If you're looking for all kinds of philosophical viewpoints and different takes on the world, Doctor Zhivago is chock full of them. In fact, one of Yuri Zhivago's main beefs with the world around him is that people are losing the ability to form their own philosophical viewpoints. This is because the Russian Revolution has forced everyone to adopt only one view: the Communist view. Zhivago, though, would rather die than give up his right to think for himself and form his own opinions. By publishing this novel against the wishes of the Soviet government, Boris Pasternak seemed to hold the same opinion.
Questions About Philosophical Viewpoints
- Why is Zhivago disappointed with his friends Misha Gordon and Dudorov when he gets back from World War I? What has happened to them? Please use evidence from the text to support your answer.
- Does Strelnikov (a.k.a. Antipov) truly believe in Communist ideas? Why or why not? Support your answer with evidence from the text.
- What is it about Liberius's viewpoint that angers Doctor Zhivago so much? Why does Liberius insist on Zhivago visiting his tent to talk about ideas?
- What kind of philosophical viewpoint do you detect in Zhivago's poems at the end of the book? What overall statement do they make about the book?
Chew on This
In Doctor Zhivago, Pasternak shows us that the most important thing about philosophical viewpoints is that everyone is allowed to have their own.
In Doctor Zhivago, we hear a lot about the importance of having your own views about the world. But Pasternak isn't all that great at defining which views count as authentic and which ones are the product of brainwashing.