the Netherlands. He was born on April 23, 1992 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. He is an only child but sometimes wishes that he had a little sister. He has always wanted to have the privilege to be an idol to someone and raise a younger sibling. Although when he sees little sisters of his friends he doubts his wish. As a child he lived a very
Leo Tolstoy was a melancholy and self-centered child, who grew up on his parent’s privately owned estate, Yasnaya Polyana, a beautiful mansion, located about 130 miles from Moscow. Tolstoy was homeschooled throughout his secondary studies and was tutored by German and French teachers. Leo in order to pursue a higher education in oriental languages to become a diplomat joined the Kazan University in Russia in 1843. However, not being particularly a dedicated student, when finding the lessons a bit demanding and time consuming, Leo changed his focus into law after two
It is instructive to the reader to point out that Tolstoy's usage of the word “art” speaks of a wide sphere of artistic expressions. Among these expressions are literature, poetry, painting, sculptures and music. According to Tolstoy, it is art that brings mankind together and allows for the commonalities in humanity to be emphasized. Tolstoy describes these commonalities as man's need for union with God and with one another. Good art, for Tolstoy, is art that expresses itself through religious perception. This religious perception is how the culture of its current time views its most important values. This is similar to William Wordsworth’s ideas for literature. It is important to Wordsworth that the author of the work express emotions that the common man can relate to. It is fundamental to Tolstoy, as with Wordsworth, that the work be accessible and understandable to all people. This is why Tolstoy supposed that music is the...
This man is the absolute opposite of everything society holds to be acceptable. Here is a man, with intelligent insight, lucid perception, who is self-admitted to being sick, depraved, and hateful. A man who at every turn is determined to thwart every chance fate offers him to be happy and content. A man who actively seeks to punish and humiliate himself. Dostoyevsky is showing the reader that man is not governed by values which society holds to be all important.
Tolstoy, Leo. "Master and the Man." The Death of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories. New York: New York American Library, 2003. 235-89.
During the Crimean War, Tolstoy commanded a battery, and was at the siege of Sebastopol . In 1857 he visited France, Switzerland, and Germany to learn more about society and how to improve it. After traveling for a time, Tolstoy settled in Yasnaja Polyana, where he started a school for poor children. He saw that the secret of changing the world was in education. He investigated during his travels to Europe educational theory and practice, and published magazines and textbooks on the subject. In 1862 he married Sonya Andreyevna Behrs, and they had 13 children. Sonya also acted as Tolstoy’s secretary.
It is convenient to trace how Tolstoy depicts three families in the novel - Bolkonskis family , growth and Kuragin .