Dr. Zhivago Case

If the first three chapters are any indication of the rest of this novel, Doctor Zhivago is a novel of twists that are unexpected both by the reader and by the characters in the novel. Such events, cleverly employed by Pasternak, develop both characters and unravel the plot. One such event is comes in the very first chapter, The Five O'clock Express. The train, carrying, among its many passengers, Misha Gordon and his father, as well as Yuri Zhivago's father, suddenly stops opposite the Duplyanka estate, surprising both those observing the train (Ivan Ivanovich Voskoboinikov and Nikolai Nikolaevich Vedenyapin) and those on the train. One of the men remarks on the consistency of the train's passage through the area, but immediately after, the idyllic image is interrupted by the train's sudden stop. "That's strange... something's wrong. It has no business to stop in the middle of the marsh out there. Something must have happened." (11). The passengers on the train are also perplexed by the sudden stop, inventing stories and reasons for the delay; Misha Gordon, however, knows exactly what happened - his father pulled the emergency break when a man that turned out to be Yuri Zhivago's father jumped out of the moving train, committing suicide (14). Although Misha knows why the train had stopped, he is shaken by the unexpected suicide of the man that showered the boy with affection and gifts. Not everyone reacts to this event like Misha did - Nikolai Nikolaevich, observing from across the river, simply suggests having tea; the many passengers on the train jump out onto the track to stretch their legs from the long journey - life goes on, quickly passing this unexpected stop and leaving it behind.

At the end of chapter three, one unexpected event follows another - some are startling on a personal level, some frighten everyone in the room. Thus, at the Sventitsky's Christmas party, Yuri Zhivago realizes that he sees Tonia as more than a childhood friend when her handkerchief finds its way into his hand - "This was something new in Yura's life, something he had never felt before, something sharp that pierced him from top to toe" (84). As a contrast to this quiet unfolding of events, a shot is hear d in the sitting room - Lara shot at Boris Kornakov, young Koka's father. Once again, as with the train, the reactions of the characters vary and reveal much about their personalities - the injured