Dialogues between Ivan and Smerdyakov after the murder of their father from The Brothers Karamazov: their educational implications

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the modern world, alienation and marginalisation are serious issues that make people doubt the existence of God. Due to the development of science and technology, which allows humans more space to act as they desire, society has become even more secularised. Fyodor Dostoevsky foresaw and struggled with these problems – as represented in his literary masterpieces, such as The Brothers Karamazov. However, his works are rarely discussed in educational fields. This study, therefore, aims to analyse and obtain educational implications from the dialogues between Ivan Fyodorovich Karamazov and Pavel Fyodorovich Smerdyakov during three visits after the murder of their father, Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, in The Brothers Karamazov. Ivan rebelled against God because of the injustice in this world, while Smerdyakov had been a victim of such injustice from his birth. They cooperated based on the Man-God ideology advocated by Ivan. However, it did not liberate them; rather, they awoke with a sense of guilt. For educational implications, while Ivan did not consider Smerdyakov an equal, ‘good people’ treated them differently. They supported Smerdyakov and Ivan with care and realist senses by not only supporting the brothers in any situation but also predicting and accepting undesirable scenarios for them.