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Natasha, Wolfe, and Khrenov have colorful dreams of distant lands. Nabokov wrote Natasha in 1924, a few years after the Russian Revolution. The Bolsheviks took control over Russia after the revolution and many of the rich were exiled or faced death. Natasha and her father could have been past nobility that was exiled to live in another country. The forced exile of the Khrenov family gives a purpose to the dreams they have. Khrenov remembers the village they lived in and the sawdust that covered the bridge. Khrenov also has nightmarish dreams where he sees a barrel of a gun pointed at him in his sleep. The dream with the gun could be a memory from his past when the police may have forced him and Natasha out of their old home. Wolfe’s dreams
are often about his travels to foreign lands. Wolfe tells these fantasies like they actually occurred, but he eventually reveals to Natasha that his stories are just dreams. One of his fantasies is stolen from a friend that served in Bombay. Wolfe admits that the stories he has told were mostly untrue and were his own fantasies. Wolfe says “Which of us really visited India? … It’s obvious - of course, I am the one,” (Nabokov2 6). Wolfe cherishes the stories and setting of Bombay more than the Colonel ever did, and because of this Wolfe feels he is more deserving of these memories since he actually cares about them. The mundane setting in a dull city gives meaning to the dreams of the main characters. By combining all three of the past elements, Nabokov proves himself to be a major writer on his own scale. He also adds a fourth element that solidifies his position as a major writer.
Dostoyevsky further develops Rodia’s split personality through the use of symbolism of the mare dream. Through the use of the third person omniscient point of view, the author reveals his thoughts on dreams and how they “often have a singular actuality, vividness and extraordinary semblance of reality. At times monstrous images are created, but the setting and the whole picture are so truth like and filled with details so delicate, so unexpected, but so artistically consistent, that the dreamer… could never have invented them in the waking state” (44). Dreams are not merely dreamt for entertainment; they all contain a symbolic meaning that represent a truth of the dreamer. In Rodia’s nightmare, his conflicting and chaotic state of mind is disclosed
Kate Chopin and T. Coraghessan Boyle made excellent use of the elements point of view, character, and setting in their short stories “The Storm” and “Greasy Lake”. Kate Chopin’s characters and events follow the setting—the storm. This greatly enhances her work. Boyle’s characters mirror his setting as well—a greasy lake. It is amazing how much greater depth and deeper the insight is for a story when the potentials of elements of writing are fulfilled and utilized.
Vladimir Nabokov, the author of Lolita, a tale of a man and his superficial love for an adolescent girl. Nabokov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1899 but died on July 2, 1977 in Switzerland after writing a surplus of various novels, one of them being Lolita. He studied at Trinity College in Cambridge then moved to the United States where he received great recognition for his work as a novelist. Nabokov wrote Lolita because he thought it was an interesting thing to do and he liked to create riddles with “elegant solutions.” Nabokov’s tale was originally written in Russian as a prototype with few changes to the course of Lolita.
Considered to be among the greatest novels of the 20th century, Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita is a timeless favorite, enjoyed and studied now as much as it was 50 years ago. The novel’s multiple interpretations and deep-seated nuances on behalf of the author have captured the attention of scholars and students alike. Among the main characters of the novel are Dr. Woland and his gang, who are representations of Satan or Satanic figures, and follows the mischief that they concoct around Moscow. Naturally, an inclusion of Satan as a main character who kills and seems hell-bent on driving people mad can appear pretty heretical from the outside, I could agree. But regarding the statement that “The Master and Margarita is the most heretical novel of the twentieth-century”, I would contend that claim and instead argue that the book celebrates spirituality and free-thinking, more specifically in the context of Christianity, because of the book’s status as a satire of an atheistic Russia and because Bulgakov doesn’t posit the book in an Anti-Christian sort of way.
After looking past its controversial sexual nature, Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita can be read as a criticism of the capitalist system. Nabokov uses the relationship between the novel's narrator, Humbert Humbert, and the novel's namesake, Lolita, as an extended metaphor to showcase the system's inherent exploitive nature in a way that shocks the reader out of their false consciousness, by making the former a man in the position of power - a repulsive, manipulative pedophile — and the latter a young female victim — as well as a spoiled, vapid, unruly child. Each is to the other nothing more than a commodity — Lolita being the perfect consumer and Humbert Humbert being a man of privilege who views others only as objects to be used, or consumed.
Dostoyevsky's writing in this book is such that the characters and setting around the main subject, Raskolnikov, are used with powerful consequences. The setting is both symbolic and has a power that affects all whom reside there, most notably Raskolnikov. An effective Structure is also used to show changes to the plot's direction and Raskolnikov's character. To add to this, the author's word choice and imagery are often extremely descriptive, and enhance the impact at every stage of Raskolnikov's changing fortunes and character. All of these features aid in the portrayal of Raskolnikov's downfall and subsequent rise.
Throughout history writers have offered readers lessons through themes and often symbolized. In the story, “The Storm” by Kate Chopin is quite different from “The Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid; both have a different theme, symbol, throughout the stories. “The Storm” in Kate Chopin 's story can symbolize a number of different things: temporary, fleeting and quick action, and without consequences.
In Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, the overruling drive of the narrator, Humbert Humbert, is his want to attest himself master of all, whether man or woman, his prime cravings, all-powerful destiny, or even something as broad as language. Through the novel the reader begins to see Humbert’s most extreme engagements and feelings, from his marriage to his imprisonment, not as a consequence of his sensual, raw desires but rather his mental want to triumph, to own, and to control. To Humbert, human interaction becomes, or is, very unassuming for him: his reality is that females are to be possessed, and men ought to contest for the ownership of them. They, the women, become the very definition of superiority and dominance. But it isn’t so barbaric of Humbert, for he designates his sexuality as of exceptionally polished taste, a penchant loftier than the typical man’s. His relationship with Valerie and Charlotte; his infatuation with Lolita; and his murdering of Quilty are all definite examples of his yearning for power. It is so that throughout the novel, and especially by its conclusion, the reader sees that Humbert’s desire for superiority subjugates the odd particularities of his wants and is the actual reason of his anguish.
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...
It captures the emotions left in the hearts of these characters. In the novel, Gurov’s imagery differentiates between young romance and the connections of lasting love. One of the main sceneries of the story takes place in the beautiful resort town of Yalta. According to Chekhov’s novel, Yalta is described as “The water was a warm, tender purple, the moonlight lay on its surface in a golden strip” (2). Yalta is an exciting place for new, colorful, and youth romance to begin. Another part of the novel’s setting are the confined homes of both Anna and Gurov. Where gray haunts their homes in their monotonous days away from each other. Chekhov mentions, “He sat up in bed, covered by the cheap gray quilt, which reminded him of a hospital blanket, and in his vexation he fell to taunting himself” (10). The reoccurrence of the gray description of the homes of Gurov and Anna while they are in despair when away from each other, with the colorful images of Yalta and the emotions of happiness when they are together, show how the separation in setting is important to the emotions of the characters. At the resort with Anna, Gurov’s day are full of passion, excitement and a carefree lifestyle similar to the youth of society. While away from her, Gurov savors the precious instants of her company. “Anna Sergeyevna did not come to him in his dreams, she accompanied him everywhere, like his shadow, following him
Sonia and Raskolnikov are two characters that interact with each other in the novel, Crime and Punishment. They interact on multiple levels, sharing several likenesses. Both of these characters are at-times self-sacrificing, both are struggling for meaning in a dreary existence, and both are generally unhappy people, but brighten and seem to enjoy each other's presence--even when Raskolnikov is berating her religion. What is self-sacrifice, for which these characters and so many people around the world engage in? It is a desire to help those around us more than we wish to help ourselves. This is not normal human state, although it can be brought about easily by societal pressures, and sometimes even political societies can compel this attitude. Sonia practices a form of altruism for her family however. She acquires a yellow card and takes her body off to the moral slaughter by sacrificing it to others for money--money that will go to her starving, poor family. Though not his predominant state of mind or action, Raskolnikov does have temporal tendencies towards self-sacrifice. It seems that part of his state of mind when considering the murder of the pawnbroker is that he will be helping society as a whole--definitely a motive that comes from outside the self. Sonia and Raskolnikov share many characteristics that make them an interesting encounter for each other. A tendency to self-sacrifice for one, and a life of it for another, provides for an amalgam of psychological likenesses which help the characters relate.
It is apparent that the love between Sonia and Raskolnikov plays a crucial role in Crime and Punishment, pushing Raskolnikov in a direction he otherwise would not have gone. Dostoevsky uses their relationship as a tool to develop the philosophical themes in the novel and prompt profound changes in Raskolnikov’s character. Through their love, Dostoevsky demonstrates the importance of human relationships in finding and maintaining happiness. He also seeks to condemn nihilism and disprove the idea that one cannot make one’s own meaning in life by having Raskolnikov adopt Christian existentialism and find his purpose through Sonia.
Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Dostoevsky, the only one who has taught me anything about psychology.” The two writers share many similarities and differences. Dostoevsky clearly had an effect on the thinking of Nietzsche. The two would be considered both philosophers and psychologists. Both writers became prominent in the late 19th century in Germany and Russia respectively. Dostoevsky was noted for his Russian literary classics and would be responsible for a flowering of late 19th century Russian literary culture. His Russian contemporaries include Leo Tostoy and Anton Chekov. Dostoevsky’s most famous works include The Brothers Karamozov, The Idiot, and Crime and Punishment. Nietzsche is most famous for his philosophical works such as thus spoke Zarathustra. The two writers have many similarities in their philosophy. They both see a changing role in religion. Nietzsche and Dostoevsky also differ sharply on some other aspects of life. One of these being the differing views on the role of the fatherland. Nietzsche’s beyond good and evil and Dostoevsky’s crime and punishment are two works that can be compared and contrasted to show the similarities and dissimilarities of the two geniuses. The two men offer great insights in these books on morality and the affect it can have on the actions of the individual and the society as a whole.
He went to Siberia to reexamine his soul and find answers to his tormented life. Living in this filthy, desolate area helped him find meaning in life and religion, including his theory on suffering. Along with new found values, epileptic seizures, marital problems, and debt plagued his life until death. These problems become significant when explaining the relation between Dmitri and Smerdyakov to Dostoevsky. In some ways he found a new life, but in other ways his life ended blindfolded and tied to the stake ready to be pierced with a blazing bullet through his sweaty forehead. Yet through it all, he shared what he thought the world and especially his beloved Russia should be like in order to surpass the strength of the western nations. Ironically, Russia did rise above the world, but probably not in the manner that Dostoevsky had liked it to be. Fyodor Karamazov becomes the first character presented in the novel, whose vulgar and ill-natured personality quickly erase any sympathy of his grizzly murder. Unlike his children and Father Zosima whom Dostoevsky personally relates to, Fyodor Karamazov embodies the Russian
Throughout his story, Nabokov emphasizes a negative association with time and its brevity. It can be argued, however, that by writing his memories down on paper, he comes to terms with time’s constant presence. He uses his story to recall notable moments of the past in a somewhat cathartic manner. His vivid, loving descriptions suggest a deep nostalgia for his earlier memories. This nostalgia ultimately allows him to keep the past with him while coming to terms with the idea of time’s inevitable passage.