The House of the Dead ~ Entire Book

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Bigwig1973
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Re: The House of the Dead ~ Entire Book

Post by Bigwig1973 »

What do you make of the behavior of the convicts who react negatively to a prison mate who had, until that time, held their attention by telling jokes. But, when he started to joke about murdering a five-year old boy, then: "The whole barrack on convicts...cried out as one man, and the brigand was compelled to be silent; the men had cried out not from indignation, but because you were not allowed to talk about this kind of thing, because it was not done to talk about this kind of thing." (31)
"...I'd discuss the holy books with the learned man...and that would be the sweetest thing of all...would it foil some vast, eternal plan..." Hamick Fiddler on the Roof

La Belle Dame Sans Mercy, Merci, Maria - Chartier, Keats, Hamik?
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Bigwig1973
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Post by Bigwig1973 »

In your opinion, would the following quote from Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina shed any light regarding the question as to why the convicts ended up in Siberia in the first place?

"Reasoning had brought him to doubt, and prevented him from seeing what he ought to do and what he ought not. When he did not think, but simply lived, he was continually aware of the presence of an infallible judge in his soul, determining which of two possible courses of action was the better and which was the worse, and as soon as he did not act rightly, he was at once aware of it." (714)
"...I'd discuss the holy books with the learned man...and that would be the sweetest thing of all...would it foil some vast, eternal plan..." Hamick Fiddler on the Roof

La Belle Dame Sans Mercy, Merci, Maria - Chartier, Keats, Hamik?
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Bigwig1973
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Post by Bigwig1973 »

Dostoevsky sometimes mentions the seeming lack of will of some of the convicts. In your opinion, would the following quote from Edgar Allen Poe's short story, "The Imp of the Perverse" explain why any of the convicts ended up in Siberia in the first place?

"Through its (the imp of the perverse's) promptings we act without comprehensible object; or, if this shall be understood as a contradiction in terms, we may so far modify the proposition as to say, that through its promptings we act, for the very reason that we should not. In theory, no reason can be more unreasonable; but, in fact, there is none more strong. With certain minds, under certain conditions, it becomes absolutely irresistible." (272)
"...I'd discuss the holy books with the learned man...and that would be the sweetest thing of all...would it foil some vast, eternal plan..." Hamick Fiddler on the Roof

La Belle Dame Sans Mercy, Merci, Maria - Chartier, Keats, Hamik?
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Bigwig1973
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Post by Bigwig1973 »

mouseofcards89 wrote: People surmised that Dostoevsky had actually killed his own wife after this was published. In truth, he was sentenced to exile in Siberia for political sedition. At one time, he was responsible for operating a print press on behalf of a faction within the Petrashevskys, which, had it been discovered, would have meant a death sentence.
"House of the Dead" espouses Dostoevsky's primary psychological premise. Specifically, it claims that with a why you can justify any how. According to him, the worst punishment conceivable is not beating or jail time or any of those conventional avenues. Rather, it is pointless work. One must have a perceived notion of a grander purpose when it comes to one's labours, an ominous implication. It asserts that the human being can endure any succession of outrages, but must be allowed to assert a 'self.' This is why the prisoners depicted in the book are prone to spontaneous drinking bouts, destructive behaviours that are against the rules, etc. They know what is in their best interests, Dostoevsky would argue, but choose to act in contravention to those interests because doing so establishes self.
This is not a prison memoir in the sense that most people see it. It could just as easily be perceived as a social critique of the world. Many of its core ideas resonate a great deal with modern culture.
I had not heard that he was rumored to have killed his own wife. I sometimes wonder if the Greek Oedipus complex, or numerous variations of it, migrated into Russia via superstition. Or, love: If one killed their own wife, then one feels control over their life or death. Or, possible mafia origins. Doesn't the mob almost always get drug into things? Apparently, if someone vouches for another in the mob, then that means something. According to Donnie Brasco, The Godfather, etc.
Also, I read that he was pardoned from death, but still sentenced to Siberia for his crimes.
I also don't agree that he expected human beings to endure any succession of outrages, nor do I feel that he believed that they must assert a self. I do agree that it could be a social critique, however.
"...I'd discuss the holy books with the learned man...and that would be the sweetest thing of all...would it foil some vast, eternal plan..." Hamick Fiddler on the Roof

La Belle Dame Sans Mercy, Merci, Maria - Chartier, Keats, Hamik?
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Abdulwahab Maryam
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Post by Abdulwahab Maryam »

I loved it! It talked about prison and things like that - which the author did justice :)

I read it a while a go though...should dust it up and read it again.
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