An Analysis Of The "demonic" Characters In Dostoevsky's Works

Dostoevsky(1821-1881)is a great writer who has an insight into human nature.He can always look through the appearance and consider the figure inside of a person.Among all characters in Dostoevsky's works,there is a group of people who causes great horror like a devil even though they are in a supporting role.Therefore,they can be called "demonic characters".Maybe they are brutal evil,desperately avaricious,or they are cynical.Their immoral conducts refresh people's awareness of evil in humanity.But then,demonic characters in Dostoevsky's works have particular inspirations for people to understand the complex human nature and transcend self limitations.Typical characters were chosen and analyzed in this thesis to excavate the individualities of demonic characters.Then,factors that forms this kind of people were explored from several aspects,such as national culture,ideology of the ages and the creation process of writer etc..And the value of demonic characters were analyzed from the perspective of aesthetics,ethics and religious.Based on the above,the main body of this thesis were divided into three parts.Chapter one was mainly about the conception of demonic characters and the uniqueness represented by this kind of people.Inclination of violence,strong possessiveness and lack of faith were the three evil qualities of demonic characters summed up in this thesis.After analyzing the thoughts and experiences of some individuals,demonic characters can also be subdivided into the following four types: schemer represented by Peter Verkhovinski and Luzhin,narcissist delegated by the old Karamazov and Valkovski,psychopath such as Smerdyakov and Katzin,and crazy person,for example,Svidrigailov and Rogozhin.The artistic representations of demonic characters in Dostoevsky's works were clarified according to the classification above.Based on the analysis of the ages and national backgrounds of demonic characters,intricate factors which causes the evil of these characters were discussed in chapter two.In this part,the historical origin of demonic characters was explored from the perspective of Russian nation in section one.Extreme and strong ethos of demonic characters was established under the extensiveenvironmental background,rough national primitive culture and folk custom.From the perspective of Russian society,the background of demonic characters was dissected in section two.The turbulent society,mixed social ideas and adverse social atmosphere of transitional period nourished the formation of demonic characters imperceptibly.After the comprehensive consideration of all factors such as nation and society,the reason why demonic characters can be generated was demonstrated.Section three was about the causes of the demonic characters by dissecting Dostoevsky's life story and the motives.The unique value of demonic characters in Dostoevsky's works was summed up in chapter three.In section one,it was pointed out that the ugly demonic characters came into people's view and challenged the traditional aesthetic idea.Besides,demonic characters always have extremely strong artistic appeal and the impressive description of their "ugliness" is revolutionary,which unconsciously corresponds to the aesthetic pursuit of future art.Ethics and moral warning values about demonic characters were discussed in section two,among which the extreme egoism and moral depravity were important factors which cause evil-occupied.Studying from the perspective of freedom,section three showed that the existence of devil and the God were mutually premises.Dostoevsky stuck to theodicy and mediated the idea of freedom between devil and the God.God profaners believe in their own opinions after they abandoned the God so they have to undertake their own sins.Taking the God as the reference,a sample can be provided for people to recognize the evil of human,and the implication was suggested that demonic characters will be saved finally.The puzzle of evil will exist forever and wait for answers from every generation.Dostoevsky this genius "cruel " shaped a series of demonic characters with unique charm in his works.This kind of complex characters of hiding the truth of human nature,Dostoevsky thorough insight into the evil ones characters can bring us deep thinking.Demonic characters will accompany the process of human development,staged scenes targicomedy,but for the sober cognition of demonic characters can help get rid of the fear,evil to reward good,reduce the human sin.