Stupefaction in "Anna Karenina"

Paper Summary:

The paper finds a fusion of Tolstoy's essay, "Why do Men Stupefy Themselves?" and "Anna Karenina" concerning the nature of substance abuse, its role in society, and its use and effects on a personal level. The arguments are heavily supported with quotes from both texts.

From the Paper:

""Our workers know one thing only-" complains Sviyzhansky, a marshal of nobility, to Levin, "how to get drunk as a pig, and while drunk break everything you give him" . Sviyzhansky's remark suggests a prominence of uncivilized peasants whose reckless lives are comfortably distanced from those of the upper class. Yet this distinction along class boundaries is far from accurate. Tolstoy asserts, "...it is impossible to avoid understanding that the use of stupefiers... in the higher or lower circles of society, is evoked by one and the same cause, the need to stifle the voice of conscience ...." . Indeed, a closer examination of drinking in the novel finds that nobles and peasants alike are equally vulnerable to the allure of tobacco and alcohol."

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