Thesis Statement

My Research Question is:

How honest could a union of soviet writer be? And what effect did the Russian Revolution have on literature in Russia?

My thesis statement is:

Doctor Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak, was an example of how authors in the soviet union were highly censored in their writings.

Revised Research Question

How honest could a union of soviet writer be? And what effect did the Russian Revolution have on literature in Russia?

QQC #2

Quote -- Question -- Comment
Dr. Zhivago
By: Boris Pasternak

Quote
"It is truly extraordinary. He is my half brother. We bear the same name. And yet I know virtually nothing about him." page 287

Question
Why is it that we tend to become so close to those that we aren't related to and those who are of our own blood are sometimes left behind in the dust?

Comment
When I read this quote it really struck me and I personally connected to it. I didn't connect with this quote completely, because I do know about my family. However, sometimes I feel as if I don't know a lot about them or enough. Other times, I feel as if they don't know me completely. With my more extended family living in the East Coast, I don't get to see them or spend time with them as much. The only thing I feel that I know about them is what I remember them being like or what they look like from pictures. I think that this is sort of what Yurii feels towards his half brother. The both are from the same name but they don't really know each other. I think that sometimes we may take our family for granted. Many people are always wanting to spend more and more time with their friends. I think that that is great, but we should always remember our family. Our family is like our roots and if we cut ourselves off from them, we wouldn't have the capability to survive.


For this QQC, I had two quotes that I couldn't decide between, so here is the second one.

Quote
"Man is born to live, not to prepare for life. Life itself, the phenomenon of life, the gift of life, is so breath-takingly serious!"
"In real life everything gets mixed up! Don't you think you'd have to be a hopeless nonentity to play only one role all your life, to have only one place in society, always to stand for the same thing?" pages 297 & 298

Question
Do people realize what a great thing they have (life)?

Comment
During this part of the story, Yurii and Lara are talking. The first quote,"Man is born...", was by Yurii. The second quote, "In real life...", was by Lara. I paired these quotes together because I felt that they connected to each other since they were both about life. I think that sometimes people do not realize how much impact their lives can have on others. Life is a very serious thing that shouldn't be taken for granted. People should not wait around getting ready for what may come in their future. They can't just do the same thing every day until they die. Sometimes, people do stand up,make a change and do have a major impact on others. People like this make changes in our world that can either be great or horrible. It is people like that, that start revolutions. They stand up for what they believe in and try to make a difference inothers lives. I hope that people will make the decision to make the right choice. I hope that people will make the choice to take their lives off of repeat and make a good difference in the world they are living in. But that of course brings us to the question always looming around, what is good?

Annotated Bibliography Assignment

Eaton, Katherine B. "Ethnic Groups and Nationalities" from Daily Life In The Soviet Union. Daily Life Online: Exploring Everyday Life Past and Present. Greenwood Publishing Group. 13 February 2009. <http://dailylife.greenwood.com/dle.aspx?k=3&x=GR1628&p=GR1628-124.>

This source was found on the Daily Life Online Pge. I found this source by using the search tool. I found that this source was very helpful. It went into great detail about the daily life in Russian during the empire as well as when it turned into the USSR. I think this is a good source to use because it will connect to the book. The book is all about the daily lives of people in Russia.

Research Question Blog 1

1. Dr. Zhivago By:Boris Pasternak
2. So far, the story is following several characters during the time period of the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War Dr. Zhivago has just come home to Moscow. His family, as well as everyone else in the country are greatly suffering. They are running out of food, firewood and perhaps even faith in surviving. Earlier in the story something was going on between Lara and Victor Komarovsky. At a Christmas party, Lara attempted to shoot him but missed. After that she got sick. Later she was working at a hospital with Dr. Zhivago. Currently in the story, Dr. Zhivago is sick with Typhus.
   
3. The Russian Revolution
   Year: 1917
   Location: Russia
   Happened in two stages, February and October. The revolution removed Russia from WWI. The October revolution established a soviet union, the first in the world.
   
4. Possible Research Question:
   
   • Who of the characters in Dr. Zhivago are fact or fiction? Of the characters, if any, that were developed around real people, how accurately are they portrayed in the story?