The Understanding of Characters Through Relationships
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The Understanding of Characters Through Relationships
Relationships create strong holds in novels. They give a sense of what to base a characters acts and decisions on. Through how the author uses their tone and descriptions, relating to relationships, a sense of characterization can be developed. “Anna Karenina”, by Leo Tolstoy, translated by Joel Carmichael, and “Chronicle of a Death Foretold”, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, translated by Gregory Rabassa, are no exception to this clause. Relationships form throughout these novels, by incorporating literary elements like characterization romanticism and realism, giving characters a sense of who they are, and the reader a sense of their role and reference to the story.
In “Anna Karenina”, relationships are built throughout the story helping for the reader to understand characters and who they are.
One of the two major relationships taking place in the novel is between Anna Karenina and Levin. Anna Karenina, arguably the most important character to the novel, gets many of her key traits brought forth by relationship problems. Annas search through her quest for love is purely emotional, and at the end of her characters life Annas reason fails her. She has too much feeling and emotion, a trait shared by many of Tolstoys characters. Her feeling from her relationship tend to overpower her thoughts and opinions, giving the novel a sense of romanticism. She becomes disgruntle. In the end, Anna cant hold her own wits. Tolstoy uses characterization to present Anna, through the relationships she has it can be understood her attitude and personal qualities.
Levin, one of the main partners in a relationship with Anna, is the hero of Anna Karenina. Through Tolstoys tone and description in the interaction between Anna and Levin it is almost gathered that Levin was created to merely point out his superiority, and his relationships with Anna does directly that. Where Anna continually maneuvers hysterically to achieve the perfect romance, Levin strives to find coherence in life and death, love and work. This can be discovered through the characterization directed towards Levin. Anna becomes a portrait of alienation through this relationship. Levin finds harmony with those around him. In Anna, you find a moral collapse, while in Levin, you see Tolstoys hopes and joys of his future. Anna and Levin show a variation of character traits brought forth from their relationship.
The second great relationship taking place forms between Vronsky and Kitty. Vronsky, in a relationship with Kitty, is described as a “perfect specimen of Saint Petersburg”. With Vronskys interaction and courtship of Kitty you draw the details of just who he is. He is a soldier, a horseman, an aristocrat, and a womanizer, all shown through characterization. Vronsky shows through Kitty that he has charm to burn, and polish throughout. His looks, while being described by Kitty to Anna are able to let us understand that they comrade envy. His interactions with Kitty and descriptions by Tolstoy show the reader that he is virtually the ideal man for the time frame. Vronskys affair, however, separates him from perfection. His affair gives a sense of realism within the story. Once reaching the discovery of Vronskys affair his innocence is shattered and his moral correct nature is shred to pieces. Through his affair with Anna you can gather that Vronsky may be the worst villain in the story. His character due to his relationship with Anna becomes that of limited, baffled, and desperate. These finishing changes within his character due to a relationship interaction seems to virtually not effect Kitty. Kitty finds her deepest happiness in being a wife and mother, a role for women that Tolstoy favored, and showed an understanding of realism. Absolutely clear about her place, she brings harmony to her home and peace of mind to her husband. She has an instinctive appreciation for the human cycle- birth, life, and death- and does not fear it. Though not well read, Kitty is very intelligent and extremely practical. She has abiding faith and trust in the goodness of god.
The relationships cause for boundless relevance within “Anna Karenina” and cause for optimal understanding of characters.
Through the words of Gabriel Garcia Marquez while describing relationships throughout