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Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov

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Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov
One of the universal themes of the novel, The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, is that of moral responsibility. As Father Zosima’s brother, Markel, passionately exclaims, “…each of us is guilty in everything before everyone, and I most of all”(Dostoevsky289). Simply stated, humanity is responsible for one another because human nature is intricately connected. Dostoevsky incorporated the biblical notion of original sin into his novel (Schmoop Editorial Team); therefore, humanity is permanently inflicted with sin and guilt. Because of this, we must selflessly display love towards others through humility and empathy, something Dostoevsky would call active love. Through the Karamazov brothers’ (Dmitri and Ivan) ultimate fates, Dostoevsky …show more content…
Ivan has hallucinations of the devil coming to visit him in which he taunts Ivan about his sinfulness. The reoccurring appearance of the devil represents Ivan’s inability to lift himself out of a self-induced hell. In Zosima’s sermon, “Of Hell and Fire: A Mystical Discourse,” Zosima talks about his belief that hell is the suffering of being no longer able to love, meaning, an inability to love humanity. As Zosima says, “Oh, there are those who remain proud and fierce even in hell, in spite of their certain knowledge and contemplation of irrefutable truth, and they will burn eternally in the fire of their own wrath…”(Dostoevsky 323). This is precisely what plagues Ivan, who is unable to accept the impossibility of isolating himself from the immoral society he so detests. Through Zosima’s sermon, we understand Dostoevsky’s belief in the impossibility of separating oneself from humanity. By attempting ignore society, we lose ourselves in the process, just as Ivan lost his sanity. Ivan’s regretful fate serves as Dostoevsky’s warning to his audience of how a lack of moral responsibility leads to
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