Identifying with Alexei in Dostoevsky's The Gambler
The literary character that I most readily identify with would be
Dostoevsky's Alexei, The Gambler. I can relate to him because like me, he is a
man of many passions. He is also all but helpless against his addiction to
gambling. I have also felt helpless to certain circumstances in my life, as
have we all. He is capable of much more than what his society allows him to be.
That is to say he may be a lowly tutor, but he care's about justice and the
atrocities committed by the "high-born" class. I, through faults of my own and
Injustices of my school's administration, also was limited, as Alexei was as to
what people thought of me and how they treated me.
Alexei was torn between his love of gambling and his love of a woman who
did not return his love. He felt passionately about things that he did, even if
he got into trouble over them. He knew that what he thought was right was often
in stark contrast to what his society deemed proper. He disagreed with the
social hierarchy of Russia and paid the penalty. He may have paid a penalty
for standing by what he thought was right, but he knew inside that he was doing
the right thing. However, he did not receive any joy from this realization. He
was relatively miserable his whole life. He turned to Gambling to punish
himself. This is a man who, when he had a chance to be with the woman he had
loved for years, ruined it by going to the casino and gamb...
war often, for the sake of his country, but when he did he put in a
throught the Holocaust. The holocaust thought him to be unwilling to spare anything ( material things as
When I know that money doesn’t matter in life it’s the connections to people and your family that make your life mean something special. While Ivan is screaming for two hours in bed in pain he says to his family “forgive”, but it came out “forget.” This is when he is fighting death and notices that his whole life he has been living it wrong and took everything for granted. As long as he and his wife “ moved in the best circles and there home was frequented by people of importance and by the young.”(Tolstoy 61) Ivan regretted all of this because he noticed that he was not just killing himself but his family as well. It took Ivan way to long in my opinion to see all the problems in his life, his wife and son truly loved the man and just wanted a happy family instead of the game they been playing. Both of these two men were trying to find away from death in their lives but always new it was coming you could say it was
...urdering his brothers and kidnapping his nephews, he fully knew of the consequence and had no remorse.
followed the law instead of being a bitter man toward the white race like his father turned
In Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky gives the reader an inside look to the value system that he holds for himself, as well as the type of characteristics that he abhors in people as well as the characteristics that he admires in people. He uses characters in the novel to express his beliefs of what a person should be like in life to be a “good'; person. Specifically he uses Raskolnokv to show both good and bad characteristics that he likes in people. Also he uses Svidriglaiov and Luzin to demonstrate the characteristics that people should shun and his personal dislikes in people.
was very independent and has always done things he wanted, as he was entrusted with the
Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Dostoevsky, the only one who has taught me anything about psychology.” The two writers share many similarities and differences. Dostoevsky clearly had an effect on the thinking of Nietzsche. The two would be considered both philosophers and psychologists. Both writers became prominent in the late 19th century in Germany and Russia respectively. Dostoevsky was noted for his Russian literary classics and would be responsible for a flowering of late 19th century Russian literary culture. His Russian contemporaries include Leo Tostoy and Anton Chekov. Dostoevsky’s most famous works include The Brothers Karamozov, The Idiot, and Crime and Punishment. Nietzsche is most famous for his philosophical works such as thus spoke Zarathustra. The two writers have many similarities in their philosophy. They both see a changing role in religion. Nietzsche and Dostoevsky also differ sharply on some other aspects of life. One of these being the differing views on the role of the fatherland. Nietzsche’s beyond good and evil and Dostoevsky’s crime and punishment are two works that can be compared and contrasted to show the similarities and dissimilarities of the two geniuses. The two men offer great insights in these books on morality and the affect it can have on the actions of the individual and the society as a whole.
... of him, but always lived in the past which stopped him from getting what he truly wanted.
...beforehand. He was also going through an identity crisis, trying to find his true self and knowing what was best for him. He had loved the people had relationships with but most importantly he learned to love himself when he was ultimately seperated from Iseult the Fair. On a psychological point of view, he experienced the continuing affections from others because it was a survival need. From infancy to maturity love needs to be present at all times. Love is a solid force for challenging the obstacles in life.
The novel, The Brothers Karamazov written by Fyodor Dostoevsky was first published in 1880. This book is unique because it is effectivly written in a combination of third person omniscient and first person point of view. The author seems to be a character in the book but also seems to know all.
believed he could not be stopped and that rules did not apply to him. By being
conscience, by doing so, it cost him his life. Sir Thomas was a very prominent
He was willing to risk everything he had in order to show his love for
Ivan Dmitritch, a character in the short story “The Lottery Ticket” by Anton Chekhow, is unstable. In moments of believing he won the lottery, Ivan became materialistic. He fantasized about his “new life [and how] it will be transform[ed]” (pg 199). Ivan imagined all the things he desired instead of appreciating what he already had. This in fact shows that he is unstable as all he determines about is the rich life and not distinguishing that he isolated himself from the person who loves him the most; his wife. As a result of isolation, Ivan became paranoid. While Ivan continues to dwell about the rich life, reality hits him as he ponders about all the hardships, such as all the relatives coming and “begin[ning to whine] like beggars” (pg 201).