Page:Russian Literature - A Study Outline.djvu/38

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34 STUDY' OUTLINE Otf XI FEODOR MIKHAYLOVICH DOSTOEVSKI, 1821-1881 As long as metaphysical questions questions^ of good and evil or of the darkest side of the human spirit are raised, so long will Dostoevsky be read. He is one of the few in the world's literature who can never be forgotten : he leaves behind him the profoundest impressions, which can never be effaced, and he stirs the innermost fibres of our spirit. What most enthralls us in him is his fervent love, his respect for man as man, whom he finds even in the criminal, the drunkard, and the prostitute. What writer has created more charming, innocent or unhappy children? . . . Perhaps there are in the world's literature figures of greater talent or, rather, mere repute; a warmer more feeling heart there certainly never was. Not in "Faust" but rather in "Crime and punishment," does "the whole woe of mankind" take hold of us. A. Bruckner. 1. Dostoevski the man. a His life career. b His poverty. c His exile in Siberia and its effect on his work. d Effect of disease on his life and work. c His relation to the social agitation of his time. 2. Dostoevski the writer. a His realism. b Types portrayed in his novels. c His style. d His psychological knowledge of life. e His place in Russian literature.