Book Report /Lit. Analysis of Anna Karenina
D. Plea Emersed
Mrs. Borrego
English 10 Honors
1/28/10
Anna Karenina Humanitarian and philosophical insight is usually the intent and achievement of both classic and modern literature. Tolstoy’s drama Anna Karenina embodies this sentiment flawlessly. It is inspired in its depth and intricacy, daring in the complexity of its characters, and powerful in its commentary on the influence of sociality and propriety in contrast to human nature and intrinsic behavior. Oblonsky, a Moscow man of high society, cheats on his wife and nearly disbands his family; Anna, his sister from Petersburg, intercedes on his behalf with his wife and in the process meets the count Vronsky. Constantine Dmitrich Levin, a childhood friend of Oblonsky’s, comes to Moscow to propose to Katya (Kitty) Scherbatsky, whom Vronsky has been courting, and is consequently turned down by Kitty. Vronsky abandons Kitty to follow Anna home, as he has fallen in love with her, and persuades her (without much difficulty) to cheat on her husband; resultantly, they enter into a passionate love affair that eventually becomes destructive. Almost directly after being rejected, Levin retreats to his home in the country to continue his book on farming techniques, completely unaware of Kitty’s situation, while she is devastated. Karenin, Anna’s husband, begins to suspect of her affair; when he confronts her about it, she denies it completely and makes him feel foolish for suggesting it, and his suspicions are therefore confirmed. When Anna finally declares her fallacy to him, Karenin unsurprisingly becomes despondent and is determined to have revenge on Anna by forcing her to come back to him and keep up old pretences and appearances. Meanwhile, Dolly (Oblonsky’s wife) goes out to live in the country while Oblonsky is away on business, and convinces Levin that Kitty, in truth, does love him. He eventually proposes to her again, and is this time accepted. In Petersburg, Karenin evicts Anna when she breaks his
Mrs. Borrego
English 10 Honors
1/28/10
Anna Karenina Humanitarian and philosophical insight is usually the intent and achievement of both classic and modern literature. Tolstoy’s drama Anna Karenina embodies this sentiment flawlessly. It is inspired in its depth and intricacy, daring in the complexity of its characters, and powerful in its commentary on the influence of sociality and propriety in contrast to human nature and intrinsic behavior. Oblonsky, a Moscow man of high society, cheats on his wife and nearly disbands his family; Anna, his sister from Petersburg, intercedes on his behalf with his wife and in the process meets the count Vronsky. Constantine Dmitrich Levin, a childhood friend of Oblonsky’s, comes to Moscow to propose to Katya (Kitty) Scherbatsky, whom Vronsky has been courting, and is consequently turned down by Kitty. Vronsky abandons Kitty to follow Anna home, as he has fallen in love with her, and persuades her (without much difficulty) to cheat on her husband; resultantly, they enter into a passionate love affair that eventually becomes destructive. Almost directly after being rejected, Levin retreats to his home in the country to continue his book on farming techniques, completely unaware of Kitty’s situation, while she is devastated. Karenin, Anna’s husband, begins to suspect of her affair; when he confronts her about it, she denies it completely and makes him feel foolish for suggesting it, and his suspicions are therefore confirmed. When Anna finally declares her fallacy to him, Karenin unsurprisingly becomes despondent and is determined to have revenge on Anna by forcing her to come back to him and keep up old pretences and appearances. Meanwhile, Dolly (Oblonsky’s wife) goes out to live in the country while Oblonsky is away on business, and convinces Levin that Kitty, in truth, does love him. He eventually proposes to her again, and is this time accepted. In Petersburg, Karenin evicts Anna when she breaks his
Bibliography: Tolstoy, Leo. Anna Karenina. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1954.