Essay on Nihilism in Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons

The first person who ever challenged Bazarov's views was Madame Odintsova. She believed in a type of "order" in her life, whereas the concept of "order" is in direct violation to the nihilist's way of thinking. Bazarov begun to sway in the presence of this grand lady. He later came to realize very soon that he would never have his way with her and at the same time, he didn’t have the strength to leave her. He found himself in a situation similar to the one he ridiculed Pavel for being in, having a woman influence him when it violated his own direct beliefs. Thus, a man who had previously ridiculed emotion and love, made an impassioned declaration of love. After that, he realized that he made a fool of himself, and could not return to his past life within the limits of his nihilistic philosophy. Bazarov never abandoned his earlier views, but they became quite somewhat modified toward the end of the novel. His response to Fenichka and to his own parents indicated a slight change in his character and emotion. Furthermore, when he was dying, his romantic last desire to see Madame Odintsova suggests the degree to which he has finally strayed away from the concepts of pure

Through the striking change in the narrator’s lifestyle and state of mind, Dostoyevsky demonstrates how one’s life is purposeless without hope. This is similar to the idea that hope is the belief in the ability to achieve one’s desires because the

Debauchery, dueling, infidelity, orgies, and even monastery life are all used to help Fyodor Dostoevesky define his characters in The Brothers Karamazov. At the beginning of the novel, the reader becomes filled with contempt for a few members of the Karamazov family, yet filled with admiration for others. The legitimate members of the Karamasov family each represent a separate aspect of human character, which is applicable to society. In some ways the characters resemble separate factions and cliques of society that most often argue, but together can be productive. This is shown not by direct implication, but rather the reader discovers the fact on their own by becoming infuriated

The novel Brothers Karamazov represents parricide, and how did direct and indirect circumstances lead to the murder of Fyodor Pavlovich. Then again, the book develops from a crime novel into a deep understanding of the human psyche and soul. To breach through this life topic, Dostoevsky had to show morality and the immorality of that Russian era. In The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky writes many pages on his ideal thoughts of love, hate, slavophilism and liberalism.

Nihilism ran rampant in the intelligentsia in nineteenth century Russia. Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel, Crime and Punishment, illustrates this “new philosophy” in Raskolnikov. The central conflict of the novel revolves around the question of why Raskolnikov murdered the pawnbroker and her sister, and the psychological torment he endures after committing the crime. Aspects that aid in his decision to murder the women are his unspecified belief of Nihilism and his isolation from society. These two components can attribute to his psychological state when deciding to murder the women.

As Raskolinikov is walking thought the streets of St. Petersburg and encounters a drunk, young woman, Dostoevsky takes advantage of this situation to add a layer of complexity to Raskolinikov’s character. The sudden change in Raskolinikov’s mentality of how to care for the young woman makes it possible for Dostoevsky to use tone, point of view, and diction to explain how Raskolinikov is conflicted on his views about helping others.

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

This proposes that an individual is allowed to impose his own values on society. However, Raskolnikov's actions imply that he still operates out of a slave mentality. He eats his soup "in a mechanical sort of way" (1, 6, p.86), and in the murder of the landlady he "almost mechanically struck her" (1, 6, p.96). The crime seals Raskolnikov's isolation, which is necessary for an extraordinary man to set himself apart from the rest and defeat his slave impulses; he tells his mother and sister, "I want to be alone. Better forget me altogether" (4, 3, p.328). However, even the self-sufficient Svidrigaylov demonstrates a human requirement for the company of others, indicating his own lavishness: "And I shall be your slave‹for the rest of my life" (6, 5, p.506). Further examples refute Raskolnikov's theory. He wonders "if man isn't really a beast‹man in generalŠthe whole human raceŠthen all the rest is just prejudice, just imagined fears" (1, 2, p.44). Raskolnikov's, or any single man's, inability to rise out of the morass of bourgeois complacency is pointed out by a bar patron, who asks "Would you kill the old woman yourself?ŠIf you are not ready to do it yourself, it's not a question of justice at all" (1, 6, p.86). The Raskolnikov does eventually kill her by himself, the important idea presented here is that no single person has the strength or will to combat bourgeois morality by himself; rather, there

That Rodya is convinced by this line of reasoning to the point of action suggests that he also is devoid of the deontological ethics that are associated with the traditional, Orthodox Russia. Rodya’s willingness to commit this heinous crime which ultimately destroys not only Alyona, but also Rodya himself and the innocent Lizaveta suggests that Dostoevsky's novel is a critique of the nihilistic utilitarianism of Rodya.

Analysis 1: The Brother's Karamazov 1. What is the purpose, audience, and context of the text? Fyodor Dostoevsky is renowned as one of the world's greatest novelists, being born in Moscow, Russia in 1821. Dostoevsky’s early view of the world was shaped by his experience of social injustice.

gives the reader a first hand look into the Nihilistic world of St. Petersburg. in this book we see that the moral battle that Raskolnikov faces after he commits murder. when looking him, one can see that when he is fist introduced he does not sound like a killer, but when Dostoevsky gives Raskolnikov two personalities, it shows the reader that he does not have an identity, which adds to the madness which he experiences. When looking at Katerina Ivanovna,, one can see that the nihilistic state of St. Petersburg affected even the most non deserving people. Katerina Ivanovna unlike Raskolnikov does not bring madness upon herself. She actually works and trys to improve her situation, unlike Raskolnikov who just walks around while

We all have at least encountered a person who is in fact intelligent, proud, and handsome, but because of their overly esteems of themselves, they begin to doubt anyone credibility, begin to think that they are superior than everyone to the point where they end up separating themselves from the world around them. And it often costs them the lost of their talents. In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s book ‘Crime and Punishment’, where he portrayed Raskolnikov as a man who thinks too high of himself and too little of everyone else. Moreover, his deep-seated aversion and disconnection of everyone around him, leads to his intentionally murdering the pawnbroker Ivanovna, and her half- sister, who happens to be in the way. To cover after his crime, Raskolnikov ended up spending his life misleading and deceiving everyone who is suspicious of him. And when he no longer can, he looked to be redeemed and where he arrived to confess. It is certain that Raskolnikov’s process of moral degeneration and redemption is the result of his lack of caring and sensibility for his personal relations and social relations which the Ethics of Care argues that as human beings, the relations of care that we cultivate or fail to cultivate with family members, friends, neighbors, fellow citizens, and so on, are vital to our moral life.

The great existential thinker Thomas Negal’s essay “The Absurd” addresses the presence of absurdity in our lives. Negal believes that absurdity is a necessary condition of human existence, and that it can be found within nearly every aspect of our lives. I would like to contest that the absurdity that Negal describes is one of the primary antagonists of Leo Tolsoty’s War and Peace. Each of the main characters of Tolsoy’s magnum opus faces this absurdity, and deals with it by changing their perspective; which is exactly how Negal suggests one should. Negal’s changing of perspective is a complicated one, but at its core it’s one of changing the scale with which we measure things by. This changing of scale is a deeper theme that runs within the text and one that must be used to truly read the novel, as it is used by Tolstoy and his characters. I would like to first focus on what exactly this absurdity is and what Negals changing of perspective by scale is. Then I’ll take a look at how this change can be found within the lives of the main characters, primarily Pierre Bezukhov. And finally I will describe how this change in perspective is being used by Tolstoy on many different levels and how we can perform this ourselves to effectively interpret any text, especially Tolstoy’s as it is riddled with it.

Bazarov is an interesting character is because it is made known that he is a Nihilist. Nihilism according to definition means a few things, “total rejection of established laws and institutions.” or, “An extreme form of skepticism; the denial of all real existence or the possibility of an objective basis for truth.” (Dictionary.com) The first example Bazarov shows of his Nihilism is his interactions with a young boy over a frog. The young boy is fascinated by this frog but Bazarov wants it purely to cut open for research purposes. The boy tries to explain to Bazarov that the frog is just a frog but Bazarov does not agree. He believes there is more to learn by cutting open a frog.

In the novel, “Fathers and Sons”, the character Bazarov is known to be a self-confident, and intelligent doctor who’s known to leave a few great impressions behind when interacting with his fellow characters large and small, like Fenichka and the lower-classman people. However, as nice as he may seem, I do not believe that the story intends Bazarov to be the protagonist, but rather the antagonist. His belief of nihilism, the rejection of all religious and moral principles, is one of the reasons why he is shown as an antagonist. Following that, is how he rudely carries out his own opinions to others, but then later on, turns out to be a hypocritic of his own teachings ; making him very displeasing to the audience to read. So although some may argue that Bazarov is a hero, because of lighter traits, I would have to disagree because of his belief of nihilism, how he carries it out to people and later turning himself into a hypocritic, making the novel play against Bazarov rather than for him.