Patience is essential in reading Dostoevsky. The heart and spirit are wrung out and caused to delve deeply into every corridor and recess of life. Poverty, inequality, dissipation and misery of every known variety are described and studied throughout. A dirty mirror is held up to our faces. We are unable to look away.
This young man argues the standard protests of man, is filled with self-doubt, but is contemptuous of everyone else in society. He appropriately illustrates the illogical attitude of the hard-core Humanism of Nietzsche who harped about his incessant struggle with the existence of God. Living in the world that God created, that philosopher believed that man was unjustly burdened with divine law and moral responsibility. Displeased with all the suffering that he saw led him to find that only in doubting the existence of God could he successfully account for evil and oppression.
The CHC Reader’s Guide clarifies the story, helps us appreciate the author’s technique and shows how to analyze characters.
Recommended age levels: 17 and up |
