< The Student > Reading Journal

< The Student > Reading Journal

Fate is pre-determined.

I'm not a person of religion; in fact, I have not believed, do not believe, and will not believe in anything unproven by scientific community, such as fate, fortunetelling, ghosts, gods, which is probably why it was extremely difficult for me to fully understand this short story. Only after reading it nearly 5 times did I finally came to make sense of the story.

Obviously, this short story is highly religious in that the majority of the story deals with Jesus and Peter from the bible. Within this religious story is a valuable moral lesson especially for faithful Catholics, "Fate is predetermined."

"The Student" kept emphasizes that people's destiny is established beforehand and that what humans do have nothing to do with the influence on the fate, the idea that is fully explained by the story of Jesus and Peter. According to the student, at the Last Supper, Peter said to Jesus, "I am ready to go with Thee into darkness and unto death," telling him his true feelings and strong resolution of his own towards Jesus. However, Jesus replied to him, "I say unto thee, Peter, before the cock croweth thou wilt have denied Me thrice." Later, as Jesus had predicted, when Peter saw Jesus being beaten, he denied his knowing Jesus for three times. After he denied for three times, Peter wept "bitterly – bitterly." This situation demonstrates that feeling and actions of humans do not have ability to change the predetermined fate, just as Peter was not able to free himself from the Jesus's prophecy despite his passionate love towards Him.

Vasilisa, surprisingly, suddenly erupts into cry, giving "a gulp, big tears" flowing down her cheeks and is obviously ashamed of her tears. Her reason for this reaction is probably the realization of the moral lesson that the story of Peter and Jesus had given her: people cannot alter their own destiny. Vasilisa was grieved and remorseful that she could not do anything about her daughter abused by her husband, and when she hears the story of Jesus and Peter from the student, Vasilisa becomes aware that her efforts cannot make the situation any better. Thus, she cries and at the same time, is ashamed of her own inability.

This story also draws attention to the fact that the history goes through the same cycle of events in a repeated manner; that is, similar incidents happen with certain intervals. In the very first part of the story, Ivan thinks that "just such a wind had blown in the days of Rurik and in the time of Ivan the Terrible and Peter, and in their time there had been just the same desperate poverty and hunger, the same thatched roofs with holes in them, ignorance, misery, the same desolation around, the same darkness, the same feeling of oppression -- all these had existed, did exist, and would exist, and the lapse of a thousand years would make life no better," the statement that explains how past events can relate to the future events. Later, when Vasilisa and the student meets, the student again implies this idea by saying, "At just such a fire the Apostle Peter warmed himself," while stretching out his hands to the fire in front of him. The connection of past and future events is further reinforced by the student, who thinks that "if Vasilisa had shed tears, and her daughter had been troubled, (story) had a relation to the present – to both women, to the desolate village, to himself, to all people." This relationship makes the student see "both ends of the chain and when he touches one end the other quivers."

I'm still not sure what exactly the author is trying to say by implying these moral lessons to the readers, but I'm sure that this story cannot certainly be considered as realism. According to Wikipedia, realism in the visual arts and literature is the "general attempt to depict subjects as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation and in accordance with secular, empirical rules." Of course, the method that the author uses to unfold the story is realistic and the story overall deals with what real people think of certain values. However, "The Student" does not deal with the "objective reality," which is essential for a piece of work to be realism. Instead, it covers the subjective views of certain group of people, not a real event as it is.