Alienation: The Fall of Man through the Breaking of Moral Law
Is it possible to attain or remain in a state of true happiness when you break a moral law? To many of us, road signs have been handed down through the generations and are posted clearly as the 10 Commandments delivered to us through Moses. These commandments are generally viewed as religious moral laws, but can they be viewed also as natural laws of morality for all to heed regardless of religious belief? Consider the chaos if we inverted their intended meaning, remove the word ‘not’, and apply ‘Thou Shall Kill’ or ‘Thou Shall Commit Adultery’, as new commandments. Would these new commandments conflict with natural laws of morality?
The story by Andre Dubus, “Killings”, and Anton Chekhov, “The Lady with the Pet Dog”, show alienation as a horrible consequence we can suffer when a moral law is broken. In the story, “Killings”, Dubus reveals in detail, the alienation Matt and Ruth experience after Matt executes the revenge murder. In Chekhov’s story of “The Lady with the Pet Dog”, Anna and her lover, Dmitri, become familiar with alienation after they begin their extra-marital affair. The stories are completely different, however, the authors carefully guide us on a journey into brokenness and deep sadness, only to witness a deeper tragedy of self-imposed imprisonment: Alienation. Alienation caused by grave wrongdoing.
Dubus and Chekhov give us insight to the effects of breaking a moral law by directly showing us how we can be impacted when we commit murder or commit adultery. Breaking moral law is shown to alienate us in ways we may not straightforwardly anticipate. In both stories, the protagonists are alienated from any notion of a supreme being. This is shown extensively through setting, tone, and action showing how the protagonist hide from their surroundings, especially from the events that are occurring or are about to occur.
In “Killings”, Matt’s alienation from a supreme being begins within him at the time he begins to carry a gun, a gun that he must conceal, else face possible prison time. Matt’s friend Willis points this out when he asks, “You got a permit?”, when Matt responds that he doesn’t, then Willis seems to warn Matt, “… you could get a year for that” (85), directly pointing out to him he’s breaking a law. Matt knows that for, “He had always been a fearful father” (88), and even though he still demonstrates a respect for nature and a love for his family, he now behaves indifferently about the potential consequences.
This story represents the suffering induced by the isolation. In the time period on which this history was reflected, it was socially tolerable for wives to be
Throughout the short story, “The Lady with the Lapdog”, Chekhov’s strays away from the classical love story expectations by realistically portraying Anna's and Gurov's relationship. Chekhov follows the structure for a romantic tale to a bare minimum, but, ultimately, diverts from the commonly known aspects of a love story, as described by author Leigh Michaels’ “The Essential Elements of Writing a Romance Novel”. Chekok’s alteration from a classical love story thwarts the reader’s expectations by demonstrating realism and uncertainty found in human nature. Chekhov’s technique of applying a realistic lens on this couple raises more questions than answers, leaving much ambiguity for the reader’s own interpretation. By exploring the nuances in human nature, Chekhov illustrates a forbidden love that juxtaposes the universal rubric for what a love story should contain.
In the stories “To Set Our House in Order” and “The Lamp at Noon” the authors are both able to effectively communicate that alienation is self-inflicted, while using multiple different techniques. As a result it becomes apparent that each author can take a similar approach to the alienation of a character in the story yet develop the theme in a unique way.
The first and most evident example of alienation and isolation in the novel is Len...
Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment incorporates the significance of murder into the novel through a multitude of levels. The act of killing is not only used to further the plot point of the novel, but also offers insight to the reader of Raskolnikov’s ideology and psyche. This is portrayed through both his initial logic and reasoning behind the plotting of the crime, as well as through his immediate and long term reactions after killing Alyona Ivanovna. The emotional and physical responses instilled in Raskolnikov after killing Alyona Ivanovna as well as his justification for doing so helps illustrate his utilitarianism by offering accurate insight into the character’s moral values. These reactions also serve to show the instability of Raskolnikov’s character due to his changing emotions from being completely justified as the ubermensch to showing a sense of great regret. By including the act of killing, Dostoevsky further develops Raskolnikov’s character, and provides another level of detail to readers concerning his ideology and beliefs prior to his actions.
Rosin, Hanna. “The End of Men.” Minding the Body, edited by Katherine McAlvage and Martina Miles. Eugene, OR: University of Oregon Composition Program, 2015.
This essay examines the social, philosophical, and psychological elements that had affected the Russian Society as well as the world of Dostoevsky’s novel “ Crime and Punishment ˮ. This essay demonstrates the wild impact and clashes left by these theories on the life, choices, and mentality of the novel and the characters embodied, the most important of which is the character of Raskolnikov. Highlighting an “in-depth exploration of the psychology of a criminal, the inner world of Raskolnikov, with its doubt, fear, anxiety and despair in escaping punishment and mental tortureˮ.
Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment explores the themes of guilt and the consequences of committing immoral actions. Of all the deep, thought-provoking concepts put forth in Crime and punishment, the idea that guilt can be an adequate punishment more valid than any punishment executed by society as a whole is the most far reaching and supported by the novel. Crime and Punishment follows Rodian Raskolnikov’s life from just a few days before he commits two brutal murders to when he confesses his crimes and is convicted and sentenced to several years in prison. Initially, Rodian had successfully gotten away with the murder of two people. Raskolnikov’s guilt-driven madness has given him an immunity and even investigators he confesses to think he couldn’t be guilty. As a result, his guilt continues to feed on his conscience to the point where he is constantly miserable. Raskolnikov’s true punishment is the futility of his attempt to escape the guilt of his actions without confessing and feeling adequately punished.
Often times in literature, we are presented with quintessential characters that are all placed into the conventional categories of either good or bad. In these pieces, we are usually able to differentiate the characters and discover their true intentions from reading only a few chapters. However, in some remarkable pieces of work, authors create characters that are so realistic and so complex that we are unable to distinguish them as purely good or evil. In the novel Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky develops the morally ambiguous characters of Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov to provide us with an interesting read and to give us a chance to evaluate each character.
The conflict between good and evil is one of the most common conventional themes in literature. Coping with evil is a fundamental struggle with which all human beings must contend. Sometimes evil comes from within a character, and sometimes other characters are the source of evil; but evil is always something that the characters struggle to overcome. In two Russian novels, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment and Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita, men and women cope with their problems differently. Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment and the Master in The Master and Margarita can not cope and fall apart, whereas Sonya in Crime and Punishment and Margarita in The Master and Margarita, not only cope but pull the men out of their suffering.
The theme of alienation has been depicted by two different characters in a resembling series of events. The two protagonists were alienated by their peers, inflicting negative consequences they must undergo. Both characters are finally pushed to alienating themselves rather than being alienated. In conclusion, the struggles both characters undergo are practically identical to one another. They have experienced alienation in such similar ways that you must ask yourself: are all those who suffer from alienation alike in more ways than one?
As citizens of Earth, we are required to live by certain rules designated to maintain order through out society, but we know them as laws. With such a complex idea there has to be a companionship by which officials dictate who breaks these rules and how they are punished. Thus the justice system was born. The concept of justice is a byproduct of the system but is just as important. Individuals must know and understand judgment to know whether or not justice is being served. These ideas coincide so profoundly that you need both to make sound decisions. The novels Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee and Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky examine the individual’s responsibility to the justice system and how it affects the group as a whole. Through the fates of Lurie and Raskolnikov, Dostoevsky and Coetzee make self-policing the most important factor in societal justice.
Fantasy writer Philip Pullman says, “After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” Stories have been central to how human history has been shaped and remembered. On a grand scale, stories have been a way to pass down culture and remember history. On a smaller scales, they have been used to spend an entertaining evening or- often in many cultures, put a child to bed. While the power of a stories is one that has gone generally unnoticed, William Cronon urgently calls us to pay attention to stories. As Cronon argues in “A Place for Stories”, the manner in which a story is told influences what futures generations will both learn and recall on their own.
In Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Raskalnikov undergoes a period of extreme psychological upheaval. By comparing this death and rebirth of Raskalnikov's psyche to the story of the resurrection of Lazarus, Dostoevsky emphasizes not only the gravity of his crimes, but also the importance of acceptance of guilt.
Isolation is defined as the state of being in a place or position that is separated from people, place or things. Many people identify with a desire to be isolated, despite science saying that people’s natural instinct is to gravitate toward others. Studies have shown that isolation is not good psychologically. Isolation can be voluntary or involuntary; however, whether it is with a human or an animal species, physical touch, communication, and emotional connection is necessary to survive in everyday life. In a number of literary works, isolation is seen as a theme among characters who are sick, mentally ill and those who are incarcerated to name a few. In the literary works we have read in this unit, the isolation of the protagonist, whether voluntary or