Brothers Karamazov Essay, Research Paper

Dostoyevsky tries to show the importance of believing in God in the novel The Brothers Karamazov.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky was raised in a very religious environment. Much of Dostoyevsky s early learning was taught to him by his loving and devout Christian mother. His father was not as much a positive influence on him as his mother because he was a drunk. Dostoyevsky s parental figures serve as the two ends of the spectrum of behavior. One parent is dedicated and pious, and the other is an irresponsible drunk. Although Dostoyevsky did lose his faith in the Church for a while, but his belief re-emerged after he spent some time in prison.

In the Novel The Brothers Karamzov, Dostoyevesky has both characters that are righteous, and those that are not. The characters Alyosha and Father Zosima are examples of the Christian purists. Throughout the story these men serve as the conscience for those who are being troubled and are always around to spread Christian morals. On the contrary there are also those characters in the novel that have many flaws. Father Karamazov is a drunken womanizer who has lost much of his son s respect. One of his sons named Ivan is a total non-believer. Ivan is a philosophical person who inadvertently inspires Smernakov, to kill father Karamazov. At the end of the story we see Ivan turn to god for support at the trial of his brother Dmitri. Dmitri is found guilty of murder and is convicted. However, the whole mess could have been avoided had the Karamazov family been more focused on religion and love rather then quarreling over relatively minor ordeals.

Dostoyevsky wrote this classic at a time when the influence of the Church in Russia was weakening and ideals of other societies were becoming more popular. This was of great concern to Dostoyevsky because he thought the new ideas would not bring any good to his country. He wrote the novel The Brothers Karamazov, which showed the two ways people can act and which road is the right one to take in life.