The Spiritual Quality Of Doctor Zhivago

Doctor Zhivago, written by Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890—1960), enjoys great prestige in the history of literature and is the most mysterious production in Russian literature in the twenties. It focuses on Doctor Zhivago's spiritual course to present the thoughts and feelings of the generation of Russian artists, intellectuals and thinkers represented by him. This essay starts from the poetry features embodied by the novel and explains the spiritual features through the analysis of the way of portraying figures, the use of imagery, the arrangement and structure of the chapters of the novel.Firstly, the protagonist Zhivago is portrayed as a thinker, a person who seeks spiritual life actively. He is not a successful man in his real life. The meaning lies in his thinking power, his introspection of the society and himself. He does not flinch and retreat before pressure and he does not compromise and yield before the cruel reality. He is a"doctor"in his times and he does not sigh in sorrow and show his disappointment like an"unnecessary man"when he faces his dream that can not come true. On the spiritual level Zhivago is not a man who fails and evades and he is not a man who is yielding and weak. He never stops his thinking and writing. He sticks to the truth in his heart and he looks for the spiritual independence and freedom. These make him an irreplaceable person in Russian literature gallery. He not only speaks for Pasternak, but also for the intellectuals at that time.Secondly, when the love between Doctor Zhivago and LaLa is described, the author tries to show the"spiritual features"in their love. Their love is described as extraordinary. They are destined to meet and fall in love. They love each other because they are similar persons and they have similar dreams. In the author's opinion, the importance of their love even exceeds the affairs in Russian history. In the novel two groups of imageries appear repeatedly and this shows that their love has"spiritual features". The first one is the imagery of"light". LaLa brings bright and hope and she gets rid of darkness and cold. Their meetings are connected with"light". When LaLa leaves, darkness appears again."Light"is also connected with"future"to show the expectation in people's heart and the reform and hope that would appear. The other imagery is"fly"and"imprisonment". Kemarofski imprisons LaLa's spirit and Doctor Zhivago are not free. These make them have the same expect for freedom and this is the meaning of the frequent imagery"fly".Lastly, the novel is divided into two levels--- the world of daily life and the world of spirit from the aspect of structure. The novel states both daily life and spiritual life. Pasternak tries to establish a deeper"meaning"level outside the surface"story"level in order to present the novel's theme of spiritual pursuit. This can be seen from the arrangement of chapters. Besides, it can be seen from the time and space arrangement that the description of the clock time of daily life is weak and the mental time in the spiritual life is emphasized; the description of affairs in history is weak and the thoughts and feelings in people's heart are emphasized. This arrangement is closely related with the author's creation of"spiritual history". Doctor Zhivago, written by Boris Leonidovich Pasternak, is not intended to set up monumental stones and write biography for current affairs. This novel shows efficiently the author's pursuit for spiritual freedom and character independence through the presence of Zhivago's private words and the focus on the figures'spiritual world and spiritual course.Because of the special poetry features represented in the novel and the charm and value represented by the novel itself, the controversial Doctor Zhivago still gains understanding and attention in its spreading although the times it represents is gradually far away.