Fathers and Sons, is a Russian novel written by Ivan Turgenev in 1862. This novel of Turgenev is now considered his masterpiece and also one of the most influential pieces of Russian literature, but at the time of publishment this work was highly criticized. In this novel Turgenev used fictional characters to express his ideas on Materialism and Nihilism which has later been seen to have greatly influenced many revolutionary ideas of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. To truly understand this novel and the influences it has on the Russian peoples one must first become familiar with the characters in it. This includes the four main characters Nikolai, Pavel, Arkady, and Bazarov.

These main characters can be broken down in two different groups; the father’s generation and the son’s generation. The father’s generation is represented by Pavel and Nikolai and the sons generation are represented by Arkady and Bazarov. Pavel is the brother of Nikolai and the uncle of Arkady, he is a member of the Aristocrats and he looks down on young people and their new views on things. Pavel can be described as part of the Old Nobility, a Slavophile , and Conservative

Bazarov and Arkady meet Anna Odintsov at a ball, and their lives undergo a drastic change. Arkady is captivated by Anna Odintsov’s brilliance but she has eyes only for Bazarov. Bazarov tries to maintain his disconnected, indifferent manner toward her, but fails totally, and is finally captivated by her. Anna however is a frigid, wary person who likes relationships to extend only to a certain extent. The moment she realizes the extent of his passions, she puts a distance between them. Bazarov gets the message and leaves. “Consequently I must leave. I am aware of only one condition which would make me stay, but that condition can never be. After all, forgive my boldness, you don’t love me, and you never will?” Arkady in the meanwhile has forgot about Anna and fallen in love with Anna’s younger sister, Katya. They have an open, fulfilling relationship. Katya is in awe of her sister and lacks self-confidence. It is Arkady who brings out the best in her and instills confidence in her. Bazarov meets his old parents in the meanwhile and their joy at seeing their only son is untold. Yet Bazarov is pulled back to Madame, where he fails again. He returns to his home where he dies after contracting typhus. They’re on his deathbed Bazarov pleas to Anna for one last thing. “ Goodbye, he said with sudden force and his eyes glittered with a final bril

Some topics in this essay:
Bazarov Bazarov, Ivan Turgenev, Nikolai Fenechka, Nikolai’s Pavel, Materialism Nihilism, Mitya Arkady, Pavel Nikolai, Bazarov Arkady, Arkady Bazarov, Goodbye ListenYou, fathers sons, ivan turgenev, nikolai petrovich, pavel nikolai, arkady brings, son’s generation, main characters, russian peoples, generation represented, father’s generation,