Smerdyakov And Nietzsche Essay Research Paper Smerdyakov

Smerdyakov And Nietzsche Essay, Research Paper

Smerdyakov and Neitzsche

The character of Smerdyakov in Dostoevsky.s Brothers Karamazov appears to me to

epitomize Nietzsche.s idea of the .slave revolt.. With a closer look at the book we see that

Smerdyakov appears to have been plotting throughout the entire story. Upon a close analysis we

see that he had both a reason and a means for revenge against almost all of the other characters.

We also see that he comes out .ahead.. Much like Nietzsche.s slave revolt, where there is an

inversion of power, and the weakling comes out the .winner.. In this paper I will attempt to

show how Smerdyakov accomplished this .inversion of power.. I will take an in depth look into

the relationships that Smerdyakov had with the other characters, and show how and why he fits

perfectly into the .slave revolt..

Dostoevsky first presents Smerdyakov, in the Brothers Karamazov, in Book three of Part

one. The author divulges details of the conception of the fourth son of Fyodor Karamazov. Late

on a September evening, a drunk Fyodor, by modern standards, .rapes. a homeless woman.

Stinking Lizaveta, the victim of Fyodor.s violence, was a legend in the town. Regardless of her

unattractive and dirty appearance, her poverty, and homelessness, the townspeople regarded her

with sympathy and compassion. Fyodor, on the other hand, treated Lizaveta as an insubordinate

who was undeserving of even an ounce of respect. He and his friends mock her. He then rapes

her. As if these actions are not cruel and offensive enough, he vehemently denies any of it

happening. Later, when Lizaveta gives birth to Fyodor.s illegitimate son, it is Grigory and Marfa

who take the boy in, baptize him, an decide to raise the child. The townspeople mistakenly credit

Fyodor for taking the dead woman.s child into his house. All of these actions on the part of

Fyodor are the cause for his punishment. While Fyodor neglected his fatherly duties to his other

three sons, to his fourth, he rejects them completely. He finds the controversy around the mystery

of the boy.s conception amusing. He employs his own son as one of his servants, as his .lackey:.

Although incredible attention to detail is paid to the story of Lizaveta, Dostoevsky waits to speak

of the boy himself. It is as if the author is all ready separating this last son. Dostoevsky claims to

not want to go into detail about Smerdyakov so as to not distract the reader from the story.

However, it is an intentional set-up on the part of the author.

When we finally learn more of this mysterious character, it is not until four chapters later.

Dostoevsky is oddly able to summarize the character of Smerdyakov in only five pages, whereas,

with the characters of his brothers he needs many more pages. In this way, the author is showing

the mistreatment of this innocent boy by all who know him. Grigory is ashamed of him. He

spreads the story of Smerdyakov.s birth and ruins his reputation indefinitely. All three of the

brothers treat Smerdyakov not as an equal, but as a servant. Despite his displays of intelligence,

Smerdyakov is labeled and mocked by everyone. He is called a lackey, an ass, a scoundrel, and

many other horrible things.

So, quite predictably, we find out in the sixth chapter of Book three, that Smerdyakov is,

to say the least, bitter about his mistreatment. Smerdyakov seems to be innately aware of the

violence, disrespect, and cruelty from which he was conceived. He is outwardly cold and

passionless. Inwardly he has a lot of anger. He reacts to his situation much in the same way that

the lamb reacts to the bird of prey according to Nietzsche. Those who are in power are the birds

and those who the powerful use as a crutch to survive are the lambs. Nietzsche tells us that

although the birds of prey must eat the lamb to survive, the lambs still .hold the birds of prey

accountable for being birds of prey. (25). So although Smerdyakov knows that he has no control

over the position that he has been put in, he is still is going to be angry and resentful of it.

The similar characteristic of the three Karamazov brothers is their explosive exhibition of

their passion. The youngest Karamazov, Alexei, is passionate about religion. He passes some

time in the town monastery where he is greatly influenced by the elder Zosima. Even though he

decides against living his life as a monk, he vows to uphold the teachings of his mentor.

Throughout the entire book he attempts to exhibit to others the workings of his God. Alexei is

greatly admired and respected for his unyielding dedication to the truth. He embodies religious

devotion, purity, and spirituality.

The second Karamazov, Ivan, is passionate about his intellect. he is known as an educated

and intellectual man. He is the only son to have graduated from college. Ivan.s reviews of books

are published and his name is familiar in literary circles. He takes great pride in his talented

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