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Literary Analysis: The Brothers Karamazov

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Classic Literary Analysis: The Brothers Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov is a great literary work of 19th Century Russia. Written by Fyodor Dostoevsky, the book explores many contemporary issues of the time period. The role of Christianity is one of the contemporary issues that is heavily focused upon in the book. The novel is especially powerful and spiritually engaging because it forces the reader to contemplate the question of God and his role in human behavior.
Dostoevsky 's novel follows Alexei Fyodorovich Karamazov, the youngest of the three Karamazov brothers, as he tries to mediate between his scandalous father and his dashing and worldly brother Dmitri. Dmitri and his father, Fyodor Pavlovich, are engaged in a competition for the favor of Grushenka, a Russian beauty in the eyes of both. The middle brother, Ivan, is an educated man, as well as an ardent atheist. The author …show more content…

The most obvious intent was to spread his theological and philosophical views. While this was Dostoevsky 's primary objective, there was also another intent that one could find in the novel. A common theme in Dostoevsky’s works is the occurrence of murder; in this case, the murder of Fyodor Pavlovich. In The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky analyzes the motives of a murder and concludes, through Dmitri and especially Ivan, that a person’s conscience is the only just arbitrator of human actions. Dmitri feels no guilt in the case of the death of his father even though he was found to be by trial. This feeling contrasts to Ivan because Ivan feels guilty that he caused Fyodor Pavlovich’s death even though he was not criminally charged. This guilt that Ivan has reaches a climax when, during the trial of Dmitri, he testifies that he ordered the death of his father through Smerdyakov. While Ivan’s testimony was ignored by the jury, it nevertheless illustrates Dostoevsky’s point about the human conscience and its role in a just

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