The Necessity of Open-mindedness to Foster Love
In Fathers and Sons, Turgenev proposes an interesting relationship between these two parties; the generation gap between fathers and sons brings with it controversy. Although Turgenev does not seem to take a stance on whose view of life is best, he shows that people all want others to at least investigate their own ideas, if not wholeheartedly adopt the views of his own generation. While Arcady is able to control his emotions about his ideas and still create relationships with those from the elder generation, Bazarov's total stubbornness and inflexibility do not allow him to create such relationships and actually cause harsh disputes and tension. Although the generation gap between fathers and sons will inevitably bring conflict, Fathers and Sons shows that this conflict can be resolved provided there is a conscious effort by both parties to do so.The youthful, nihilistic attitude of Bazarov as well as of Arcady comes into sharp contrast with the old values and traditions of the elder generation in the novel. When Arcady first informs his father that Bazarov is a Nihilist, "a man who admits no established authorities [and] takes no principles for granted," Nicholas is taken aback, as he sees that "men of an older generation
Despite differences in the ideas of Nicolas and Arcady, the father and son are still able to get along and feel great love for each other because they are able to look past their dissimilarities. Even though Nicolas "doubted the value of [Bazarov's] influence on Arcady," he still does not let the situation bother him because, unlike Bazarov, Nicolas sees that those with different views can still be good people (50). Arcady too is able to look past their differences and accepts Fenichka, Nicolas's far younger girlfriend, so as to make his father happy. Arcady believes that his "father has a heart of gold," and thus he, like Nicolas, makes a conscious effort to foster the love between the two men and avoid conflict (24). Although Arcady and Bazarov both have views that clearly oppose those of the elder generation, it is only Bazarov, making no effort to accept those with ideas different from his own, who is unable to form close ties with that generation. On the other hand, Arcady is far less stubborn and single-minded than Bazarov, and thus he is able to make those ties and cultivate love and understanding between the two generations. Because of this, Arcady seems to lead a quite happy, contented life, while Bazarov is constantly argumentative and angry. Not only do Bazarov's youthful ideas bring conflict with strangers, they also prevent Bazarov from keeping a strong relationship with his own parents. A
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Approximate Word count = 957
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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