Characters And Nihilism In The Novel's Fathers And Sons

Mikhail Lermontov’s ‘A Hero of our Time’ is set in the 1840s, a crucial time in Russian history. Pechorin was a revolutionary character in Russian literature due to his cynical and amoral personality that alienates him from all social strata. ‘A Hero of our Time’ generated a large amount of outrage from the public due to Lermontov, claiming Pechorin to be the ‘hero’ of our its time. ’Bela’ is a framed narrative portrayed from the views of an old friend, Maxim Maximych, however, the story told by Maxim Maximych suggests it is an unjust and biased view of our ‘hero’ thus we as readers are to depict the true ‘hero’ Pechorin is. Examining the chapter ‘Bela,’ his actions signify his capability to damage a society, demonstrating him to be the callous and manipulative character he is.

Chaim Potok’s The Chosen is the story of a lasting friendship that blossoms between two Jewish boys, Danny Saunders and Reuven Malter, during and after World War II. On a deeper level, much of the plot focuses on the character of their fathers–Reb Saunders and David Malter–whose beliefs and ideals are rooted in two separate worlds. Reb Saunders is a zealous Hasidic rabbi who wants to impart his knowledge of his religion upon Danny and expects his son to follow in his footsteps. David is a professor and single father who comes from a liberal Jewish background. As the friendship between Reuven and Danny grows, both fathers try to reconcile their views with their sons and with their own

In the novel Fathers and Children by Ivan Turgenev, the young university graduate Arkady Petrovich attempts to find his place within his generation and to distinguish himself from the old aristocratic Russian ways of the generation of his father, Nikolai Petrovich. At the beginning of the novel, Arkady follows his friend, Yevgeny Bazarov, and the ideology of nihilism. Nihilism is a philosophy that rejects all social practices, principles, and rules. As a nihilist, Arkady believes that its practice is the way he and his generation can succeed in bringing about changes and progress in their Russian society. Like most adolescents, Arkady struggles to discover how he can influence the world around him with modern ideas and eliminate the errors

A combination of factors sets Yakov different from society, things such as being a Jew who doesn’t believe in God, having unfortunate unluckiness, his interest in history.

Bazarov was considered as the central figure in the novel of fathers and sons. He inculcates the central idea of "nihilism", which means the rejection of religion, which meant he was an atheist. This novel was based on the two opposing ideas of hope and devastation, for not only religious means, but also for emotional hope in the end of the book. Bazarov was a nihilist of humble background whose life-view involves a rejection of anything that has previously been accepted as valid. He refused to take anyone's word for anything; he had no alliances, and no emotions; he cared no more for one country than for another and accepted only what is scientifically proven. His purpose was to destroy all existing religions and values, along with traditional

Unlike past generations, Lung’s sons do not fully understand the true importance of the land. Growing up, Lung was forced to tend the land day in and day out. He depended on the earth everyday. His house was made out of the earth. The earth provided the structure for his gods. When him and the family were experienced the famine, the earth filled their rattling stomachs. But when Lung’s son grew up they never cared about the earth. The sons thought of it just as dirt and not gold like Lung did. They never were forced to work him the fields like their father. The very last paragraphs in the book, when Lung is dying he sons are talking about what they are going to do with all of their father’s land after he is dead. They both agreed that they

In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the characterization of Jack to develop the theme that power corrupts people and results in them acting differently. In the beginning, there is an election,‘“I ought to be chief," said Jack with simple arrogance, "because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp."’(Golding 12). Jack’s prior experience makes him self-entitled, even though singing C sharp is not providing valid merit,since no leadership is demonstrated. However, Jack is given is the leader of hunters. Jack is the first character to apply paint, and this symbolizes covering up his past civilized life. After the paint is on, Jack turns savage, as well as having a desire for dominance. For example, Jack and his hunters slaughter

Life is not easy, which Fyodor Dostoevsky makes very clear in his novel Crime and Punishment. In life, you encounter people that you find admirable. People who persevere, making tough decisions even though they may not be easy, or benefit themselves in any way. Those are the Razumikhins, and Sonyas of our world. Honorable (sometimes to a fault), willing to sacrifice themselves to help those they love. They embody what virtue theory followers believe. Unfortunately, you will also encounter people who are not wonderful. There are awful, disgusting people that take advantage and exert their power over others. Those are the Luzhins and the Svidrigailovs of the world. People like them will not hesitate to use their wealth or power to bend those they wish to take advantage of, forcing others to submit to their will. Ruining people, or making others feel terrible about themselves, or taking what they think they are entitled to because they believe it is their right. These are the type of people that display features of ethical egoism. Raskolnikov finds himself constantly drifting between these two extremes. He may do something good, then when it causes more trouble than he intended, he berates himself instead. Raskolnikov is a very conflicted character, and after murdering Alyona, and her sister Lizaveta with his axe he became even more conflicted. In a way, Raskolnikov kind of represents the everyday person (if you forget about murdering two people with an axe). The everyday

Why do humans have bad behaviours? Some would say that society and the circumstances force them into these evil behaviours, while other would disagree. Freud had a theory about, that man is born with a death instinct. Something in the human’s unconsciousness, there is something that forces the human into self-destruction. Are humans innately evil?

In the novel, Fathers and Children, draws most prolific aspects in the center of literature field especially concerning the phenomenon of “superfluous man” as presented by the author Ivan Turgenev. The main character in the book, Bazarov, brings a new philosophy known as nihilism into the community, which conflicts with the beliefs, tradition, and interest of the Russian society in the nineteenth century. Bazarov is well versed in philosophical arguments that all go against the social status quo, and aspires to dedicate himself to the study of biology. Moreover, he sadly infuriates Pavel with his philosophy of nihilism. Bazarov is starting a duel by telling Pavel his beliefs meaning nothing and faith is useless. In response, Pavel defends the Russian traditions of religious belief, faith, and superior morals. Pavel states “It holds tradition sacred; it 's a patriarchal people and can 't live without faith... ” (Turgenev, 40). At this point, the argument begins from the debate of

Daniel Bagrov, main hero of Balabanov, is a super hero who doesn’t have any limit or weakness. This character in his two movies Brother (1997) and Brother 2 (2000) is sum up the Russian hero who is there to save the figure of being a true Russian. He is the combination of all what Balabanov has to offer. Actor Sergey Bodrov, who died two years after releasing Brother 2 (2000), plays the role of Russian Hero. His nice and sweet look along with his nationalistic ideas makes him a good candidate for being a hero for a nation who have been offended on the west. In his interview with Arina Abrosimova in the program Itogi he states “The Americans make movies about Russians where Schwarzenegger as a policeman tears off a mafioso's wooden leg and drugs

Fathers and Sons, a novel by Ivan Turgenev, depicts the social unrest in Russia between the nobility and the lower classes. The story opens with the history of Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov, a widow in his early forties, waiting for his son Arkady to return home from University. Thus, the audience is also in waiting for young Arkady to arrive, and when he does, he brings his friend Bazarov in tow. The reader quickly understands the tensions between the younger and the older generations, which will play a pivotal role throughout the tale. Turgenev develops his characters with such attention and care, letting ear of their personalities stand as a symbol for Russian society in the 1800’s.

Now that a little background information on the story has been given let’s talk about the characters themselves. First up is Ivan and this is because he is the first person met in the story. Ivan is a barber and he cuts hair for a lot of people and some of which are of high rank. Ivan may shave beards but,”…his is perpetually unshaven.” (Gogol 115). Ivan’s clothes are stained and frayed and they show he isn’t of very high rank or class. He doesn’t dress normal either and what this means he doesn’t wear a dress coat. “Instead he wears an old frock coat that is missing buttons and has strings hanging off of it.” (Gogol 115). These characteristics say a lot about Ivan and how he is grotesque and even his actions are grotesque such as when he puts a pinch of snuff in if someone doesn’t like it or comments about it he rubs it around there face when he shaving them. This says he is unclean or gross but also peculiar and he doesn’t shave even though he does it for a living for other people. The people he cuts hair and shaves for say he stinks. “…Kovalyov the collegiate assessor said, ‘Your hands always stink.’ while being shaved, Ivan Yakovlevich would say: ‘But why should they stink?’ The collegiate assessor used to reply: ‘Don’t ask me, my dear chap. All I know is, they stink.’…” (Gogol 115). This shows what the people think of him when they see or interact with him and that is that he is uncanny or incongruous. Edwards and Graulund

Madame Ranevsky is a foolish woman only too anxious to return to a worthless young lover; Gayev is an amiable ass who talks too much; Anya is a goose and her Trofimov a solemn windbag; Lopakhin, the practical self-made man, is confused and unhappy; Epihodov a clumsy idiot; Dunyasha a foolish girl; Yasha an insufferable jumped-up lad; and Firs far gone in senility (Corbin, John 33-37).

This commentary will focus on perhaps the most interesting and complex character in Fathers and Sons: Bazarov.