How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
[It] was very interesting and alarming in Moscow now, the latent vexation of the lower classes was growing, we were on the eve of something important, serious political events were approaching. (4.14.20)
No one really paid attention to the earliest rumblings of a Communist revolution in Russia. But as time passed and conditions got worse for the lower classes, full-blown revolt became a very real possibility. So real that it actually happened.
Quote #8
But as soon as the lower strata arose and the privileges of the upper strata were abolished, how quickly everyone faded, how unregretfully they parted with independent thinking, which none of them, evidently, had ever had! (6.4.4)
If there's one major problem Yuri Zhivago has with the Russian Revolution, it's the way that the movement put an end to independent thinking, especially when it comes to the men and women Zhivago used to deeply respect. In order to run a successful revolution, people need to come together as a herd. But in becoming a herd, they also lose their ability to think as individuals.
Quote #9
The eight cars that this public occupied presented a motley spectacle. Alongside well-dressed rich people, Petersburg stockbrokers and lawyers, one could see—also recognized as belonging to the class of exploiters—cabdrivers, floor polishers, bathhouse attendants […] (7.8.8)
One of the first signs of a truly new Russia comes when we see poor people and rich people traveling in the same packed train cars. No more divisions between first class and coach, no matter how rich you are. In this new world, everyone is treated the same… unless they're friends with someone important.