Her main complaint seems to be that she does not know how to safely share the inordinate amount of love she has for humanity. No doubt her suffering becomes at least partially real; she is weeping by the end of their discussion (Dostoevsky, II, 4). But the cause and focus of her suffering is her own selfishness, and though she receives some consolation and wisdom from Zossima, even his prognosis for her does not reflect much hope that her suffering will be relived, not until "you see with horror that in spite of all your efforts you are getting farther from your goal instead of nearer to it" (Dostoevsky, II, 4). Only through self-awareness, Zossima explicitly states, will her suffering be able to turn into something useful. The three women identified in these two chapters are of no real importance to the plot of the Brothers Karamazov or to the direct development of the other characters. Yet each one represents a point on the spectrum of suffering in its relation to redemption and personal growth. They are succinct examples of complex human problems, problems of selfishness, doubt, and the grinding motion of life that find their echo in the more richly defined title characters, the three brothers Karamazov. Dmitri most closely resembles this last woman; it is his selfishness that creates all of his problems, including his eventual arrest and impending imprisonment at the end of the novel -- had he not been in the money troubles he was, or even had he not flaunted the cash he received by whatever means, he would not have been suspected of his father's murder. His suffering is at every turn increased by his selfish and thoughtless actions; seeing no way out of most situations but increased selfishness -- his desire for money and/or women...
Without an acknowledgement of the suffering's cause, there can be no hope for relief, but rather it forces a spiral of continuing degradation. Ivan suffers from doubt and lack of faith; he is not selfishly turned inwards like Dmitri, but there is nothing outside of himself he believes in enough to save him. Eventually, his suffering drives him into madness. Of the brothers, it is only Alyosha whose suffering ends up leading to redemption and growth, and it is through his faith -- which he retains largely due to Elder Zossima -- that he is able to come through the suffering. There is external purpose to Alyosha's life, and suffering in that context can always be instructional and redemptive.
Redemption is a theme that is prevalent in many works of literature. As it has its basis in religious belief, religion is often an accompanying theme to stories about redemption. Two stories that involve redemption are James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues and Flannery O'Connor's Good Country People, but both do so in very different ways. While Baldwin's Sonny's Blues portrays redemption in a more traditional way, O'Connor's Good Country People demonstrates
Suffering for Our Cinematic Sins: John Coffey in "The Green Mile" While both films "The Green Mile" (1999) and "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994) have prison settings, and the same director, these two film's overarching ideological agendas stand in striking contrast. "The Green Mile" uses the Christ myth of a singular, suffering (black) savior that can redeem white society. "The Shawshank Redemption" presents a morally ambiguous notion of salvation, that all individuals must
This concept reveals the complexity of "psychological and physical damage" (Pagliaro), leaving one can to wonder, "whether it can be stopped and its root causes done away with ever" (Pagliaro). The answer to this question, and this state of mankind, is left up to the reader while Blake explores the inner and outer worlds through busy streets and a chartered river. Here we see entrepreneurs at work while the
As with the Gospel of Mark’s theme of impending darkness and suffering, what is the Good News? Is there a message of joy here? How do you talk to your parishioners about embracing the cross, even as we approach life with joy and hope? Darkness and suffering are recurrent themes throughout the Bible. God’s love is offered as a resolution to the suffering endemic to human existence. The Gospel of Mark’s
The Brothers Karamazov and the Death of Ivan Ilyich Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov and Tolstoy’s Death of Ivan Ilyich examine the role that suffering plays in the transformation of a soul for better or for worse. Being a much longer work, Dostoevsky’s novel examines suffering from a number of different perspectives, giving a number of different outcomes—each depending on the will of the individual character, the psychological situation of that character, the
Christmas Carol Ebenezer Scrooge: Relationships and Redemption Few stories have been retold or achieved such great cultural familiarity as has Charles Dickens' 1843 novel A Christmas Carol. Perhaps the reason for its success and permanence is its thematic universality. In its central character, readers are given a figure with a dramatically stunted way of relating to other human begins and yet one who is destined for redemption. This is the narrative thrust
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