The Importance of Courage - Incentives From the Russian Novel Oblomov

Ivan Goncharov was not a citizen of the 20th or 21st century, in which the importance of ambition and willpower was, and is, a quotidian idea, he lived in 19th century Russia, known for its particular, non-western way of life. Starting from this data, how accidental it appears - to a naive reader as myself - that Oblomov, his fourth novel and one of his greater ones, is contemporaneous in its psychology.

Oblomov is the story of the eponymous character, a life's tableau resembling a neglected garden, one in desolation. The novel depicts how and perhaps why, a life can bear little fruit. It is not an appealing sight, still it is an invitation to the reader to brace him/herself, illuminate a story and pay attention to his/her own ways.

As a reading experience, Oblomov is a pleasure: clear style, easily perceivable actions and emotions, the author writes as if to determine that ideas break through; only as an emotional experience Oblomov might not be pleasant.

This is a four-part novel: in the first one Goncharov describes how the sheltered noble of 31 years, spends a normal day at his house in St. Petersburg - a nightmarish slumber ensues.

How can a perfectly peaceful day develop comparable to an awful dream? In a foggy perception of time, Oblomov wakes up and falls back asleep, plans than looses train of thought, wants, however accomplishes not, is affected yet senseless. And through all this his mind judges, he is a judging and fantasizing machine.

His entourage is one of either blase or ferocious characters and his solace is in the remembrance of an idyllic childhood that formed him. Oblomovka, his home and estate, is a character in its own right, there, when Oblomov was a child, people lived the same day in a loop, without terrible effort or investment. It was a sort of heaven on earth. Yet Oblomov shies from living there, Oblomovka remains a far away destination.

True defeat is giving up on dreams. For Oblomov the road to that denouement passes through keeping dreams remote and perfect. This man never summons the courage to attain them, he chooses to keep the fantasy of a blessed life as married man, living on his estate, just that - a perfect fantasy. By not acting and pursuing this ideal, Oblomv in reality gives up.

To this hopeless man fate provided as friend his perfect antonym, Stolz. The rich, industrious friend drags him back into society, applying stimulating and energizing actions. Goncharov presents the differences in upbringing that shaped Stolz: independence and early risk taking. To all Stolzs efforts, Oblomov opposes the voice of his inner critic: there is no utility in acting, other people live meaningless lives that he has no taste for. Also on the opposite pole, when comparing himself to Stolz, he obviously finds himself lacking.

Is this inner critic truthful? Yes, of course, Oblomov is lucid, never lies to himself, the danger of listening to his own reasoning though, is that it keeps him in a state of inaction, paralyzed. Oblomov is not willing to fail, so he never acts.

What else could wake this man up? Perhaps love? Love arrives in Oblomovs life as a blossom that has no lasting power, due, again, to his own perception. Feelings flower and he right away feels they wither, of course he trusts his perception and pays it forward to his love interest, the inexperienced Olga. He would rather give up than live through a deception.

Love is a summer of blessings and intense, at times troublesome emotions. After that, in the third part of the novel, the practicalities of life find Oblomov not measuring up, he can not put into practice plans, even rumors of marriage scare him, he postpones and postpones until Olga gives up on him.

Goncharov gives in the fourth part of the novel the reply to Oblomovs model of thinking and acting: years later, we find Olga and Stolz married, she is approaching Oblomovs age when the novel started and a state of nervousness, something resembling fear overcomes her. To this, Stolz has the perfect answer: one must respect and endure doubts and sorrow, they are friends come to alert us to pay attention to our lives.

Oblomov suffers after losing Olga, nevertheless has his ways of comfort and his pleasures, lives through trails and tribulations sustained by Stolz and leaves in the world a child; his life was brief and had its moments of sweetness, however, by not taking action, it withered away.

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