The Gentle Barbarian, Turgenev essays

The Gentle Barbarian, Turgenev essays In 1870s Turgenev was known in Europe as the conducting Russian novelist, but he was far to not be known to the large public in Europe or America. In 1877 he has become world famous after the publication of Virgin Soil, his longest and most ambitious novel. In one month after the publication, fifty-two young people... were arrested in Russia on accusations of revolutionary conspiracy. This incident the public in America and France was shaken. Its effect on American readers was so enormous: as powerful, in its way, as the effect of Uncle Tom's Cabin had been. For Turgenev the novel was one more attempt to present the Russian situation with detachment, and above all he sought to show to his critics that he had not lost touch with the younger generation. (V. S. Pritchett). Some years ago the British writer and critic V.S. Pritchett asked: "What is it that attracts us to the Russian novelists of the nineteenth century?" What Pritchett was voicing was the obvious truth that the Russian writers touch and move us with immediacy, a sense of freshness and vitality that we do not always find in Western literature in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Turgenev creates moving novels that depict life in Russia. We respond to Russian writers, as we typically do not to most Anglo-Saxon writers. Turgenev evokes such a strong a sense of reality that readers with no particular passion for literature accept without qualification his vision of life. Some tentative answers to Pritchett's question may provide us with some understanding of why so much of the pessimistic literature of this century has failed to engage our deepest sympathies, our most profound sense of life. One of the most obvious characteristics of Russian fiction in the nineteenth century is the as tonishing way in which characters talk about themselves and others. In his book on Turgenev, The Gentle Barbarian, Pritchett writes: "It is the nature of Dostoevsky's genius to ...

Alternate vs. Alternative

Alternate vs. Alternative Alternate vs. Alternative Alternate vs. Alternative By Maeve Maddox One of my favorite DWT commenters took me to task for my use of alternate instead of alternative in this passage: in modern English writing, kn is an alternate spelling for the sound /n/, and igh is an alternate spelling of the long i sound I value his comments, so I have examined his criticism carefully, including the quotation from a previous DWT post that seems to support his belief that neither British nor American usage permits the use of alternate in the way I have used it: There was also a note about the difference between the use of â€Å"alternate† and â€Å"alternative† in American and British English – anyone writing for both markets should be very well aware of this distinction – it’s a very important linguistic distinction and is not to be ignored. Hugh Ashton The note Ashton refers to is from the New Oxford American Dictionary entry he consulted when his mother objected to his use of â€Å"three alternatives.† His original purpose was to find out if a person could speak of more than two alternatives. According to his mother and other traditionalists, one can speak of only two alternatives. According to the NOAD, however, speaking of more than two alternatives is â€Å"normal in modern standard English.† Ashton mentions â€Å"the difference between the use of ‘alternate’ and ‘alternative’ in American and British English,† and urges freelancers writing for both markets to be aware of the distinction. I do not think that he is saying that British usage and American usage do not differ. But even if he is saying that, I have to disagree. For one thing, American speakers use alternate as a noun meaning â€Å"a person designated to replace another in the event the other person is unable to fulfill his duties.† British usage does not use alternate as a noun. It is an easy step from using alternate as a noun meaning â€Å"a substitute,† to using alternate as an adjective meaning â€Å"substitute,† or â€Å"alternative,† as in alternate juror or alternate route. The following examples will illustrate that alternate used in this sense is common in standard American English: To avoid having to retry a case when a juror is excused before the end of trial (for example, because of illness), the court may seat a few extra or alternate jurors to hear the trial and be available to replace any juror who is excused. Regular and alternate jurors sit together during the trial. Some judges do not tell jurors which ones are the alternates until the jury is ready to deliberate. State law limits how many alternate jurors the court may seat. Oregonlaws.org/. The Alternate Route program is a non-traditional teacher preparation program State of New Jersey Department of Education Alternate plans allow landowners to apply for more site specific management flexibility than the standard Forest Practices Rules allow. State of Washington Natural Resources site. U.S. speakers save alternative for such things as alternative medicine and alternative rock. They also use the adjective alternate in the sense of every other. For example, parking might be allowed in a certain area on alternate days. Meetings might be held on alternate Mondays. British grammarians recognize the fact that American speakers do not use alternate in exactly the same way as British speakers do: In American English, alternate is widely used as an adjective in the sense of alternativeand as a noun to mean ‘a deputy or substitute’. Penguin Writer’s Manual, p. 56. For an American writer, to refer to â€Å"an alternate spelling† is no more erroneous than to write honor for honour. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Classes and Types of PhrasesProved vs. ProvenPreposition Review #1: Chance of vs. Chance for