Chapter 2 ·Appreciation of works·

It describes the theme of conflict between parents and children.This conflict is colored by the times in Turgenev's works.Bazarov represented the younger generation of the 1860s—radical civilian intellectuals.And Pavel and Nicholas represent an older generation of conservative liberal aristocrats.Of course, in terms of attitudes towards young people, the attitudes of people in the father's generation are different. Nicholas is more gentle, hoping to understand the children's generation and keep up with the times, but he is not very successful.Bavel, on the other hand, is stubborn, believes in aristocratic liberalism, and is concerned about the rebellion of young people.In a broad sense, the conflict between father and son is manifested as the opposition between Bavel and Bazarov, thus, Bazarov has created the image of the "new man" of the times.

Bazarov is mentally strong.He is confident, exuberant, and has a sharp critical eye.He lived in harmony with the servants of the Arkady family, which did not prevent him from criticizing the backward superstition of the common people.His spiritual strength and critical sharpness were concentrated in his polemic with Bavel.When the two met for the first time, they felt incompatible with each other, and then showed tit-for-tat in terms of ideas.Bazarov responded forcefully to Pavel with his characteristic terse, rude words.Quite aggressive.He never succumbs to authority, has independent personality and judgment standards, embodies the attitude of the younger generation of independent thinking and the fighting spirit of newborn calves not afraid of tigers, of course, also contains the possible occurrence of young people in the process of growing from immaturity to maturity. biased and extreme.But he still overwhelmed his opponents with unquestionable mental superiority.Bazarov kissing Fenichka, in Pavel's view, is a serious violation of the rights of the nobility, and it is also a continuation of the opposing views between them.The duel exposed Bavel's narrowness, weakness and affectation, and Bazarov's open-mindedness, calmness and self-confidence. The strength and weakness of the spiritual strength of both sides are further revealed here.

Bazarov was a giant of action, he attacked the general chatter of the nobles, and he started with small things first.He has practical ability and pays attention to natural science research.His actions have a value-based criterion: "Anything we think is useful, we will act according to it." His action goal is very clear-clearing the ground for the future.His courage to act is also reflected in his attitude towards love to a certain extent.He'd annoyed himself with such romantic feelings, but he never shied away from the flames of love. Turgenev wrote how love sprouted and developed in the heart of Bazarov, who denied love, in a realistic and believable way.But the writer let Bazarov fall into a slump after being frustrated in love, repeating the mistakes of Bavel in love, and the harsh comment on Bavel's "male creature" was like a slap in the face to Bazarov himself. face.This is not to say that it is impossible to write about his lovelorn pain, the hero also has a loving side.But Turgenev let his hero go down blindly, unable to extricate himself until death.This cannot but be a misinterpretation of Bazarov.The invincible warrior in the aristocratic manor was unable to finally get rid of his negative and pessimistic emotions, and the integrity of the character was damaged.The writer wrote the scene of Bazarov expecting Akintsova's kiss before his death very movingly, but his vigor, his resentment, his spiritual power, and his strong will were also reflected in this perfunctory kiss by the woman. Dissolved completely.

This kind of contradictory change that violates the logic of character development is not unrelated to the writer's ideological tendency.Turgenev had an involuntary yearning for the civilian intellectuals represented by Bazarov. He admired their personal qualities and spirit of sacrifice, but he did not approve of their social and political ideas.The moderate liberal aristocratic writer feared violent revolution and did not want their cause to succeed.He believed that their views would inevitably lead them to become tragic figures, so he arranged for Bazarov's lovelorn, pessimism and finally his death.The inconsistency in Bazarov's character just reflects the writer's ambivalence towards democrats.

The character of Arkady has special significance in the novel.In terms of age, he belongs to the generation of children, and he has followed Bazarov; but in terms of ideology, he is a child of his father's generation, so Bazarov called him "the gentle young master of liberalism".When the new concepts that have just arrived and the old concepts that have been lingering are fighting each other, young people may be more attracted to new concepts by virtue of their physical and psychological factors such as sensitivity, courage, and vitality. However, their children are not advanced ideas. Of course, the concept of evolution is not absolutely universal in social ideological struggles, not to mention that there are also superficial pursuits of seeking novelty.Therefore, what Turgenev showed was not all the generation gap between the two generations in the physical and psychological sense, but also the political and ideological differences between different social camps, thus revealing the victory of Russian democracy over aristocratic liberalism at that time.

It is the masterpiece of Turgenev.Despite his flaws, Bazarov still left a vivid impression on people with his extraordinary artistic personality. In the history of Russian literature, he was the first Russian "newcomer" image, and he was the first to convey that civilian intellectuals had become the protagonists of life. era information. (Written by Wang Shengsi)