CRITIQUES AND INSIGHT INTO THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV
Political Apocalypse: A Study of Dostoevsky's Grand Inquisitorby Ellis Sandoz
This critique offers an analysis of Ivan's "Grand Inquisitor", the scathing commentary on humanity, from various angles: Christian, political, and in the context of Russian revolutionarism, history, and the split between Orthodox and Catholic. Most interestingly, he compares Ivan's Grand Inquisitor to the biblical John the Baptist, who, Sandoz contends, would be the one with the most cause to be bitter towards a fumbling Christ and thus, the Grand Inquisitor could in fact be John the Baptist. I believe it is a rather broad analysis, that struggles a bit to find similarities where Dostoevsky may not have intended there to be any. However, the critique as a whole was very interesting and original, and I agree with it for the most part. I especially enjoyed the analyzation of the origins of Ivan's rebellion in the context of Russian history, because I am a big nerd.
The Religious Dimension: Vision or Evasion? Zosima's Discourse in The Brothers Karamazov from Fyodor Dostoevsky by Harold Bloom
This analysis takes a critical look at Father Zossima's discourse in Book IV (The Russian Monk). This discourse is the heart of the theology in the book, explaining Dostoevsky's implications on causality, humanity, the earth, and how they all relate. Bloom analyzes the rhetoric and the spirit of the discourse, and admires it for the passion, but criticizes it for the lack of actual doctrinal theology. "If Dostoevsky is indeed to be designated as prophet in some sense, how Orthodox—indeed, how Christian—was his message?" Before I read this critique, I had never considered the discourse anything more than that, a well-written discourse. However, after reading this, it is clear that Dostoevsky bases his theology on far less reputable sources than I assumed, perhaps because he intended to belittle Orthodoxy, but in any case giving the major theme of his book much less moral force. It is a very interesting critique that I find myself agreeing with.
Summary.Themes of the Book.Poetry Inspired by the Book.
Critiques of the Book.The Life of Dostoyevsky.The Life of Dostoyevsky.Personal Analysis.