FATHERS & SONS was the most studied of Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev's works in Soviet high school curricula. An inadvertent political agenda favorite, juxtaposing two generations, fathers, the fading aristocracy, & sons, the fresh blood of the middle class & nihilists, it seemed a perfect vehicle for portraying the brewing unrest of the pre-revolutionary era, & introduced the character of Bazarov--the spirited nihilist who was seen as a brilliant idealistic rebel, the new kind of man who rejected old notions of class & came to disrupt the status quo. Growing up, Turgenev witnessed class injustice in Russia. His themes reflect his concern with the suffering of the poor & the voiceless serfs. But FATHERS & SONS isn't just a socio-political piece. Turgenev is a lyrical romantic. At its heart lies the tragic human story of Bazarov's flippant kiss of a servant & the tension it causes in a cozy country gentry household where he's a guest.