A Reflection on the Defeat of Power
When asked about his thoughts regarding the great men and women of society, George Bernard Shaw replied, “...they don’t exist. We believe in them a lot like we used to believe in unicorns and dragons. The greatest man or woman is ninety-nine percent just like yourself” (George). This concept remains hard to keep in accord with human nature. In the novel Fathers and Sons, Russian author, Turgenev, enshrines this human “goal” to become “great” and “powerful” symbolically in one character; Bazarov. He also characterizes the polar opposite of this goal in an ordinary, but respected individual; Arkady. In this tabloid society, it comes as no surprise that humans all want to have power, and that most anyone would go to nearly any heights to achieve such success. In the novel Fathers and Sons, Turgenev uses characterization to contrast fates between two characters to represent an idea; in life, the desire and need to attain power and fame leads to detrimental defeats. In order to accomplish this, two completely different characters as character foils; Bazarov and Arkady serve to show their lives being reflective of their fate. Although each male has distinct positive traits, only Bazarov has the hunger to become powerful in society. Arkady, however, prefers to listen in and evaluate situations and change himself for the better rather than changing his fame in society. Through the desire to achieve status, Bazarov loses true insight on what he truly values in life, which symbolically lead him to a devastating fate of loneliness and regret. Arkady endures life without power, leading him to a more noble reputation and a lasting companionship.
Bazarov’s fate in the novel is death; symbolic of power being...
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... strives to become powerful. Thus, Arkady’s fate in the novel is content, with everything he worked for in his life, at his side. On the other hand, Bazarov, consumed in society’s race for power, never truly gains any lasting love and concludes his scene in the novel on his deathbed. Together, the two characters represent a greater whole of society. In a world driven for success and power, the important assets of life can render lost. And ultimately, if too much time and dedication put forth serve to achieve a “name,” then in the end, nothing remains fruitful. So when examining George Bernard Shaw’s quote on normality, perhaps Arkady did in fact have a better overall life. Although he was not on the pedestal of success at all times, like Arkady, his fate was to keep living; symbolically, to keep living the life without the desire for fame, power, and name.
In the novel Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev, Arcady plays a major role both in his own life and the lives of others. Arcady, despite the shield he surrounds himself with, is not a true Nihilist like his friend Bazarov through his thoughts and actions we see his change. To begin, Arcady shows signs of Romanticism Early on in the novel despite the announcement of his Nihilist beliefs. For example, Bazarov and Arcady were walking one afternoon in the garden and overheard Nicholas playing his cello.
In One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn creates many characters that are memorable to the reader because of both their personal situations and their responses to those situations. Through characters such as Ivan Shukhov Denisovich, Fetyukov, Aloyska the Baptist, and the two Estonians, Solzhenitsyn explores the varied reactions of the characters and the effect of these reactions on other characters' perceptions of them.
the unhappiness of two individuals. Anton Chekhov tells the story of Gurov – a well-todo
The Great Reforms of the 1860's generated an era of social and economic turmoil in Russia. These unstable times spawned the growth of a radical intellectual group known as, the intellegencia. These new reformers or radicals were the sons and daughters of the heads of Russia. They wished to sweep away the assumptions of the romantic generation of the 1840's that "refused to accept the supremacy of reason over emotion" (Kishlanksy, Geary and O'Brien: 755) and any other non-scientifically proven truths of social, political, emotional and spiritual life in Russia. They rejected all common assumptions about serfdom, the foundations of Russian hierarchy, and its reform, including all of its social and economic ramifications. Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons", successfully identifies these diverse views (Romanticism vs. Realism) on reforming Russia through the depiction of its characters. Turgenev represents a contrast of old generation of liberal/conservative romantics, through the portrayals of Nicholas and Paul Kirsanov and the new radical, nihilist generation through Basarov.
Mikhail Lermontov's protagonist, Grigory Pechorin, belongs to that group of literary characters known individually as the 'superfluous man.'; Generally an intelligent, educated individual, the superfluous man would appear to be one who has been either unjustly treated or outcast by society in general. The superfluous man attempts to find a place for himself in the world, but perhaps due to the combination of his talents, upbringing, personality and intelligence, continually finds himself on the outs with his peers.
Raskolnikov’s main purpose of creating the article, describing the difference between the ordinary and extraordinary, was to detail the circumstances of the law of nature. The extraordinary man “has his own right to allow his conscience to step over certain obstacles, only in the event that the fulfillment of his idea calls for it” (Dostoevsky 259). All great men have to be criminals, or else it would be close to impossible for them to be extraordinary. Extraordinary men have the talent of speaking a new word in their environment and are inclined to destroy the present, moving the world and leading it toward a goal. Ordinary men only function to reprodu...
There was a strong reaction to Fathers and Sons, and many of the nihilists condemned Turgenev for creating an inaccurate caricature of a nihilist. However, Turgenev had never meant Bazarov to defame the nihilist, he meant Bazarov to represent good. Turgenev based him on observations and conceived of him as a tragic figure, this was misinterpreted by many young radicals as an indictment. Turgenev wrote in response to a young poet's misinterpretation of Bazarov, "I wanted to make a tragic character out of him: there was no room in this case for gentleness. He's honest, truthful, and a democrat through and through-and you don't find any good sides to him?" Turgenev continues to explain that he has not been understood. "My entire tale is directed against the gentry as a progressive class. Take a close look at the characters of Nikolai, Pavel, and Arkady. Weakness and flabbiness or limitations. Aesthetic considerations made me take the specifically good representatives of the gentry so as to prove my point more surely; if the cream is only this good, what does that imply about the milk?
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.
The power of love truly drives someone to become something even if they come from nothing. The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel set in the time of the Roaring 20’s. It was a story of a young, poor man by the name of Jay Gatz motivated to end up with the woman of his dreams, Daisy Fay. Daisy left him for a man of wealth and high social class, Tom Buchanan. He did everything that he possibly could have in his power to win Daisy, but it was never enough for Daisy to demote herself from old money to new money. All of the characters lived despairing, unfaithful lives all in the title of social status and wealth, they did not care about love only their title. The obsession for wealth causes people to make
All in all, this shows the importance of passion and life experiences in changing the characters of people lenina symbolizes the conformity in the world society, John epitomises the morality and passion in the brave new world and he is a contrast of Bernard and lenina. This shows the importance of passion , love and family in the development of character.
Dostoevsky displays his protagonist, the “Underground Man” as an unrealistically cynical and pessimistic man whom is spiteful against society just for the sake of being spiteful. By not giving his character a name, Dostoevsky is implying that while the Underground Man is a man of fiction and fantasy, it is inevitable that people of this stature exist in a society that continues to support the spread of communism. Furthermore, when asked about the nature of the underground man, Dostoevsky responded that similar characters “not only may, but must exist in our society” (580). While this statement, as well as the Underground Man’s constant belittling of his audience, causes one to think of the Underground Man as a nonconformist and an overall outsider, he is largely employed as a symbol highlighting the issues with absolute conformity and Utopianism. As long as people act out pure spite towards the system, absolute communism and the theory of Utopia is unattainable.
Russian literature was very much influenced by the literary trope known as the superfluous man. This trope was ideal for writers to describe the shortcomings of Russian high-class society. There has been a witnessed general consistency when dealing with the superfluous man such as the exhibition of cynicism and existential angst, while indulging in vices such as affairs, gambling and duelling. These individuals are typically from noble birth yet refused to fit into society and disregard the societal norms. This trend can be witnessed through many examples such as Alexander Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin” and “Diary of a Superfluous Man” by Ivan Turgenev. The characters described by these authors reflects the lifestyles of such a man, and seems to imitate the lives of the men who wrote these stories, as the real life Pushkin and Turgenev were both to be described as superfluous men.
Evidence that characters managed to maintain their dignity can be found through the author’s use of allegory. The novel is an allegory itself, as on the surface it is one day in the life of a prisoner, but in reality it is meant to be a call to the Soviet
The theme of wealth is much like a veil for A Doll's House and The Cherry Orchard. Although the audience may be inclined to believe that the lack of wealth is the main conflict, both plays refute this with their resolutions. Nora escapes from gender inequality, and Lopakhin destroys the only link to his serf heritage. Indeed, both Ibsen and Chekhov initially provided evidence that wealth is the dominant theme, but freedom was only achieved for Nora and Lopakhin by escaping from their respective social roles, a psychological freedom. This complies with the authors' original purposes - not to comment on wealth, but to promote feminism and examine Russia's class structure.
...was so immersed in himself and had isolated himself so much from everyone that he was afraid not only of meeting his landlady but of meeting anyone at all” (3), to highlight how isolated of a person he was. This is what allowed him to attempt to become this Übermensch figure, however Dostoyevsky makes him fail in his Übermensch status to criticize the reality of such a figure.