This paper examines the following four works of literature and how they affected the literary philosophy of their eras: Voltaire's 'Candide', Anton Chekhov's 'Enemies', Giancamo Leopardi's 'The Infinite' and Virginia Wolf's 'Kew Gardens'.
Abstract This paper studies the different ways that four works of literature from different genres reflect the dominant literary philosophy of the era of their authors. It argues that over the course of the last three centuries, from the 18th century to the present, the ways that literature has depicted the human condition has been characterized by an increasing focus on the interior, rather than the exterior life of fictional and non-fictional characters. It studies Voltaire's 'Candide', Anton Chekhov's 'Enemies' , Giancamo Leopardi's 'The Infinite' and Virginia Wolf's 'Kew Gardens'.
From the Paper "One of the most perfect expressions of the Enlightenment's Rationalism can be found in Voltaire's Candide. Voltaire depicts a society rife with hypocrisy, particularly religious hypocrisy. The length of Voltaire's work is that of a novella, but the prose has the quality of a satire, or an extended parody, in this case a parody of the philosopher Lebiniz's sensibility that the entire world is good, and that the world in which we dwell is the best of all possible worlds. Voltaire's authorial voice is present throughout the work, and even when the author is chronicling the inner voice of the characters, there is a strong sense of plot, of action, and of an author's philosophic "project" at work."
Tags: literature philosophy Voltaire 'Candide'Anton Chekhov 'Enemies', Giancamo Leopardi 'The Infinite' Virginia Wolf 'Kew Gardens' Enlightenment Rationalism
Abstract Often in his works, Anton Pavlevich Chekhov mixes comedic and tragic elements. The purpose of this is to not allow things to get too drab or life to appear to be too gloomy. He uses his characters as mediums for this comedic relief. Another one of Chekhov's trademarks is the use of off-stage events and actions. These events and actions may appear to be things that deserve the center of attention, but Chekhov purposely places them off-stage so as to draw attention to something else and pulls it off quite well. This paper analyzes several of Chekhov's plays, including, "Uncle Vanya", "The Cherry Orchard", and "Three Sisters" to show how he successfully makes use of comedy and off-stage action.
From the Paper "An example of this would be when there was a fire in Three Sisters. When Act Three is introduced, we learn that there was a fire from the narrative notes and from some of the dialogue, but the play is not in action while the fire is happening. The fire itself is not so important. What is important is how the characters react to it. The fire was merely a catalyst that set people off and made Act Three a hectic one. Natasha gets bossier towards servants, Chebutykin becomes a drunken mess and Irina becomes more frustrated and desperate to return to Moscow."
Abstract This paper analyzes the works of Anton Chekhov, including a number of major plays ("The Cherry Orchard," "Uncle Vanya," "The Seagull," "Three Sisters") and some of his short stories.
From the Paper "On January in Taganrog, Russia, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born. Though Chekhov wrote many one-act comedies and a significant number of short stories it is for his full-length tragedies that Chekhov is considered among the greatest dramatists of all time. While studying as a medical student at the University of Moscow, Chekhov began writing short stories. Influenced by Vaudeville and French farces Chekhov began writing one-act comedies."
Tags: Uncle Vanya, The Cherry Orchard, The Seagull, Three Sisters, Lady With A Pet Dog, The Radical, The Kiss, happiness, fulfillment, sadness, tragedy, comedy, life
Abstract This literary study examines the short story "The Lady and the Pet Dog" by Anton Chekhov. By learning of the sexist and often misogynistic behavior of Gurov toward women, one can realize his love for Anna revokes his views of gender stereotypes. By understanding how women can be seen as individuals with intelligence and beauty, Gurov invariably cannot hold onto these naive gender belief systems in Chekhov's narrative. The paper explains that, in essence, the basis of Chekhov's short story creates a larger perspective relating to how Gurov transforms his gender based misogyny in his love for Anna. Gurov is a male that has a great tendency to make generalizations about women and then places them within a certain category in society.
Abstract This a research essay about one of the oldest religions in the world, Satanism. It deals with common misconceptions, the history of how it began, moral codes, rules, and the different cults. The religious basis is discussed as well as the many sects, cults, and moderations over the years, including the Satanic Bible, written by Anton LaVey. This essay gives information about religion and provides many overlooked facts about beliefs.
From the Paper "Satanism is a religion that is often misinterpreted and not fully understood. Ever since the 18th century, people have begun to blame many faith-related problems on this particular religion. Satanism is a belief in Satan, and that he has the grace of the Earth. He is seen as the prince of darkness, and many of the beliefs are based on self-service, pride, and superiority. Satanism is divided in a few groups, but two are most recognized, which are the Traditional and Modern Satanists. Not all Satanism has the same beliefs, values and worships, but many among the different groups are common. All Satanist groups have the same beliefs about the creation of Satanism, believe in the same rules, sins and Statements, and have relatively similar moral codes."
Abstract The paper explores the story "The Kiss" by Anton Chekhov who incorporates experiences from his own life in Russia into his short stories. The paper examines the multicultural aspect of the book as well as its multi-dimensional, balanced and authentic characters. It also looks at Chekhov's method of ending his stories abruptly to make them seem like they are really happening - to convey the message that life doesn't have a beginning, middle, and an end and things just happen.
From the Paper "Anton Chekhov, the Russian writer of ?The Kiss,? created a short story that any culture could relate to. Wonder, curiosity, infatuation, embarrassment, and fascination can be found anywhere in the world. His story contains multi-dimensional, balanced, and authentic characters. He includes a setting that he saw in his own life into the story. The main characters of the story are minorities, compared to the General. His story invites much reflection, as there is no real climax and it ends abruptly. These are the same characteristics that make the story so appealing. His short story should be included in a multicultural literature compilation as it is the ultimate representation of what a publishing company would want for their books."
Abstract This paper discusses that the title character, in Anton Chekhov's short story "Anyuta", is defined by her internal impoverishment. The author believes that Chekhov drew on his professional background as a doctor to explore Anyuta's psychological impoverishment. The author states that the reader feels sympathy for Anyuta for having no family, for being cold and probably hungry and for having been left by five men, until Anyuta's decision to remain a passive instrument of Stepan's advancement which shows that Anyuta is not only psychologically impoverished by circumstance but also by her own choices.
From the Paper "The story opens with an image of Anyuta and Stepan Klochkov in a dirty apartment. The image introduces several pertinent clues about how to interpret Anyuta's character, before the reader even sees her interact with Stepan. First, the narrator has given Stepan a last name but declined to specify Anyuta?s. One possible interpretation of this difference is that Stepan's identity in the world is more particular and concrete than Anyuta. A last name is usually a family name. The reader gets the sense that Stepan has a family, comes from somewhere, grounded by a historical past. Stepan has another possible interpretation of this differential naming, which may be reconcilable with the first interpretation, as the narrator has a stronger level of familiarity with Anyuta than Stepan, and so he introduces "Stepan Klochkov" to the reader formally."
This paper compares three short stories: "The Kiss" by Anton Chekhov, "How to Tell a True War Story" by Tim O?Brien and
"The Secret Sharer" by Joseph Conrad.
1,465 words (approx. 5.9 pages), 3 sources, 2002, $ 48.95
Abstract The paper discusses that these three stories shed light on the subject and technique of contrast and irony in their own unique manner: "The Kiss" by Anton Chekhov focuses on contrasting emotions, "How to Tell a True War Story" by Tim O?Brien deals with duality of thoughts and "The Secret Sharer" by Joseph Conrad draws our attention symbolically to contrasting sides of one person. The paper author believes that these stories help us understand that nothing in this world is static and thus emotions, people and thoughts can be highly unpredictable.
From the Paper "Similarly, in another short story titled, "How to Tell a True War Story", by Tim O?Brien, we come across another type of contradiction. This contradiction deals with conflicting thoughts that emerge in the head of a soldier who has witnessed the brutality of a war. The author wants us to know that even one static experience can generate a wide range of conflicting emotions and thoughts. The death of Curt Lemon on the battlefield is that one unchangeable experience which gives rise to many moving, evolving and changing emotions. These emotions are at times poignant while at others they reveal a different aspect of war and thus become slightly positive in nature. "
Abstract Analysis of Anton Chechov's play. Plot of courtship of Lomov and neighbor's daughter Natalya. Importance of land and money to the characters. Reasons for their constant fighting. Depiction of the rual social system and its relationship to the characters. The play as a metaphor for marriage as a continuing battle ground.
From the Paper "In the short play "A Marriage Proposal," Anton Chekhov describes the odd courtship of Lomov, who seeks a marriage with his neighbor's daughter. Lomov and the woman he wants to marry fight before he can make his proposal, fight while he proposes, and fight after she agrees to marry him. They tend to fight every time they speak to one another, and while this alarms her father at first, he decides that the two just like to fight with each other. In the end, the father calls this last fight the "beginning of family happiness," though it is doubtful that a couple can fight all the time and achieve anything like bliss.
The meeting between Lomov and Tchubukov suggests one sort of neighborhood arrangement, for Tchubukov could not be friendlier and more delighted to see Lomov, happier being asked about the marriage, and more positive about Lomov's prospects."
Abstract The paper reviews the two plays "The Cherry Orchard" by Bernard Shaw and "Heartbreak House" by Anton Chekhov and examines how the two works are intertwined with each other in theme and structure, the latter inspired by the former. It discusses how both plays are tragi-comedies and how both seem to portray what is right and wrong even though there are no real villains or heroes and how both are seemingly plotless, yet intricately designed to be full of plot detail. It also shows how the similarity between these two plays lies in the techniques employed by the playwrights to achieve this by inserting the tragedy of the everyday into comedy.
From the Paper "The dramatic techniques apparent in the two plays being discussed branch out from the root definition of the plays as comedies, or perhaps more specifically as tragicomedies. Tragicomedy is essentially comedy that revolves around tragedy, with a key factor being that the action is revolving around real people. Only real people, in the sense of a naturalistic portrayal of people in real life, are capable of moving from one concept to the other in the space of a breath. The archetypal hero disobeys the archetype if he or she moves from sadness to happiness in an irregular, unforeseeable pattern, a feat required in tragicomedy."
Abstract Anton Chekhov's short story, entitled, "The Lady with the Dog", is a love story between the two main characters, Dmitri Gurov and Anna Sergeyevna. The writer looks at the struggle that they experience as they try to prevent their affair from happening, especially since they are already married and have their own respective families to live with. The writer explains that in addition to their love story, the primary focus of the story is the illustration of the development of Dmitri Gurov's character. It shows how Dmitri's development as the main character in the story can be illustrated through a study and analysis of his life and outlook in life before, during and after he met Anna Sergeyevna, referred to in the story as the 'lady with the dog'.
From the Paper "The first analysis of Dmitri Gurov's character can be seen in his life before he met Anna, and this is found in Chapter 1 of the story. Dmitri Gurov is introduced in the story as an already married man, and has one daughter and two sons from his marriage. Dmitri's life is full of treachery and boredom, mainly because he lives with a woman whom he does not love, and has a profession which he does not want to practice (Dmitri was interested in the arts, but has been given a job at a bank instead). The following passage from the short story illustrates how Dmitri's life can be described as ?lifeless,? as if Dmitri had no life to live at all. Chekhov tells his readers: "In the society of men he was bored and not himself, with them he was cold and uncommunicative; but when he was in the company of women he felt free" ? but Chekhov also tells his readers that Dmitri ?? every intimacy, which at first so agreeably diversifies life and appears a light and charming adventure, inevitably grows into a regular problem of extreme intricacy, and in the long run the situation becomes unbearable.? These passages tells us that before meeting with Anna, Dmitri is a bored man who finds relief from boredom through adultery, but his relationship with other women also becomes "unbearable" for him, since Dmitri seem to look at women as "temporary relief" from his dreary and boring life. Thus, Dmitri Gurov is shown as an irresolute and heartless man who finds women as mere commodities to suit his need to experience fun and excitement in life, and to boost his deflated ego and pride as a result of his living with an "unbearable" woman, his wife."
Abstract "Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama" by X.J Kennedy and Dana Gioia is a magnum opus and a literary contribution that is one of a kind. This highly informative piece of writing comprises of several student essays, brief author biographies and reflections by the authors pertaining to their self-written works thereby covering a broad range of ideas, topics and literary as well as art forms and styles. From this masterwork, the paper selected two short stories titled "A Pair of Tickets", written by Amy Tan and "The Lady with the Pet Dog" written by Anton Checkhov for thorough analysis. The paper primarily focuses on the character development and changes that occurred in the lives of the characters.
From the Paper "The characters develop rapidly, however in a backward direction. For instance, the story begins and proceeds with the female heroine of the masterwork travelling with her father to China and visiting various places in the country that is supposedly her motherland. From there, an interested reader can observe the smooth transition and the character growth throughout the story. As the story unfolds, the reader realizes the main themes that the author is concentrating on. The unfashionable mother gradually reserves a special place in the heart of her American daughter and successfully manages to convey the real essence and the beauty hidden in the foundations of "their" Chinese cultural legacy and historical evolution of their heritage. As the plot develops, the characters develop too, uncovering the attributes of the main characters."
Abstract This paper discusses the "Lady With the Pet Dog" by Anton Chekhov. By analyzing the psychological perspectives of the characters, we can realize their neurosis.
Abstract This paper is on a short story "The Lady with the Pet Dog" written by Anton Chekhov, translated by Avrahm Yarmolinsky (1947). It includes the identification and demonstration, and how the plot's inciting moment and the plot's major crisis and climax and the plot's denouncement are well connected in the same movement of conflict development and resolution. It also includes the description of Freytag's Pyramid.
An analysis of symbolism in "Gooseberries" by Anton Chekov, "Heat" by Joyce Carol Oates and "Greenleaf" and "A Late Encounter with the Enemy" by Flannery O'Connor.
1,150 words (approx. 4.6 pages), 5 sources, 2002, $ 44.95
Abstract This paper will discuss the use of the following symbols from the casebook stories: the gooseberries in "Gooseberries" by Anton Chekov; the bull in "Greenleaf" by Flannery O'Connor; clothing in "A Late Encounter with the Enemy" also by Flannery O'Connor; heat and ice in "Heat" by Joyce Carol Oates. By understanding these symbols, we can further realize how the authors try to convey meaning in their writings.
