Boris Pasternak, a Jewish man who lived in Russia, a country that influenced him greatly, was not only an interesting man but also a literary giant. Boris Pasternak was certainly unique in that were so many positive facets of his life: family, education, poetry, novels, Russian culture, morals, religion, etc. Boris Pasternak not only raised the bar for literature but also for humanity.
In 1890, Boris Pasternak was born in Moscow, Russia, to a Jewish family. Pasternak’s father Leonid was a professor at the Moscow School of painting and illustrator of Tolstoy’s major works. Pasternak’s mother, Rose Kaufman, was a famous concert pianist. In 1922, Pasternak married Art Institute student Evgeniya Lurye. In 1923, Pasternak had a son named Evengil. In 1946, Pasternak married his second wife Olga Ivinskaya. Eventually, Olga served as the prototype for the famous novel Doctor Zhivago. Pasternak died on the evening of May 30, 1960.
Although he was known for his writings, Pasternak’s first love was botany, and his second was music. Because of his love for music, Pasternak entered the Moscow Conservatory. However, in 1910, Pasternak dropped out of the conservatory due to his lack of technical skill. After the fall of music school, Pasternak studied philosophy at Marburg University in Germany. In 1913, Pasternak finally gave up his academic career, moved back to Russia, and pursued his literary career (Daives).
Pasternak began his literary career as a poet. Pasternak’s first poetic debut was Twin in the Stormclouds. Pasternak’s first poems easily displayed alliteration, rhyme, rhythm, and use of metaphor. In the 1920’s Pasternak’s poetry transitioned from lyrical to narrative. In his narrative poems, Pasternak addressed the 1905 Russian Revolution by writing Sublime Malady (1924), Lieutenant Schmidt (1927), and The Year 1905 (1927). Pasternak’s 1932 final poetry collection, Second Birth, was based off his theory that no matter how hard life may become, suicide is never the answer.
In 1917, Pasternak wrote his first two books. These first two books were My Sister Life and Themes and Variations. Due to the Bolshevik Revolution and World War I, it would take five years for My Sister Life to be published. In 1931, Pasternak wrote his first prose Spektorsky. Spektorsky told the story of a young poet who shared the author’s view on the Bolshevik Revolution. Pasternak’s most famous novel Dr. Zhivago, praised freedom, independence, and Christianity. In 1519, Pasternak wrote his last book When the Weather Clears (Daives).
The Bolshevik Revolution clearly made it difficult for the life of Boris Pasternak. First, it delayed the releasing of Pasternak’s first novels My Sister Life and Themes and Variations. Second, it horrified Pasternak so much that he decided to write Aerial Ways which exemplified his strong dislike for politics. Finally, after the Bolshevik Revolution ended, Pasternak found it difficult to maintain his family even though small-scale capitalism was taking place (Barnes, 278).
Although Lenin’s Soviet government believed that art should increase political propaganda, Pasternak was a silent role model for those who believed art held eternal truths. In 1924, Lenin died, and the struggle for political power increased evermore. In 1928, Stalin succeeded Lenin. In 1932, Stalin created the doctrine of Socialist Realism (Daives). Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary defines a socialist as one who advocates or practices socialism (828). Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary defines realism as the preoccupation with fact or reality and rejection of the impractical and visionary (712). When the words socialist and realism are combined, it means the principle that the arts should glorify Communism (Daives).
Boris Pasternak, an interesting, literary giant, lived in a country that influenced him greatly, Russia. However, when all of Pasternak’s accomplishments are combined, Pasternak influenced Russia even more.
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