1. Socio-political sentiments.
2. Innovation in the work.
3. Similarities and differences between Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich.
4. The character of Nikolai Petrovich.
5. Life position Arcadia.
I. S. Turgenev, as a creative and sensitive nature, perfectly saw and understood what was happening in social life his contemporaries. The novel “Fathers and Sons” was completed in 1862, when the confrontation between the two was clearly visible in society. political parties liberal aristocrats and revolutionary democrats. Of course, this could not help but be reflected in the writer’s novel, where the conflicting parties are represented by the nihilist Evgeny Bazarov and the nobleman Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov.
Being a nobleman, Ivan Sergeevich could not share the views of Bazarov, who, according to the author, was the bearer of revolutionary democratic ideas. On the other hand, Turgenev, as an artist, was interested in these people and their characters. His attitude towards his hero is far from clear, as evidenced by the fact that Eugene “suppresses all the other characters in the novel.” When writing his novel, Ivan Sergeevich showed some innovation in terms of constructing the plot and the very idea of the work. This was a new trend in fiction that time. Turgenev's novel is completely devoid of the usual traditional elements any other work of art. It is difficult to discover the outcome or plot of the plot; there is no strict plan that determines the course of the action. On the other hand, in the work you can see well-drawn strong characters, observations and pictures from the everyday life of landowners and peasants. The absence of strictly verified artistic components does not at all detract from the value of this work, since careful psychological analysis human personality, the author’s attitude towards his characters is revealed.
From the first acquaintance with the main characters of the novel, Evgeny Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov, it becomes clear that these people cannot help but confront each other. The author emphasizes this even more by giving detailed description the appearance of their characters. The “elegant and thoroughbred” Kirsanov could not help but irritate the nihilist with his openly aristocratic manners, classic features faces, snow-white collars, beautiful hands with long pink nails. And Pavel Petrovich looked with obvious hostility at the wide plebeian forehead, “the large bulges of the spacious skull,” long hair and the wide clothes of the unexpected guest. Already at the first acquaintance with each other, a spark of hostility flared up between these people, which subsequently grew into a real conflict between the older and younger generations. A nihilist, accustomed to working and approaching any phenomenon in life around him from a practical perspective, certainly could not understand an aristocrat imprisoned in a village and talking about subtle matters. Evgeniy irritated Kirsanov with his narrow-mindedness regarding not material, but spiritual values.
On the other hand, these main characters of the novel are incredibly close to each other. Both are fiercely loyal to their once established views and are not ready to make even the slightest compromise. The nihilist advocates free-thinking, rejecting everything that does not fit within the boundaries of material reality, and the aristocrat is conservative in everything with no less zeal, feeling like a real gentleman. Both cannot deviate one iota from their “principles,” although one of them, in particular the young man, is sure that he is devoid of any principles at all: “A nihilist is a person who does not bow to any authority, who does not accept not a single principle to be trusted.” Despite their ideological differences, Kirsanov and Bazarov are very similar in character. Both use their appearance to communicate their views. Hence the robes instead of clothes, long hair, Evgeniy’s sideburns, an impeccable suit, starched thin shirts, Pavel Petrovich’s polished nails. Reproaching his rival for laziness and the absence of any attempts to do anything useful for society, Bazarov, by and large, has not yet defined a clear goal for himself, has not found his purpose in this life. That is why, speaking in the dispute as an accuser, Evgenia hesitates to answer Kirsanov’s question: “You deny everything, or, to put it more precisely, you destroy everything... But you also need to build.”
Arkady stands up for him, arguing that the task of the nihilists is only to destroy everything old, to free up a new place. It was not only Kirsanov who felt the weakness in Bazarov’s reasoning. Odintsova also quickly felt the absence of her main life goal from your new friend. Possessing incredible insight, she cannot believe that Eugene, endowed with such a high degree of pride, is capable of being content with the activities of an ordinary district doctor. For what main character replies: “And, besides, what is the desire to talk and think about the future, which for the most part does not depend on us? If there’s an opportunity to do something, that’s great, but if it doesn’t work out, at least you’ll be pleased that you didn’t chatter in vain beforehand.” Kirsanov is sincerely confident that Bazarov is nothing more than a poser and uses his theory to cover up his ignorance and bad manners: “...before you had to learn... and now they should be told that everything in the world is nonsense... and it’s all in the bag. ..before they were just idiots, but now they suddenly became nihilists.” If at the beginning of the novel the reader clearly senses a chasm; separating the younger and older generations, then as the action develops it becomes clear that it as such does not exist at all. Despite the fact that young people, talking among themselves about the Kirsanov brothers, do not call them anything other than “old men,” the author accurately indicates the ages of Nikolai Petrovich and Pavel Petrovich.
As a result, it becomes clear that they are not old enough to be considered old people, especially by modern standards. Arkady's father is brought even closer to the new generation by his young wife and infant son; the family seems to indicate to the reader that Nikolai Petrovich is in the prime of his life. He is the one in to a greater extent and confronts the nihilistic ideas of his son and his friend. Pavel Petrovich hates Bazarov, entering into debates with him, he defends his point of view exclusively in words, but only Nikolai Petrovich gets down to business without further ado. He does not experience strong negative emotions towards Evgeniy, like his brother. Moreover, he respects the opinion of this person, deservedly considering him smart and well-read. Kirsanov is keenly interested in scientific chemical experiments your guest like a sponge, absorbing everything new and interesting. At the same time, it is Nikolai Petrovich, the only one of all who is involved in practical activities, can confront the nihilist, question his arguments regarding the materiality of everything that is happening. Kirsanov does not just reason, but tries to change something in the life around him, for which he creates a farm and gives part of the land to the peasants. With his seemingly imperceptible work, he achieves significant great results, rather than all the nihilists combined, who advocate for freedom and reject ideals for the sake of improving life. Nikolai Petrovich is very worried about his disagreements with his son.
He is the first to take a step forward and tries to understand the new generation. Sometimes he feels that in some ways he lags behind the progressive youth, that something is no longer within his reach. However, this awareness further encourages Kirsanov to engage in practical activities with triple zeal. Only work allows him to prove to others and to himself that he is still alive and young, that while he can benefit his family and the state, it is too early to write him off. With regret, Nikolai Petrovich recalls his misconceptions youth, about his disputes with his mother, whom, due to inexperience, he considered lagging behind life and too old to perceive new trends and views. Now he’s feeding him “the same pill” native son.
The conflict that flared up on the first pages subsides in the work as if by itself. After the departure of the nihilist, calm reigns again in the Kirsanov family. Arkady gradually moves away from his friend and falls under the influence of the smart and practical Katya. Irritation against Evgeniy, arising in the soul young man even during the period of friendship with his involuntary mentor. It grows to such an extent that it ruins the entire friendship. Arkady, also not lacking in insight, begins to notice that his friend’s words do not always correspond to his actions. Evgeniy’s sharp and not always harmless statements about the relatives and friends of Kirsanov Jr. cause dissatisfaction.
As a result, Bazarov leaves for his father’s estate, where he soon becomes infected and dies. Arkady adopts the experience of his father, becoming closer and closer to him. He likes to study economic activity, nihilistic inclinations fade into the background until they remain somewhere far in the past. A young man with a creative nature, who loves music and poetry, realizes the inconsistency of his friend’s theory and quickly abandons it.
The problem of “fathers and sons” is an eternal problem that arises for people of different generations. Life principles elders were once considered the basis of human existence, but they are becoming a thing of the past and are being replaced by new ones life ideals belonging to to the younger generation. The generation of “fathers” tries to preserve everything that they believed in, what they lived with all their lives, sometimes not accepting the new beliefs of the young, strives to leave everything in their place, strives for peace. “Children” are more progressive, always on the move, they want to rebuild and change everything, they do not understand the passivity of their elders. The problem of “fathers and sons” arises in almost all forms of organization human life: in the family, in the work team, in society as a whole. The task of establishing a balance in views when “fathers” and “sons” collide is complex, and in some cases it cannot be solved at all. Someone enters into open conflict with representatives of the older generation, accusing them of inactivity and idle talk; someone, realizing the need for a peaceful solution to this problem, steps aside, giving both themselves and others the right to freely implement their plans and ideas, without colliding with representatives of another generation.
The clash between “fathers” and “children,” which occurred, is occurring, and will continue to occur, could not help but be reflected in the works of Russian writers. Each of them solves this problem differently in their works.
Among such writers I would like to highlight I. S. Turgenev, who wrote great novel"Fathers and Sons". The writer based his book on the complex conflict that arises between “fathers” and “children,” between new and obsolete views on life. Turgenev personally encountered this problem in the Sovremennik magazine. The new worldviews of Dobrolyubov and Chernyshevsky were alien to the writer. Turgenev had to leave the editorial office of the magazine.
In the novel “Fathers and Sons” the main opponents and antagonists are Evgeny Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov. The conflict between them is considered from the point of view of the problem of “fathers and sons”, from the position of their social, political and public disagreements.
It must be said that Bazarov and Kirsanov differ in their social origins, which, of course, affected the formation of the views of these people.
Bazarov's ancestors were serfs. Everything he achieved was the result of hard mental work. Evgeniy became interested in medicine and natural sciences, conducted experiments, collected various beetles and insects.
Pavel Petrovich grew up in an atmosphere of prosperity and prosperity. At eighteen he was assigned to the page corps, and at twenty-eight he received the rank of captain. Having moved to the village to live with his brother, Kirsanov maintained social decency here too. Great importance Pavel Petrovich gave appearance. He was always well shaven and wore heavily starched collars, which Bazarov ironically ridicules: “Nails, nails, at least send me to an exhibition!..” Evgeny does not care at all about his appearance or what people think of him. Bazarov was a great materialist. For him, the only thing that mattered was what he could touch with his hands, put on his tongue. The nihilist denied all spiritual pleasures, not understanding that people get pleasure when they admire the beauties of nature, listen to music, read Pushkin, and admire the paintings of Raphael. Bazarov only said: “Raphael is not worth a penny...”
Pavel Petrovich, of course, did not accept such nihilist views. Kirsanov was fond of poetry and considered it his duty to uphold noble traditions.
Bazarov's disputes with P.P. Kirsanov play a huge role in revealing the main contradictions of the era. In them we see many directions and issues on which representatives of the younger and older generations do not agree.
Bazarov denies principles and authorities, Pavel Petrovich claims that “... only immoral or empty people can live without principles in our time.” Evgeniy exposes government system and accuses the “aristocrats” of idle talk. Pavel Petrovich recognizes the old social structure, not seeing any flaws in it, fearing its destruction.
One of the main contradictions arises between the antagonists in their attitude towards the people.
Although Bazarov treats the people with contempt for their darkness and ignorance, all representatives of the masses in Kirsanov’s house consider him “their” person, because he is easy to communicate with people, there is no lordly effeminacy in him. And at this time, Pavel Petrovich claims that Yevgeny Bazarov does not know the Russian people: “No, the Russian people are not what you imagine them to be. He sacredly honors traditions, he is patriarchal, he cannot live without faith...” But after these beautiful words When talking to men, she turns away and sniffs cologne.
The disagreements that have arisen between our heroes are serious. Bazarov, whose life is built on negation, cannot understand Pavel Petrovich. The latter cannot understand Evgeniy. The culmination of their personal hostility and differences of opinion was a duel. But main reason The duel is not a contradiction between Kirsanov and Bazarov, but an unfriendly relationship that arose between them at the very beginning of their acquaintance with each other. Therefore, the problem of “fathers and sons” lies in personal bias towards each other, because it can be solved peacefully, without resorting to extreme measures, if the older generation is more tolerant of the younger generation, somewhere, perhaps, agreeing with them, and the generation of “children” will show more respect for their elders.
Turgenev studied eternal problem“fathers and sons” from the perspective of their time, their lives. He himself belonged to the galaxy of “fathers” and, although the author’s sympathies were on the side of Bazarov, he advocated philanthropy and the development of the spiritual principle in people. Having included a description of nature in the narrative, testing Bazarov with love, the author imperceptibly gets involved in a dispute with his hero, disagreeing with him in many respects.
The problem of “fathers and sons” is relevant today. It is acutely relevant to people who belong to different generations. “Children” who openly oppose the generation of “fathers” must remember that only tolerance towards each other and mutual respect will help avoid serious clashes.
In the novel “Fathers and Sons” by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, it is written about the conflict of different generations.
The main character Evgeny Bazarov is a very hardworking person. He likes exact sciences, he conducts research and experiments. Bazarov tries in every possible way to benefit his homeland and society as a whole. He doesn't like to talk about feelings and denies any expression of them. For him, creativity and poetry have absolutely no meaning.
Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov becomes his opponent - it is he who enters into an argument with Bazarov. Kirsanov Sr. does not understand why the young man Evgeniy treats art with such disdain.
Every day these two treat each other more and more with hatred and anger. It comes to the point that they start a secret duel in which Bazarov wins. Evgeniy’s victory is just a lucky chance and it could also have turned up against Pavel Petrovich.
After the duel, passions in the Kirsanovs' house, where Bazarov was invited, subsided a little. However better friend They did not treat each other.
Arkady, who invites his friend to stay at his parents' house, also notices that Bazarov is not so good man and in fact they don't have as much in common as he previously thought. Arkady and Evgeny considered themselves to be members of the nihilistic society.
The Kirsanovs are wealthy nobles, they have their own estate, a little dilapidated, but large. Kirsanov Sr. a good education and he is very intelligent and well-mannered person. Arkady Kirsanov was receiving his education and met Evgeny Bazarov. It was Bazarov who led Arkady to the nihilists. Evgeniy has very few friends, or rather, practically none. All his friends and acquaintances at first eagerly accepted his ideas of nihilism, but then everyone quickly dispersed. Everyone went their separate ways, some got married and took care of their families, and some found things more interesting.
Arkady was very sympathetic to Bazarov and tried to support him in everything. Over time, Kirsanov realizes that it is better for them to stop communicating with Bazarov. Kirsanov has loving family father and uncle. A little time will pass and Arkady will marry a wonderful girl, Katerina, whom he fell in love with very much. Kirsanov believes that he should put his family at the head and abandon Bazarov’s obsessions.
Evgeny Bazarov has none of this. His parents, of course, love him madly, but they cannot show their feelings fully so as not to frighten their son. Evgeniy does not love anyone and believes that all people are no match for him. In order to satisfy his physiological needs, he does not need to love anyone. It is enough for the girl to be pretty. The only person he considered his equal was Anna Sergeevna Odintsova’s girl. Bazarov fell in love for the first time and wanted to own this woman. Anna Sergeevna refused him.
Bazarov will die trying to prove to everyone that he is right and that the manifestation of feelings is complete nonsense. He did not want to choose a family hearth and loving family. I couldn’t even convey my knowledge of nihilism to Bazarov. Evgeny Bazarov died alone.
Several interesting essays
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The title of the story is a quote from this character. Actually, the story is about him. These are the writer's memories of his school years and a specific case in which this same mathematics teacher became the judge.
- The path of quest of Pierre Bezukhov in the novel War and Peace by Tolstoy essay
In Tolstoy’s work “War and Peace” there is a huge variety of characters, to whom the author paid considerable attention, revealing their images and telling their story to the reader, but, however, Tolstoy’s favorite character
- Oblomov's essay and Oblomovism in Goncharov's novel Oblomov
The novel by Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov describes difficult events, the change in power makes itself felt. Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is a young landowner who is used to living at the expense of serfs.
- Essay based on a painting by Makovsky Children running from a thunderstorm 3rd, 4th, 6th grade description
In this picture, as in the title, children are running from a thunderstorm. You can see how afraid they are. I'd be scared too! In general, I'm afraid of thunderstorms. And these children - they are even younger than me in age (especially the boy), so they got scared.
- Essay based on the novel by Oblomov Goncharov
Goncharov depicted in this novel the environment that he saw from birth. The main character of our story is Ilya Ilyich Oblomov
1. Socio-political sentiments.
2. Innovation in the work.
3. Similarities and differences between Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich.
4. The character of Nikolai Petrovich.
5. Arkady’s life position.
Conflict of generations in the work of I. S. Turgenev “Fathers and Sons.” I. S. Turgenev, as a creative and sensitive nature, perfectly saw and understood what was happening in the social life of his contemporaries. The novel “Fathers and Sons” was completed in 1862, when the confrontation between the two political parties of liberal aristocrats and revolutionary democrats was clearly visible in society. Of course, this could not help but be reflected in the writer’s novel, where the conflicting parties are represented by the nihilist Evgeny Bazarov and the nobleman Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov.
Being a nobleman, Ivan Sergeevich could not share the views of Bazarov, who, according to the author, was the bearer of revolutionary democratic ideas. On the other hand, Turgenev, as an artist, was interested in these people and their characters. His attitude towards his hero is far from clear, as evidenced by the fact that Eugene “suppresses all the other characters in the novel.” When writing his novel, Ivan Sergeevich showed some innovation in terms of constructing the plot and the idea of the work. This was a new trend in fiction of that time. Turgenev's novel is completely devoid of the usual traditional elements of any other work of art. It is difficult to discover the outcome or plot of the plot; there is no strict plan that determines the course of the action. On the other hand, in the work you can see well-drawn strong characters, observations and pictures from the everyday life of landowners and peasants. The absence of strictly verified artistic components does not at all detract from the value of this work, since a thorough psychological analysis of the human personality is carried out here, and the author’s attitude towards his characters is revealed.
From the first acquaintance with the main characters of the novel, Evgeny Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov, it becomes clear that these people cannot help but confront each other. The author emphasizes this even more by giving a detailed description of the appearance of his characters. “Graceful and thoroughbred” Kirsanov could not help but irritate the nihilist with his openly aristocratic manners, classic facial features, snow-white collars, and beautiful hands with long pink nails. And Pavel Petrovich looked with obvious hostility at the wide plebeian forehead, “large bulges of the spacious skull,” long hair and wide clothes of the unexpected guest. Already at the first acquaintance with each other, a spark of hostility flared up between these people, which subsequently grew into a real conflict between the older and younger generations. A nihilist, accustomed to working and approaching any phenomenon in life around him from a practical perspective, certainly could not understand an aristocrat imprisoned in a village and talking about subtle matters. Evgeniy irritated Kirsanov with his narrow-mindedness regarding not material, but spiritual values.
On the other hand, these main characters of the novel are incredibly close to each other. Both are fiercely loyal to their once established views and are not ready to make even the slightest compromise. The nihilist advocates free-thinking, rejecting everything that does not fit within the boundaries of material reality, and the aristocrat is conservative in everything with no less zeal, feeling like a real gentleman. Both cannot deviate one iota from their “principles,” although one of them, in particular the young man, is sure that he is devoid of any principles at all: “A nihilist is a person who does not bow to any authority, who does not accept not a single principle to be trusted.” Despite their ideological differences, Kirsanov and Bazarov are very similar in character. Both use their appearance to communicate their views. Hence the robes instead of clothes, long hair, Evgeniy’s sideburns, an impeccable suit, starched thin shirts, Pavel Petrovich’s polished nails. Reproaching his rival for laziness and the absence of any attempts to do anything useful for society, Bazarov, by and large, has not yet defined a clear goal for himself, has not found his purpose in this life. That is why, speaking in the dispute as an accuser, Evgenia hesitates to answer Kirsanov’s question: “You deny everything, or, to put it more precisely, you destroy everything... But you also need to build.”
Arkady stands up for him, arguing that the task of the nihilists is only to destroy everything old, to free up a new place. It was not only Kirsanov who felt the weakness in Bazarov’s reasoning. Odintsova also quickly sensed the lack of a main life goal in her new acquaintance. Possessing incredible insight, she cannot believe that Eugene, endowed with such a high degree of pride, is capable of being content with the activities of an ordinary county doctor. To which the main character replies: “And besides, what is the desire to talk and think about the future, which for the most part does not depend on us? If there’s a chance to do something, that’s great, but if it doesn’t work out, at least you’ll be pleased that you didn’t chatter in vain beforehand.” Kirsanov is sincerely confident that Bazarov is nothing more than a poser and uses his theory to cover up his ignorance and bad manners: “... before you had to learn... and now they should be told that everything in the world is nonsense... and it’s all in the bag... before they were just idiots, and now they have suddenly become nihilists.” If at the beginning of the novel the reader clearly feels the gap separating the younger and older generations, then as the action develops it becomes clear that it does not exist at all. Despite the fact that young people, talking among themselves about the Kirsanov brothers, do not call them anything other than “old men,” the author accurately indicates the ages of Nikolai Petrovich and Pavel Petrovich.
As a result, it becomes clear that they are not old enough to be considered old people, especially by modern standards. Arkady's father is brought even closer to the new generation by his young wife and infant son; the family seems to indicate to the reader that Nikolai Petrovich is in the prime of his life. It is he who to a greater extent opposes the nihilistic ideas of his son and his friend. Pavel Petrovich hates Bazarov, entering into debates with him, he defends his point of view exclusively in words, but only Nikolai Petrovich gets down to business without further ado. He does not experience strong negative emotions towards Evgeniy, like his brother. Moreover, he respects the opinion of this person, deservedly considering him smart and well-read. Kirsanov is keenly interested in the scientific chemical experiments of his guest, like a sponge, absorbing everything new and interesting. At the same time, it is Nikolai Petrovich, the only one of all who is engaged in practical activities, who can resist the nihilist and question his arguments regarding the materiality of everything that is happening. Kirsanov does not just reason, but tries to change something in the life around him, for which he creates a farm and gives part of the land to the peasants. With his seemingly unnoticeable work, he achieves much greater results than all the nihilists put together who stand up for freedom and reject ideals for the sake of improving life. Nikolai Petrovich is very worried about his disagreements with his son.
He is the first to take a step forward and tries to understand the new generation. Sometimes he feels that in some ways he lags behind the progressive youth, that something is no longer within his reach. However, this awareness further encourages Kirsanov to engage in practical activities with triple zeal. Only work allows him to prove to others and to himself that he is still alive and young, that while he can benefit his family and the state, it is too early to write him off. With regret, Nikolai Petrovich recalls his delusions of his youth, his disputes with his mother, whom, due to inexperience, he considered lagging behind life and too old to perceive new trends and views. Now his own son is feeding him “the same pill.” The conflict that flared up on the first pages subsides in the work as if by itself. After the departure of the nihilist, calm reigns again in the Kirsanov family. Arkady gradually moves away from his friend and falls under the influence of the smart and practical Katya. Irritation against Eugene, which arose in the soul of the young man during the period of friendship with his involuntary mentor. It grows to such an extent that it ruins the entire friendship. Arkady, also not lacking in insight, begins to notice that his friend’s words do not always correspond to his actions. Evgeniy’s sharp and not always harmless statements about the relatives and friends of Kirsanov Jr. cause dissatisfaction.
As a result, Bazarov leaves for his father’s estate, where he soon becomes infected and dies. Arkady adopts the experience of his father, becoming closer and closer to him. He likes to engage in economic activities, nihilistic inclinations fade into the background until they remain somewhere far in the past. A young man with a creative nature, who loves music and poetry, realizes the inconsistency of his friend’s theory and quickly abandons it.
1. Socio-political sentiments.
2. Innovation in the work.
3. Similarities and differences between Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich.
4. The character of Nikolai Petrovich.
5. Arkady’s life position.
I. S. Turgenev, as a creative and sensitive nature, perfectly saw and understood what was happening in the social life of his contemporaries. The novel “Fathers and Sons” was completed in 1862, when the confrontation between the two political parties of liberal aristocrats and revolutionary democrats was clearly visible in society. Of course, this could not help but be reflected in the writer’s novel, where the conflicting parties are represented by the nihilist Evgeny Bazarov and the nobleman Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov.
Being a nobleman, Ivan Sergeevich could not share the views of Bazarov, who, according to the author, was the bearer of revolutionary democratic ideas. On the other hand, Turgenev, as an artist, was interested in these people and their characters. His attitude towards his hero is far from clear, as evidenced by the fact that Eugene “suppresses all the other characters in the novel.” When writing his novel, Ivan Sergeevich showed some innovation in terms of constructing the plot and the very idea of the work. This was a new trend in fiction of that time. Turgenev's novel is completely devoid of the usual traditional elements of any other work of art. It is difficult to discover the outcome or plot of the plot; there is no strict plan that determines the course of the action. On the other hand, in the work you can see well-drawn strong characters, observations and pictures from the everyday life of landowners and peasants. The absence of strictly verified artistic components does not at all detract from the value of this work, since a thorough psychological analysis of the human personality is carried out here, and the author’s attitude towards his characters is revealed.
From the first acquaintance with the main characters of the novel, Evgeny Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov, it becomes clear that these people cannot help but confront each other. The author emphasizes this even more by giving a detailed description of the appearance of his characters. “Graceful and thoroughbred” Kirsanov could not help but irritate the nihilist with his openly aristocratic manners, classic facial features, snow-white collars, and beautiful hands with long pink nails. And Pavel Petrovich looked with obvious hostility at the wide plebeian forehead, “large bulges of the spacious skull,” long hair and wide clothes of the unexpected guest. Already at the first acquaintance with each other, a spark of hostility flared up between these people, which subsequently grew into a real conflict between the older and younger generations. A nihilist, accustomed to working and approaching any phenomenon in life around him from a practical perspective, certainly could not understand an aristocrat imprisoned in a village and talking about subtle matters. Evgeniy irritated Kirsanov with his narrow-mindedness regarding not material, but spiritual values.
On the other hand, these main characters of the novel are incredibly close to each other. Both are fiercely loyal to their once established views and are not ready to make even the slightest compromise. The nihilist advocates free-thinking, rejecting everything that does not fit within the boundaries of material reality, and the aristocrat is conservative in everything with no less zeal, feeling like a real gentleman. Both cannot deviate one iota from their “principles,” although one of them, in particular the young man, is sure that he is devoid of any principles at all: “A nihilist is a person who does not bow to any authority, who does not accept not a single principle to be trusted.” Despite their ideological differences, Kirsanov and Bazarov are very similar in character. Both use their appearance to communicate their views. Hence the robes instead of clothes, long hair, Evgeniy’s sideburns, an impeccable suit, starched thin shirts, Pavel Petrovich’s polished nails. Reproaching his rival for laziness and the absence of any attempts to do anything useful for society, Bazarov, by and large, has not yet defined a clear goal for himself, has not found his purpose in this life. That is why, speaking in the dispute as an accuser, Evgenia hesitates to answer Kirsanov’s question: “You deny everything, or, to put it more precisely, you destroy everything... But you also need to build.”
Arkady stands up for him, arguing that the task of the nihilists is only to destroy everything old, to free up a new place. It was not only Kirsanov who felt the weakness in Bazarov’s reasoning. Odintsova also quickly sensed the lack of a main life goal in her new acquaintance. Possessing incredible insight, she cannot believe that Eugene, endowed with such a high degree of pride, is capable of being content with the activities of an ordinary county doctor. To which the main character replies: “And, besides, what is the desire to talk and think about the future, which for the most part does not depend on us? If there’s an opportunity to do something, that’s great, but if it doesn’t work out, at least you’ll be pleased that you didn’t chatter in vain beforehand.” Kirsanov is sincerely confident that Bazarov is nothing more than a poser and uses his theory to cover up his ignorance and bad manners: “...before you had to learn... and now they should be told that everything in the world is nonsense... and it’s all in the bag. ..before they were just idiots, but now they suddenly became nihilists.” If at the beginning of the novel the reader clearly senses a chasm; separating the younger and older generations, then as the action develops it becomes clear that it as such does not exist at all. Despite the fact that young people, talking among themselves about the Kirsanov brothers, do not call them anything other than “old men,” the author accurately indicates the ages of Nikolai Petrovich and Pavel Petrovich.
As a result, it becomes clear that they are not old enough to be considered old people, especially by modern standards. Arkady's father is brought even closer to the new generation by his young wife and infant son; the family seems to indicate to the reader that Nikolai Petrovich is in the prime of his life. It is he who to a greater extent opposes the nihilistic ideas of his son and his friend. Pavel Petrovich hates Bazarov, entering into debates with him, he defends his point of view exclusively in words, but only Nikolai Petrovich gets down to business without further ado. He does not experience strong negative emotions towards Evgeniy, like his brother. Moreover, he respects the opinion of this person, deservedly considering him smart and well-read. Kirsanov is keenly interested in the scientific chemical experiments of his guest, like a sponge, absorbing everything new and interesting. At the same time, it is Nikolai Petrovich, the only one of all who is engaged in practical activities, who can resist the nihilist and question his arguments regarding the materiality of everything that is happening. Kirsanov does not just reason, but tries to change something in the life around him, for which he creates a farm and gives part of the land to the peasants. With his seemingly unnoticeable work, he achieves much greater results than all the nihilists put together who stand up for freedom and reject ideals for the sake of improving life. Nikolai Petrovich is very worried about his disagreements with his son.
He is the first to take a step forward and tries to understand the new generation. Sometimes he feels that in some ways he lags behind the progressive youth, that something is no longer within his reach. However, this awareness further encourages Kirsanov to engage in practical activities with triple zeal. Only work allows him to prove to others and to himself that he is still alive and young, that while he can benefit his family and the state, it is too early to write him off. With regret, Nikolai Petrovich recalls his delusions of his youth, his disputes with his mother, whom, due to inexperience, he considered lagging behind life and too old to perceive new trends and views. Now his own son is feeding him “the same pill.”
The conflict that flared up on the first pages subsides in the work as if by itself. After the departure of the nihilist, calm reigns again in the Kirsanov family. Arkady gradually moves away from his friend and falls under the influence of the smart and practical Katya. Irritation against Eugene, which arose in the soul of the young man during the period of friendship with his involuntary mentor. It grows to such an extent that it ruins the entire friendship. Arkady, also not lacking in insight, begins to notice that his friend’s words do not always correspond to his actions. Evgeniy’s sharp and not always harmless statements about the relatives and friends of Kirsanov Jr. cause dissatisfaction.
As a result, Bazarov leaves for his father’s estate, where he soon becomes infected and dies. Arkady adopts the experience of his father, becoming closer and closer to him. He likes to engage in economic activities, nihilistic inclinations fade into the background until they remain somewhere far in the past. A young man with a creative nature, who loves music and poetry, realizes the inconsistency of his friend’s theory and quickly abandons it.