Fyodor Dostoyevsky
1821 - 1881
Russian author of great repute whose ability allowed him to portray complex behaviours with insight and sensitivity.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky was born in Moscow and had an unhappy childhood. He studied military engineering but abandoned his career to become a writer. His first novel, Poor Folk which focused on the difficulties of the priveledged and was followed by the less successful The Double.
His foray into radical politics where he became involved with French socalist theories that were forbidden under Tzarist rule, lead to a mock execution and final sentencing to Siberia for four years. He served as a common soldier for a further four years.
As a result of these hardships he became an epileptic.
The House of the Dead is a psychologically insightful and graphical account of his experiences in prison. Having access only to a Bible, he denounced his affiliation with atheism and socialism and focused his belief on Christ's teachings on salvation.
Through his monthly periodicals his works were serialised, notably The House of the Dead, The Insulted Injured. In Notes from Underground his philosophical ideologies paved the way for his great novels.
In these last great novels, Dostoyevsky's heores evolve and he sets a background of moral and social issues prevalent at that time. The Brothers Karamazov, completed shortly before his death, is one of his masterpieces.
Essays
Three Brothers, Three Stories: A Word About Each of the Brothers Karamazov -- This essay is a comparison of the personalities of the three brothers and of each one's unique place in this intriguing Dostoyevsky tale.
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Dostoevskyâs Crime and Punishment: The Faces of Raskolnikov -- Raskolnikov experiences an awakening with his recent ideologies, and is torn by them. Dostoevsky reveals this by showing Raskolnikov having more than one motive for his crime.
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