The Power and Genius of Alexander Pushkin’s The Queen of Spades

Many literary critics applaud Anton Chekhov for his style of short story writing, and hold high regard for Chekhov’s story “Gooseberries”. Irish writer Sean O’Faolain even declared it "one of the most perfect stories in the whole of the world 's literature” (eNotes). Two articles, one from eNotes and an article from Chris Power, attempt to capture the essence of “Gooseberries”, using similar methods but having key differences that set them apart. Both articles serve their purpose of describing and critiquing “Gooseberries”, but Chris Power’s personal thought and well-described details enhance his article and establish it as the best essay to capture the meaning and feeling of “Gooseberries”.

The stories of Anton Chekhov mark a focal moment in European fiction. This is the point where 19th realist caucus of the short stories started their transformation into modern form. As such, his work straddles two traditions. The first is that of the anti-romantic realism which has a sharp observation of external social detail. It has human behavior conveyed within tight plot. The second is the modern psychological realism in which the action in typically internal and expressed in associative narrative that is built on epiphanic moments. In consideration of the two sides, Chekhov developed powerful personal styles that presage modernism without losing traditional frills of the form. This essay will discuss the Chekhov's portrayal of women.

The Queen of Spades is a novella written in 1833, by Alexander Pushkin. Widely considered his most successful piece, Pushkin spun a tale of common human greed that leads to betrayal, scandal, and ultimately repentance. Carefully woven in the societal complexities of mid 19th century Russia, Pushkin portrays the main characters to be two sides of the same coin—which is, metaphorically speaking the representation of the death and on going change of opposing Russian social generations. Although both Lizaveta Ivanovna and Hermann bear certain obvious characteristics, Pushkin clearly pronounced strong evidence that they’re stark contrasts which merits thorough scrutiny.

Around the globe, there are a couple of authors who have been put into the limelight by the quality of their work. Authors of books and poems play a vital role in educating the community through communicating certain issues through writing. This paper focuses on discussing and analyzing Theodore Roethke, one of the poets who have been recognized all over the world and whose work has been read by many people from all over the world. The paper tries to analyze some of the works that have been written by this author and discussion of some of the techniques that he uses to ensure that he can pass his message in the most successful way.

Russian writers seem to enjoy inserting a duel in their literature. There’s Pierre’s duel with Dolohov in Tolstoy’s War and Peace; there’s Onegin’s duel with Lensky in Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin; there’s Pechorin’s duel with Grushnitsky in Lermontov’s A Hero of Our Time, and Bazarov duel with Pavel in Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons. In this paper, however, making comparisons between the duels from A Hero of Our Time and Eugene Onegin will be the primary focus. When it comes to deciding if dueling was a noble form of conflict resolution, both writers seem to indirectly portray to the reader that duels are unimpressive and ineffective. Both writers emphasize on the challenges that could happen before, during, and after a Russian duel. If the writers wanted to portray to the readers that duels were honorable, then they would have not displayed the challenges that each character faced while they participated in the duel.

“My Papa’s Waltz,” is one of Roethke’s best-known poems. There is controversy over whether its focus is on admiration or abuse. At first glance, it appears to be a simple four stanza poem, however if we dig deeper into the context of the words, and structure of the poem, we see that it is much more.

The classic, and world renowned novel, “the Cather in the Rye,” makes many clever comparisons and connections to stupendous moments in history that have shaped our modern world. The protagonist, a young man with a deep hatred for “phonies” struggles in the social world because all he can see are human beings who are unsatisfactory. Lacking, in his eyes, originality and individuality. One of history’s most extreme phonies was a woman named Anna Anderson, who, in 1920 tried to commit suicide by jumping from a bridge. Two years prior to this incident the czar of Russia and his family were murdered by Bolshevik revolutionaries, and unconfirmed rumors circulated

Mayakovsky’s The Bedbug, written after the New Economic Policy which Lenin presented as a means to relieve the economic crisis in the aftereffects of the war and revolution, serves as a social critique of philistinism and bourgeois society (Dobrenko 221). While his criticism of the bourgeois is clear, Mayakovsky actually makes two attacks; the first “against the bourgeois ‘relics’ of the New Economic policy of the early 1920s and the other against the rigidities of a dystopia scheduled to come into being only fifty years afterward” (Moser 438). The multifaceted criticisms in The Bedbug display the strains between the revolution as originally conceived by Mayakovsky and the actuality of revolution. Furthermore, in taking into consideration Mayakovsky’s autobiographical poetry one can view Prisypkin as reflective of facets of Mayakovsky’s identity and the character of society in general. Hence, The Bedbug in conjunction with Mayakovsky’s poetic works reveals tensions between Mayakovsky’s personal and political ideals.

Candace Fleming’s 2014 history book The Family Romanov is the best kind of nonfiction – so lively and engaging that some of its young adult audience thinks of it as a novel. Subtitled Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia, this work synthesizes the historical, economic, and social context that led up to the 1917 Communist Revolution in Russia and to the murder of the last Tsar and his family. Fleming uses primary sources to give voice both to the aristocracy that was caught unawares by the rising dissatisfaction of its subjects and to the peasants and laborers whose misery and deprivation created a fertile environment for revolutionary fervor. The richness of this documentary approach makes this tumultuous history come alive.

His conflict shows us the peasant’s dignity in the depths of deprivation. His full tolerance of his new identity and of his camp life, and his remarkable ability to build a worthwhile existence for himself out of the capricious camp system, make him a spiritual hero. His intensity in living, eating, and working puts him in control of his world. This is exemplified when Shukhov labors on a brick wall, the narrator says that he concentrates on it as if he owned every inch of it. In a way, although he is a slave, he is still the leader of his own small dominion. He is not an aristocrat by birth, but inwardly he is proud, dominant, and invulnerable. Accordingly, immortalizing Shukhov through publication will paint a poignant portrait of survival to the Soviet people, with the added bonus of expediting the liberalization of the national political and intellectual climate.

In discussion of “My Papa’s Waltz,” a controversial issue has been the interpretation of what individuals think about Roethke’s poem. Although some readers think it is about an abusive relationship between the author as a child and his father, others think it is a “waltz” between the author as a child and his father. However, after deconstructing the poem, it becomes undoubtedly clear that this poem was meant to be about about a “waltz.” The subject of “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke has spurred passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students. Alike, the imagery, syntax, and diction of the poem clearly support the interpretation that Roethke writes “My Papa’s Waltz” to express a rough playful memory of a dance between his father and himself as a young child. This is a fond memory for the author because at the age of fourteen he lost his father. The evidence in this poem clearly shows a “waltz” between him and his father.

In this fantastic short story of Alexander Pushkin there are many questions left to be answer through his audience leaving for many different interpretations. A supernatural story is always good to read. They are interesting and it gives an idea in the most famous question of “what if” was really reality. Having the idea of the “what if” as reality leads open questions about the message that is being persuaded as well as the moral.

Popular descriptions of Alexei Karenin label him as a cold and passionless government official who doesn’t care about his wife or family. Indeed, he is viewed as the awful husband who is holding Anna hostage in a loveless marriage. However, this is a highly exaggerated description, if not completely false, analysis of Karenin. Upon careful analysis of Karenin’s character and his actions, it is clear that he is not the person Anna makes him out to be. In fact, with thorough examination of the passage on pages 384 and 385 of Anna Karenina, it is clear that Alexei Karenin can be considered the hidden tragic hero of the novel.

Alexander Pushkin “The Queen of Spades,” begins with a gathering of some men having dinner, playing cards, and talking. Hermann a German just listens and watches the men play cards, not once participating, Tomsky “…pointing at [Hermann, says] ‘He’s never held a card in his hand, never doubled a single stake in his life...’” (276). Then, Tomsky begins with the story of how he does not understand how his grandmother Anna Fedotovna (the countess) never plays cards when she knows a secret of how to win with only using three cards. All the men that had gathered during that night were in awe. Since Hermann had heard how Tomsky’s grandmother had lost all her wealth and then recovered it all in just one night by playing with three secret cards, he could not stop thinking about that story and begins to lose control of his mind and greed takes over his emotions. Hermann’s only thoughts were to find a way to become close to the countess so he could discover the three secret cards that were used. Knowing that those three secret cards could liberate him from the small inheritance he had received from his father and accumulate wealth.

In 19th century Russian literature there was often a gender inequality depicted between the male and female characters. Women were expected to get married, start a family, and obey their husbands. Women often made sacrifices and married men they weren’t fond of in order to support their families. Anton Chekhov’s writing questions these gender relationships. The female characters have a strong presence within Chekhov’s works, and they transcend typical gender roles.