Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy

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1) a. By having Pozdnischeff tell his story to someone else, Tolstoy allows the reader to interpret the information for themselves. If the story was told as a first person narrative, the reader would not have had the comparison of values between Pozdnischeff and the other people on the train.

b. Tolstoy describes many aspects of the people on the train. He seems to emphasize on their faces and their reactions to the statments spoken by each other character. He does this so that the reader may get a clear representation of who the person is both internally and externally.

c. Before Pozdnischeff tells his story, the group on the train discusses the major themes of the novel. Each character seems to have varrying opinions on love, marriage, and women. For example, the old man feels as though marriage is based on the fear of losing one another while the woman on the train feels that marriage is based on true love between a man and a woman. The variety of convictions suggest the uncertainty and overall depression in Russian society at the time. With the majority of opinions stating the worse reasons for marriage, the reader recieves the idea that Russians are anything but hopeful during this time of distress.

2) a. Pozdnischeff's upbringing helped cause him to become "a voluptuary" because his parents never decieved eachother. In consequence of this, he had built from childhood a dream of high and poetical conjugal life. He felt his wife should be perfect and until this woman was found he must pay off all the woman he has relaions with in order to prevent them from thinking their conection was nothing more than mere lust. Pozdnischeff regarded this freedom as noble and of merit.

b. Pozdnischeff feels as though doctors pr...

... middle of paper ...

...find his point of view depressing and uncommon. I believe that true love constitutes most marriages. True love, when found, is the most powerful force on Earth. It allows those, who are so lucky as to obtain it, to get through any struggle or hardship that they may face. I also believe that if a couple decides to take the next step forward and have children, they should care for that child as best they can, no matter what the circumstances may be. Though it is extremely rare to find one's "soul mate," I believe that true love does occur. When a couple breaks up or gets divorced, that love felt was false. If a couple is truly in love, they will be so forever. I don't feel any of Pozdnischeff's claims regarding these matters strike any chord of truth. His views are extremely cynical and nileistic. True love between any two people is glorious, beautiful, and everlasting.

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