English World Literature Essay, First draft- Dr. Zhivago
by
gigaahil (student)
Saahil Khemnani, 12G
IB English World Literature Essay
First Draft
Romance, love, redemption, loneliness, and individuality. Themes such as these are not discussed in depth in a particular text, much less brought about with the use of setting and particular scenes to depict these major ideas. However, these themes are observed in Boris Pasternak’s Nobel prize winning novel “Dr. Zhivago” as the renowned writer utilizes a large amount of literary techniques including symbolism and imagery to bring about these themes in a conspicuous and detailed manner. The novel was first published in 1957 in a small town in Italy, Europe, and then was officially published in the year 1988, and the fact that Pasternak had begun writing this text decades in advance, further emphasizes the amount of detail and content put into his remarkable work.
The impact Dr. Zhivago leaves in literary history is massive. As discussed above, it was one of the main sources of Pasternak’s distinguished nobel prize, and its fundamental concepts of individualism against collectivism, and how loneliness arises the individualism, set during the time of Putin’s rule over Russia, stirs the minds of readers and allows them to relate this novel to historic events.
Pasternak uses the setting, that is the place and time where this story took place, as a symbol or a tool to bring about one of the major themes of the novel. The novel was set during the Russian Revolution, which in itself was an ideological struggle that did not discriminate between the young and the old. This novel can be categorized as a colonial or a post colonial novel which is a political stance taken by a writer in favour of a disfavouring imperialism. Dr. Zhivago speaks of the collective political stand against society and a concept of freedom over autocracy which stems from an individual thought or frame of mind. In this novel, Yuri Zhivago is expressed as the ultimate individual, expressing himself through poetry and observes all of the beautiful aspects of life. His emotions tend to overcome him more frequently and he is extremely meditative. Yuri is a man who exerts himself against the collective belief of the Russian society. Yuri’s love for Lara is what the novel revolves around, which is fuelled by passion and romanticism. Individualism can be defined as following the heart and behaving irrationally as opposed to acting rationally. Yuri's love for Lara is an act of the heart and is a contradiction to the general relation structure of this transitioning period of Russia. Yuri has a multifaceted and dynamic personality, he goes towards his passion but then realizes that it is against his morals, hence he is torn between passion and principle. His constant attempts to exert himself as an individual prove to be fatal later on. This statement is supported by the scene in the novel where Yuri kills a huge amount of White soldiers despite his effort to control his emotions and avoid performing such an act. Yuri chooses his personal beliefs in contrary to the principles of the Soviet ideology, and hence it has proven to end in futility, and Yuri is terrified and demoralized by the incident. Pasternak ranges the individualism of Zhivago against the heartless society that is being erected by the Bolsheviks on the grave of Tsarist Russia. Where Zhivago questions his every deed from the standpoint of conscience, left-wing leaders like Lara’s husband, Pasha Antipov, who styles himself as Strelnikov or “Shooter,” kill without blinking or thinking. The individual was supreme in Russian Symbolism, both as a unique, creative being and as a representative of human emotions, dreams and values. However, At the end, Yuri’s efforts to rise as an individual have been in vain as he would not be able to survive in the current Soviet period in time as a true individual due to the Revolution’s ignorance of the underlying character of the individual. Autocracy had won over freedom.
