Fyodor Dostoevsky & Siberian Exile By Sam Holzman.

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Fyodor Dostoevsky & Siberian Exile By Sam Holzman

Transcript of Fyodor Dostoevsky & Siberian Exile By Sam Holzman.

Page 1: Fyodor Dostoevsky & Siberian Exile By Sam Holzman.

Fyodor Dostoevsky & Siberian Exile

By Sam Holzman

Page 2: Fyodor Dostoevsky & Siberian Exile By Sam Holzman.

Dostoevsky’s Early Life

• Born November 11, 1821 in Moscow, Russia• Second of seven children• Suffered from epilepsy from age nine• Lived in oppression under his father’s harsh treatment• Developed love for reading; Nikolai Gogol, E.T.A. Hoffman• Mother died of tuberculosis in 1837• Sent to a military engineering institute in St. Petersburg• Took interest in literature at the institute• Received a commission in 1841

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Early Life continued

• Wrote his first novel Poor Folk in 1846 to critical acclaim– Began exploring Naturalism; socially conscious

• Achieved fame due to praise from critic Vissarion Belinsky• His next work, The Double, was met with negativity

– Fame faded

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“The Petrashevsky Circle”

• Dostoevsky joined group led by Mikhail Petrashevsky• Discussed literature and political issues• Illegal according to Russian law• Members were arrested for subversion, sentenced to death• “Mock execution”; Dostoevsky scarred for life• Sentence commuted to exile to Siberia in Dec. 1849

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Siberia• Sentenced to hard labor at the Omsk Fortress• Cold, brutal living situation• The New Testament only reading material• Major Krivtsov abused and humiliated prisoners• Dostoevsky had fear of abuse • suffered from fits of epilepsy• Released from prison in 1854, sentenced to

military exile• Fell in love with Maria Isaev, a married woman,

and eventually married her after her husband’s death

• Allowed back to St. Petersburg in 1959

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Effect on Dostoevsky

• Dostoevsky witnessed conflicts among prisoners– Peasants vs. Noblemen

• Disputed Dostoevsky’s views on humanity• No longer believed in power of remorse• Struggled with deep hatred• Russian Orthodoxy brought change of heart

– Saw peasants and gentries as brothers under Christ– Never fully committed to the faith

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A New Dostoevsky• Broken by death of his wife in 1864• Developed gambling problem• Siberia and recent turmoil gave him a new outlook on humanity• Took stance against Russian Nihilist movement

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A New Dostoevsky cont’d• Crime and Punishment (1866) : redemption through suffering

– Raskolnikov an embodiment of spiritual nihilism– Depicted Russian poverty, crime and pain

• The Idiot (1869) explored Russian Christianity• Final novel was The Brothers Karamazov (1880)

– Considered one of his masterpieces– Family drama, dealt with redemption, crime and faith

• Died of a lung hemorrhage on February 9th 1881

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Impact on Russia

• Became a voice of the dark side of Russian life• His change in views was an inspiration for anti-nihilist

movements• His post-Siberia work sparked controversy among radicals• Provided realistic tales to dispute rationalism

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PCH0QeDKv4&feature=related

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• 3) Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment. Harlow, England: Pearson Education, 2006. Print.• 4) "Existential Primer: Fyodor Dostoevsky." Tameri Guide for Writers: Index Page. Web. 12 Dec.

2011. <http://www.tameri.com/csw/exist/dostoevsky.shtml>.• 5) "Frank, Joseph. Dostoevsky. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1986. Print.• 6)“Fyodor Dostoevsky Biography." UNet Users' Home Pages. Brandeis. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.

<http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/dostoevskybio.html>.• 7)"Fyodor Dostoevsky." Books & Literature Classics. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.

<http://classiclit.about.com/cs/profileswriters/p/aa_fdosy.htm>.• 8)Gocsik, Karen. "Biography of Dostoevsky, Single-page Document." Dartmouth College.

Dartmouth. Web. 12 Dec. 2011. <http://www.dartmouth.edu/~karamazo/bio_all.html>.• 9)"HOW SIBERIA CONCENTRATED HIS MIND - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News,

World News & Multimedia. 31 Aug. 1986. Web. 12 Dec. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/31/books/how-siberia-concentrated-his-mind.html?pagewanted=all>.