The Brothers Karamazov Study Guide
“The Brothers Karamazov” is the last book written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky in 1880. It is a rare case where the philosophy of the content is successfully mixed with the excitement of the plot.
One of the protagonists of the novel, Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov is a cold and rough man. He gets the joy in life while making money and sleeping with women, two of which he married. His children are brought up with little participation of their father and after the death of their mothers Dmitri, Ivan and Alyosha are sent away to relatives. He also has another child from a village girl and this boy named Smerdyakov will later play a crucial role in Fyodor Pavlovich's life.
The novel opens with the Karamazov boys becoming older and Dmitri, who is now a soldier, coming home to claim his inheritance. The father isn’t willing to give up the money and involves the other sons in resolving the conflict. The fight between the father and the son intensifies when they come to realize that they love the same woman, Grushenka.
When Grushenka disappears, Dmitri goes mad. At the same time, he learns about the death of his father and is blamed for it. Ivan realizes that his close relationship to his half-brother Smerdyakov was fatal and blames the death of his father on himself. In the end, he is nurtured by an ex-fiancé of Dmitri, who also helps Dmitri escape the prison and go to America with Grushenka.
The Karamazov brothers have different occupations and different approaches to life. This makes the book a literary discussion about religion, money, morality and social standards. The soldiers, the philosophers and the church apprentices are brought together by the blood links, but they can’t find common ground for understanding.
Through very mundane events the novel emphasizes the importance of being human, forgiving each other, loving and helping all the creatures in life. The philosophy and religion, the feeling of guilt and love, the truth and the lie are all intermingled to create a lasting impression among the readers.
Author: David Sutton
New Essays
One of the universal themes of the novel, The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, is that of moral responsibility. As Father Zosima’s brother, Markel, passionately exclaims, “…each of us is guilty in everything before everyone, and I most of all”(Dostoevsky289). Simply stated, humanity is...
In Dostoevsky’s novel “The Brothers Karamazov” Dostoevsky deals with numerous aspects of life. More importantly, the novel allows a glimpse into the mind of man and its response to the influence of good and evil in the form of death. The characters dismiss the reality of death in some way, and...
Balbuena, Glaiza T. January 23, 2009 BCT 3-F Anna Karenina and Brothers Karamazov Discussion Using Moral Approach In Anna Karenina and Brothers Karamazov novel, Anna cheated her husband the same with Dimitri who fell in love to Grushenka while he is engaged to Katerina. As we can remember, Dimitri...
I. Introduction Writers are always in question as to whether their writings relate to their personal experiences or just an accidental similarity in their fiction, and as to whether they are inside the soul or mind of the narrators in the story or plain fiction writers outside the narration. In...