Book Report on “Fathers and Sons” by Ivan Turgenev Essay Example for Free

Book Report on Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev EssayFathers and Sons is, perhaps, the most interesting book by the Russian writer Ivan Turgenev, which gained international recognition. It has been first published in 1862 and concurred with a complicated period of Russian history, known as the Great Reforms. Abolition of serfdom, reforms of administrational system, industrialization and raise of revolutionary ideas caused profound changes in the Russian order and in the minds of people. Turgenevs book is devoted t this dramatic mental and psychological break.Fathers atomic number 18 old generation who sh atomic number 18 conservative views and sons are youth, dreaming of revolution and demonstrating nihilism and disrespect towards conventional values. The narrator of the story Nikolai Petrovitch Kirsanov, is a son of a general, who has been a hero of Napoleonic wars. His life is preferably unremarkable. Being unable to serve in the army because of the childhood trauma, he has married and lived happily with his married woman till her early expiry. After that he devoted all his life to his only son Arcady.The wise opens when the aged Kirsanov stands before the door of his dominion waiting for his son returning from the university. Finally the son comes back, still he is not al wiz, he is accompanied by his new university friend Yevgeny Vasilevich Bazarov. Soon Nikolai Kirsanov finds out, that his son has exclusively pearlen under influence of Bazarovs nihilistic and realistic views. He dreams of bloody revolutionary changes and strifes with Kirsanov just about the future of Russia Aristocracy, liberalism, progress, principles, said Bazarov. Just think what a lot of foreign . . .and useless words To a Russian theyre no good for anything , says he. Further along the novel Bazarov continues to play a role of a revolutionary demon. He is pretty charismatic, so such miserable people as Sitnikov and Kukushkina fall under his influence. Those two are r epresent a sort of progressive thinkers whose progrogressism comes to be reduced to absurd. They are ready to admire any new nihilistic ideas being completely unable to think of them critically and add any own reasoning to them. Bazarov openly contemns Sitnikov and flirts with Kushkina to allay his boredom.What is really interesting for Bazarov are his disputes with Pavel Petrovitch Kirsanov, older brother of Nikolai Kirsanov They feel antipathy from the very first moment of their acquaintance. Pavel Kirsanov speaks of Bazarovs nihilism as of an barbarian doctrine existing in vacuum. Bazarovs manner of thinking is purely utilitarian We act by virtue of what we recognize as useful, went on Bazarov. At present the most useful thing is denial, so we deny. Pavel strongly disagrees But allow me, began Nikolai Petrovich. You deny everything, or to put it more precisely, you destroy everything .. . But one must construct, too, you know. 33 But Bazarov remains sure, that to construct some thing it is first necessary to Clean the ground. Perhaps this dispute between Pavel Kirsanov and Bazarov puts forth the basic idea of the book conflict of conservatism and revolutionary doctrine. In devote to iron out the differences between Pavel Kirsanov and Bazarov Arcady tells Bazarov the story of Pavels life. Once Pavel was a luminous officer, but roll in the hay to a woman, duchess R ruined his life and left him completely drained. Pavel only retained his sophisticated taste, carnival manners and Anglomania.Although she is not present in the novel, duchess R seems to be one of the characters because even after long time she continues to determine Pavels actions. He asks for satisfaction from Bazarov, when he sees him kissing Fenichka, but the real reason is not Bazarovs behavior, but that Fenichka somehow reminds Pavel duchess R. While men in the story are symbols of societal classes and positions, women represent something, what can be called normal life, whether it is du chess R a symbol of Russian resplendent nobility, Fenichka a symbol of common sense, or Mme Odintsov.Mme Odintsov is a very special character. On the one hired man she is perfectly educated and progressive woman, on the other she does not in any way fate Bazarovs enthusiasm about social cataclysms. She is sure, that society is to be bettered by bettering of human, but not by reconstruction of its formation. She asks Bazarov a question which he is unable to directly answer And you suppose, said Anna Sergeyevna, that when society is reformed there will be no longer any stupid or extraordinary people? 56 Bazarov starts explaining that a proper society will make no difference, but inside he feels, that Odintsova is right. Love to a woman is so contrary to Bazarovs views, that he is unable to accept it, move cynicism on himself, and then leaving her house. He attempts to find some occupation for himself, flirts, fights at a affaire dhonneur and tries to speak about his ideas with peasants. The peasants are in fact those, who are to be enthusiastic about the revolution, at least as Bazarov thinks. So he is unhappily surprised to find out, that peasants do not wishing to understand complicated teaching and think of him as of a cheat.Bazarovs ideas collapse he finds no support both with educated and common people, so he has to recognize, that revolution is actually unnecessary to anyone and that it is secret code more, than a fashionable game. Pavel Kirsanov is right doctrines of Bazarov exist in vacuum. It is not clear whether Bazarovs death was a suicide, but his behavior itself is suicidal, and he accepts the certainty of death calmly. The only thing he wants is to say cong to Odintsova. At his deathbed he openly confessed, that all his prod ideas went down to the pan.He continues to speak of himself as of a giant, but now the only task he puts for himself is to die with dignity. Six month after his death the two couples married Nikolai Kirsanov to Fenich ka and Arcady to Kate Odintsova younger sister. The normal life continues even after Bazarovs death, and Arcady, his former confederate, becomes a wealthy landowner, representing an antithesis to Bazarovs views. Bazarovs grave is almost forgotten, and only his parents sometimes come to shed weeping over it. Although Fathers and Sons is a novel about pre-revolutionary Russia, its lesson is useful for all generations.Sons always rise against their fathers, spontaneous to change this world and create a totally new one for themselves. And Turgenev demonstrates how mental dissoluteness and ghostlike weakness can destroy even the most sharp-minded person. The whole revolutionary fervor of Bazarov is destroyed by romantic love the real motivation of the world. At the end of his life the demon feels lost and betrayed, opus conservatism triumphs over his grave.Works cited Ivan Turgenev (1998) Fathers and Sons. Oxford Oxford University Press