The Historical Influence on the Works of Alexander Pushkin, Thesis Paper Example

Although Pushkin was one of the greatest contributors to modern Russian literature, Pushkin use of history in his literary work enabled him to write from a historian’s viewpoint rather than the literary critic. At the height of his career, Pushkin began to change his focus from literature to history. The change in his writing methodology is most likely a result of the personal struggles he faced as an outspoken critic of social injustice or simply to serve as a voice for the unheard. This is best exemplified in his decision to write his works using the Russian language and to develop Russian characters in his works. Pushkin’s decision was an unorthodox one as many of the upper class and the intellectuals of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries distinguished themselves by embracing the culture of their French educators and the romanticism of the French culture. An advocate of social reform, Pushkin’s decision to embrace his native language lessened the barriers to literature for the Russian people and provided a universal language in literature that was available to all.

What questions are you going to be asking in the process?

How did Pushkin’s genealogy impact his interest as well as discontent with history? Alexander Pushkin’s fascination with his African ancestry also speaks to his influence from the historical events of his past and of Russia itself. Pushkin’s great-grandfather, Ibrahim Gannibal, was a favored African American general of Peter the Great. His historical fiction “The Blackamoor of Peter the Great” is based on his great grandfather. Pushkin’s fervor about his African ancestry was not an issue of race alone but also of the remarkable accomplishments of his great-grandfather under such consternation (U.S.S.R., 2002). The following statement, either spoken by Ibrahim or his wife, speaks to Ibrahim’s perspective of his time period and of his personal philosophy:

“….he (Peter) wished to make examples of them and put (Russians) to shame by convincing them that out of every people and even from among wild men – such as Negores, whom our civilized nations assign exclusively to the class of slave, there can be formed men who by dint of application can obtain knowledge and learning and thus become helpful to their monarch (PBS, 2010)

Ibrahim, highly proficient in mathematics, engineering, and cryptology, received a privileged education and despite any racial implications, was treated as a member of the royal family.

What hypotheses are you going to be testing?

“Pushkin’s jaded yet proud defense of his ancestry in “My Genealogy” is in response to racial slurs aimed at him by his critics” (Merriman, 2006). Although Pushkin was cognizant of the social influence that his writing could impress on slavery across the world, the marriage of Pushkin’s daughter, who was not royalty, and his own personal advantage of being a part of a affluent family, caused Pushkin to carefully consider how he would aggrandize his African heritage. Consequently, Pushkin began to embrace an underground revolutionary movement that became more of a focus for him than literature itself. Whether influenced by his own personal struggles or by the callous remarks often made to Pushkin himself regarding his skin tone, Pushkin periodically allowed his quest for social injustice to interfere with his literary career. Much of Pushkin’s works received immense criticism due to his controversial beliefs often perceive through his writings.

What will be the contribution of your research?

“History reinforced and, in some instances altered, his own fundamental political and social beliefs” Great literature not only deserves the recognition for its artistic value but also for the catalyst behind the words of the creative work. Much of the literature and characters developed by Pushkin were representations of Pushkin’s own beliefs in the uprisings against political authority. This paper will analyze and disclose the driving forces behind the works of Alexander Pushkin and the purpose of his historiographical strategy.

Putting it in Context

Pushkin condemned writers who cared “more for the outer shell of words, than for the thought which is their true life” (Shlapentokh, 2009). For instance, his first play, Boris Godunov (written in 1825), Pushkin selected a plot from a well-known incident of Russian history. During the Decembrist Uprising of 1825, Pushkin and other aristocrats were implicated for refusing to swear allegiance to Tsar Nicholas I. As a result, while many of his friends were sentenced to hanging or were permanently exiled, Pushkin was cleared and received a pardon in 1826.  Although Pushkin received a pardon, his works still spoke of this historical tragedy in this drama Boris Godunov:

One day some indefatigable monk
Will find my conscientious, unsigned work;
Like me, he will light up his ikon-lamp
And, shaking from the scroll the age-old dust,
He will transcribe these tales in all their truth.

The method

Other works by Pushkin continued to articulate his dissidence of the political and social conditions of his time. Although Pushkin was a superior writer, much of his work was censored or was published posthumously. An extensive analysis of Pushkin’s literature will further disclose his historiographical methodology and its correlation with his enigmatic genealogy and his problematic years.

The Historical Influence on the Works of Alexander Pushkin

Summary of Thesis

• Scope
• Motivation

Background

• Family Structure
• Genealogy

Analysis of Research Question(s)

Purpose/Objective

Expected Contribution to the Problem

• Literary Motivation
• Historiographical methodology

Implications

• Personal Struggles
• Voice of Reason
• Race
• Affluence
• Preservation of Culture
• Political and Social Implications

Evidence

• Literary Analysis
• Justification

References

Merriman, C. D. (2006). The Literature Network: Alexander Pushkin. Retrieved April 30, 2010 from website: http://www.online-literature.com/alexander-pushkin/

Public Broadcasting Service. (2010). Pushkin Genealogy: The Blurred Racial Lines of Famous Families. Retrieved April 29, 2010 from website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/secret/famous/pushkingenealogy.html

Shlapentokh, D. (2009). The French Revolution in Russian Intellectual Life. Transaction Publishers, New Jersey.

S. S. R. Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries. (2002). A Collection of Articles and Essays on the Great Russian Poet A. S. Pushkin, Retrieved April 26, 2010 from website: http://books.google.com/books?id=daEDb349NrsC&pg=PA66&sig=ZX2oW5hqsDh1HJVD2XUlxylff88&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false