Ryan Laws Bethune
Prompt 1
Front Cover
- Title:
The Brothers Karamazov
- Author:
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- The
cover of the class edition is very plain, but the color red is used throughout
it.
- Red is commonly associated with danger, sacrifice, passion,
love, anger, socialism and communism, and in China and many
other cultures, with happiness
- My Edition has two men on the front dressed in robes and one
has a gold cross on. This could foreshadow that a struggle with religion or
spirituality could come into play
Back Cover
- Learn some information about Dostoyevsky and some of the
themes.
- The
book was written two months before his death.
- It
is one of Dostoyevsky’s largest work
- The
book deals with moral issues and collective guilt
- Human
passions is a big theme of the book: lust, greed, love, jealousy, sorrow, and humor
Three Brothers:
Dmitri
- A
young officer utterly unrestrained in love, hatred, jealousy, and generosity
Ivan
- An
intellectual capable of delivering, impromptu, the most brilliant, lively, and
unforgettable disquisitions about good and evil, God and the devil
Alyosha
- The
youngest brother, preternaturally patient, good, and loving
Publication Info:
- Dover
(2005) unabridged publication of the Constance Garnett translation as published
by W. Heinemann, London, 1912-1920
Front Cover Illustraition
- “Priest
and Deacon” by Boris Kustodiev, 1907
Introduction
- “The
characters Dostoyevsky writes about, though they may not appear to be ones who
live on our street, or even on any street, seem, in their passions and lack of
self control, the familiar and intimate denizens of our souls.”
- Relationships
between fathers and sons, and overall human relationships
Author’s Life
- Born
October 30th, 1821 in Moscow
- Second
son to an army doctor and a much younger wife
- Grew
up in a cramped charity hospital where his father was the resident physician
- Mother
died at the early age of 36 from TB
- Brother’s
name is Mikhail
- Sent
Fyodor and Mikhail to boarding school after their mother’s death and retired
with the younger children
- His
father became cruel after their mothers death and 2 years after was found dead
probably killed by one of his serfs
- 1841
graduated from School of Military Engineering in Saint Petersburg
- Was
arrested for conspiracy by Tsar Nicholas I and sentenced to four years of hard
labor in Siberia followed by 6 years of service as a private in a Siberian
regiment
- Fell
in love with a Siberian women named Maria who was married to an abusive
alcoholic
- Used
guilt and jealousy to steal her away from him and got married in February 1857
- Maria
had TB and close to the end of her days she saw hallucinations of devils in the
corner of her room
- Maria
Died in April 1864 and his brother died three months after that from a liver
diesease
- To
provide for his stepson family he promised full length book novels ( Crime and Punishment and The Gambler) with a contract for a large about of rubles
and he wasn’t complete with the books close to the deadline
- A
stenographer Anna Grigoryevna Snitkina came to his door and helped him finish
both novels and later married Fyodor who was twice her age.
- In
March their first child, Sonya, died at three months while they were in Europe
- They
went back to Russia and Fyodor started to have frequent epileptic attacks
- Their
youngest son Alyosha died at three years old
- In
January 28th, 1881 he died from lung hemorrhage
Author’s Note
- Talks
about the comical and distorted way the book is exhibited by the narrator
- Described
as a biography of Alyosha
- Asks
why would anyone read this novel?
- Story
is described as a man trying to capture something about his life or times in
his life
- Hopes
that reader will read to the end
- Apologizes
to the readers for wasting the readers time.
Concepts
1. What do you think is meant by collective guilt?
2. What is human passion?
3. Can we clearly
state that this book was heavily influenced by his life?
4. What is meant by the quote “The characters Dostoyevsky
writes about, though they may not appear to be ones who live on our street, or
even on any street, seem, in their passions and lack of self control, the
familiar and intimate denizens of our souls.”
5. Why do you think the book is written in a comical way?
6. What expectation do you have from the book based off of
the introduction and author’s note?
7. What is the purpose of writing the book in sections like
in the table of contents?
8.
9.
10.
Statement
After doing this outline it encourages me to pay attention
to the details of the book. I want to actually analyze events in this novel and
see how the characters struggles and decisions pertain to my own life. Also
critiquing life or expressing the internal human struggle from a semi- comical
point of view is something that would keep the audience entertained, as well as
me, entertained.
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