If you enjoyed "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man" (and even if you didn't), you might enjoy some of the other selections in the Signet Dostoyevsky book. If you like romances, you might find "White Nights" particularly appealing. If you want to know what it's like to be in a Siberian prison camp, you might like the selections from the "House of the Dead." Read either or both selections, and add your comments here. What would you say to encourage students to read the selection for themselves?
I read the selections from "House of the Dead". I found the stories very interesting. My favourites were Akulkas Husband and Baklushkins Story. Baklushkins Story was actually quite funny. It is all about how he murdered his lovers betrothed. It is not so much that the murder is amusing as much as the tone of the story. The story is from Sashas point of view and while reading it, I couldn't help but imagine him laughing and having a pint while he tells it.
ReplyDeleteThe second story, Akulkas Husband, was acutally quite disgusting and lacked all humour. I think that this story here clearly depicts the realities of a womans life in that time period. Poor Akulka is the target of gossip and then subsequently abused by her mother, father and husband for being a harlot, when she was anything but. It also shows just how badly alcoholism had an affect on Russian family life. Next to Germans and the Irish, Russians are the 3rd most popular drunk stereo type.
Unless a person is fond of this type of literature, there isn't anything I could suggest to make a person want to read these stories. The only pitch I could make is that the whole book gives a very real look into the gruesome truth that is man. Every story I have read out of this book has forced me to come to terms with the fact that humanity is ugly and I found myself saying often, " God have mercy on us" as I read. However, for every horrible twist and turn there is in the excerpts from the House of the Dead, there is always a very tiny glimmer of light to carry you through the story. In Baklushkins story it is Luise undying love for him even after murdering her betrothed. while in Akulkas Husband the one glimmer of light is the repentance of the man who slandered her and brought about her abuse and eventual death.
I chose to read "House of the Dead." The stories were interesting in the way that they showed how there was a tragedy of sort in each story and how the people were treated from it. The stories told how these people had to deal with the consequences of the things that happened to them and the outcomes of those consequences. It may be hard to convince someone to just sit down and read these stories, but they are actually interesting and keep you wanting to know how it all ends and how they each had to deal with their different situations.
ReplyDelete- Melayna Waisanen
I read "White Nights". I liked how the story was split into six different parts. It made it easier to fallow what was happening in the story. This story reminded me of other romantic classics where there is not a happy ending for one of the people involved. It was very interesting to see how no matter how the narrator tried he could not help but fall in love with Nastenka. This story is great at showing the loneliness that a person can go through and I would urge people that have read any sort of romantic book to give this story a try.
ReplyDelete-Anna Bondy
I would suggest reading "White Night" if you like romance/sad because it talks about a man meeting a younger lady and what they go through in a short amount of time. The first night the man saves Nastenka from being harassed and walks her home, hoping to see her the next day. He promised he would be at the spot they met tomorrow all day waiting for her. The second night, they met up discussing topics they both enjoyed, and things they had in common. The two became very good friends quickly because they were both so lonely. Nastenka explains that she has been waiting for the love of her life to come back to her for almost a year, but he has not written a single letter. On the third night, the narrator has fallen in love. The fourth night Nastenka finds her old lover and leaves the narrator to be alone and broke n again. In the last section he receives a letter saying that she will be married the next week and she would like for him to come. As he sits in his home he thinks to him self if he will be lonely forever.
ReplyDeleteI chose to read " House of the Dead" however; I probably wouldn't suggest it to anyone. I couldn't think of anyone off the top of my head that would be interested in a text so violent. But regardless, the entire book really displays how we humans are a violent race. For that very reason I am drawn to this text, there really aren't to many texts that show the true colors of the human race quite like this.
ReplyDeleteTyler Spearman