Ivan Turgenev

1332 Words3 Pages

Often acting as the readers’ eyes, narrators provide a broader insight into the story that is being told. Only through these eyes are readers able to understand and witness events and conversations in the story as they cannot physically experience the events themselves. As a result, some authors often choose a subjective type of narration as a means of communication to effectively share their beliefs, ideas and feelings about particular aspects about their own culture with the readers. In the novel, Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev, the author used a third person point of view to not only provide an outsider’s insight into the events that were taking place, but also to emphasize an aspect of the Russian society: the generation gap. Throughout …show more content…

These oppositions were portrayed through individual characters’ beliefs, ideologies and their daily routines. Furthermore, through the use of an outsider’s perspective on the events being unfold, Turgenev gave readers an opportunity to carefully observe, analyze and interpret actions and conversations that were taking place. In doing so, Turgenev also effectively allowed readers to examine his depiction of the generation divide in the Russian society without explicitly stating …show more content…

Turgenev first demonstrates Bazarov’s disrespectful attitude towards Pavel through Bazarov’s mockery of Pavel’s “exquisite hand with its long tapering pink nails” (FS; pg 14) and labelling Pavel as a “queer fish” and an “antique survival” during Bazarov’s conversation with Arkady. Even when Arkady tried to defend his uncle by claiming that Pavel had been a “great swell in his own day” (FS; pg 16), Bazarov dismissed Arkady’s praises of his uncle and instead unimpressively said: “Oh, that’s it, is it? So he keeps up in the memory of the past.” (FS; pg 16) He goes on to mock both Pavel and Nikolai by saying: “It’s something astonishing, these old idealists, they develop their nervous systems till they break down.. so balance is lost.” (FS; pg 16) In this short statement, Turgenev shows Bazarov’s polemic against the “idealism” that Pavel and Nikolai believe in. Additionally, although Turgenev does not directly state that Bazarov had mocked Pavel or unimpressively disregarded Arkady’s praises of Pavel, through the conversation that took place, readers are able to interpret the tone of Bazarov through Turgenev’s usage of diction. For example, by using words such as “queer” and “antique”, the narrator shows how Bazarov is making fun of the older generation, more specifically, Pavel. Not only does Turgenev use diction, but he also gave the narrator a

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