Fyodor Dostoevsky’s thought-provoking story of a man who thinks he and his life are so ridiculous as to not be worth living packs a powerful message. Having decided to commit suicide, his life is turned around by a chance encounter with a young girl asking for help on the street, and a dreamed journey to a utopian world. He learns that meaning and happiness come through suffering and love (kindness), and that indifference (lack of concern for others) can destroy them. Themes: nihilism, despair, suffering, compassion, meaning in life. More…
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The Grand Inquisitor
This story is a chapter from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s acclaimed novel, The Brothers Karamazov. Jesus makes a quick visit to Seville amid the suffering of the Spanish Inquisition. When he starts preforming miracles the Grand Inquisitor, a Cardinal, has him arrested. He visits Jesus in his cell and declares that he is no longer welcome on Earth because his message (spiritual freedom and the right to choose good or evil) is at odds with the teachings of the Church (forced belief through miracle, mystery, and authority). Themes include God and religion, free will vs. Catholic authoritarianism, suffering and human weakness. More…
The Heavenly Christmas Tree
This famous Christmas story is from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s self-published periodical, Diary of a Writer. A young boy has recently arrived in a big city with his poverty-stricken, dying mother. On Christmas Eve the boy ventures out from their rented hovel in search of food. He is both terrified and intrigued by his experiences as he walks the streets. Hungry and freezing, he shelters behind a woodpile. He feels sudden warmth, and wakes surrounded by other happy children along with his smiling mother around Christ’s Christmas tree. Themes: poverty, isolation, class discrimination (rich vs. poor), inhumanity, suffering and death, Christianity. More…