Why Dostoyevsky?

In 2007, it's a bit ridiculous to reveer the work of a man dead 120 years. Fyodor Dostoyevsky entered my world as a teenager and left an indelible mark. Forced to read "Notes from the Underground" in college, I dredged through academia's version of his writing.

It wasn't until after college, poor as dirt and living in a shellac factory, that I picked up "Crime and Punishment". I was hooked. The depth and intrigue to which Dostoyevsky explores Raskalnikov and the pesky inspector is inspiring. For me, these characters came alive. Their motives and their behavior made sense. He described the thought process of a very intelligent person, festering and fixating on an idea that would lead to his downfall. A person who knew what was good but chose bad anyway.  I have since read most of his major novels and many of his short works. "The Double" was a particular favorite.

Dostoyevsky's preoccupation with self-doubt and self-loathing really hit a nerve. He is recognized as a precursor to the Existentialists but this is a gross understatement. He is the first true Existentialist. His self-questioning and critical self-examination is the foundation of modern philospophy.

In today's modern world I think we can all relate to the idea of aimlessness, arbitrariness, a world devoid of true meaning. His ideas filter down to our collective consciousness. It exists in movies, art and books. One example that comes to mind is the work of Brett Easton Ellis. In particular "American Psycho", which has an "underground" tone to it. All of Easton's stories have a similar philosophical hopelessness. Why does this idea appeal to me so much? It has a ring of truth. Somewhere in that hopelessness, there is hope.

Melissa Carter 2009

Dostoyevsky, 1862

Dostoyevsky

"Man grows used to everything, the scoundrel."

"Nothing in this world is harder than speaking the truth, nothing easier than flattery."

"What do you think, would not one tiny crime be wiped out by thousands of good deeds?"

"Even as I approach the gambling hall, as soon as I hear, two rooms away, the jingle of money poured out on the table, I almost go into convulsions."

FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY