Analysis of The Theme in Fyodor Dostoevsky's 'Poor People' Through Existentialism Approach.

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ABSTRACT

Dalam tesis ini, penulis menganalisis penggambaran karakter dan aksi tokoh utama yang membantunya dalam menemukan tema didalam karya sastra melalui pendekatan Existentialism_{, yang lebih berfokus pada teori}Theistic Existentialism _dari Søren Kierkegaard. Existentialism_{adalah gerakan filosofis yang berkembang pada} abad ke-20. Singkatnya, gerakan ini mengasumsikan bahwa manusia adalah makhluk yang sepenuhnya bebas untuk memilih dan bertanggung jawab terhadap hasil pilihannya itu. Sedangkan menurut paham Theistic Existentialism_{, kebebasan} seseorang tersebut harus di pertanggungjawabkan secara pribadi kepada Tuhan.

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menganggap cintanya itu adalah hal yang tabu. Pada akhirnya, aksi yang ia lakukan menimbulkan konsekuensi yang sangat berat untuk ditanggung sehingga membuatnya teringat kembali akan Tuhan dan menyadari bahwa tingkah lakunya itu telah menyimpang. Setelah kembali ke jalan Tuhan, tokoh utama ini dapat mengatasi beban tersebut dan mendapatkan kehidupan yang lebih baik.

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study ………... Statement of the Problem ………... Purpose of the Study ……….. Method of Research ………... Organization of the Thesis ...………...

1 3 3 4 4

CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF THE THEME IN FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY’S POOR PEOPLE THROUGH

EXISTENTIALISM APPROACH_………...

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CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION_………. ₁₇

BIBLIOGRAPHY_………. ₂₀

APPENDICES:

Synopsis of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Poor People………... Biography of Fyodor Dostoevsky………

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APPENDICES

SYNOPSIS OF FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY’S POOR PEOPLE

Poor People is an epistolary novel. This story tells about the protagonist’s

efforts in getting Varvara Debroselova’s heart. Makar Alexeyevich Devushkin, the

protagonist, is a middle-aged man whose job is copying things in civil service and

Varvara is a teenage poor orphan who fears society’s norms.

Devushkin tries some ways to get her love. He influences her thought about

social norms by giving some texts which implicitly tell that forbidden love is

innocent with the hope that Varvara will accept his love. Devushkin gets obstacles

from his society in getting Varvara’s heart. This problem appears because in the

society where he lives, love between a middle-aged man and a teenager is not a

common thing or taboo; accordingly, they try to break up their relationship by

mocking and alienating them. As a religious person who believes that love is not

determined by age, he does not surrender to their annoyance. He believes that his love

for the girl is not a sin. Nevertheless, his strong-willed characteristic in keeping his

principle later brings about social consequences that repress him.

Besides, Devushkin also tries to get the girl’s attention by giving her some

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becomes poorer and sells everything he can. His poor condition, however, does not

make him suffer because he has a principle that he will feel happy if he can fulfil his

desire. On the other hand, it makes him fall into debts because he cannot afford his

apartment’s rent. Facing debt problem and getting repressed from the society, he

becomes depressed and remembers God. He remembers God when his misfortune

makes him realize that he has preferred to put his desire on the first place rather than

God. This condition makes him want to get forgiveness from God.

Later, there is some incident in his office that makes his Excellency

sympathize with him and give him quite a lot of money. The money helps him to pay

his debt and gives him a better life than before.

At the end of the story, Varvara is married to a wealthy landowner named Mr.

Bykov. This fact does not make Devushkin commit a silly thing such as suicide. On

the other hand, he still hopes that he will get her.

BIOGRAPHY OF FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was born in 1821 in Moscow. His father,

Mikhail Andreevich Dostoevsky was an army doctor who was strict and his mother,

Maria Fedorovna Dostoevsky, suffered from ill health. When his mother died in

1837, he was sent to an Army Engineering College in St. Petersburg. He became

totally an orphan when his father died two years later. Finally, he finished his college

in five years and in 1844 he became a writer. He published his first novel in 1846

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Double is his second novel, which was published in the same year. During this time,

Dostoevsky joined a big political organization called Utopian Socialism, which later

caused him to be deported to Siberia in 1850. He became both a monarchist and a

member of Russian Orthodox Church during his eight-year imprisonment. On his

return from Siberia, he wrote his experience as a prisoner in a novel entitled The

Insulted and the Injured (1861) and one year later he published Notes from the House

of the Death (1862).

Dostoevsky traveled around Europe for the first time in 1862 and it influenced

his works such as Winter Notes on Summer Impression (1862) and Notes from

Underground (1864). In April 1864, Dostoevsky’s wife, named Maria Dmitrievna

Isaeva, died of tuberculosis and three months later his closest brother also died of

liver disease. This grief made him fall into gambling problems and debts. His greatest

work, Crime and Punishment, was published in 1866. In the same year he also wrote

a novel, The Gambler, and he met Anna Grigirivna Snitkina, who later became his

wife. They got married and traveled to Europe.

When they returned to Russia in 1871, his career as a novelist increased

because of his works Devil (1871) and A Raw Youth (1875). His peak career was in

1880 because he was invited to Moscow by the Russian poet and playwright

Alexander Pushkin to speak at a celebration. At this time, he produced his final

masterpiece entitled The Brother Karamazov. On 28 January 1881, Dostoevsky had

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

All human beings are created equal, which means that they have the same

rights without looking at differences in race, religion, or sex; besides, they have the

same desire to be able to do whatever they want. However, one thing that makes them

different is the ability to achieve their desire. Human desire needs an aid called

freedom. This fact has some relationship with the existentialists’ thought.

‘Existentialism is a 20th-century philosophical movement which assumesthat people

are entirely free and thus responsible for what they make of themselves’.

(http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/existentialism). Existentialists believe

that man must make his own values and possesses the complete freedom to choose.

‘That is why existentialists focus primarily on matters such as choice, individuality,

subjectivity, freedom, and the nature of existence itself. The issues addressed in

existentialist philosophy involve the problems of making free choices, of taking

responsibility for what we choose, of overcoming alienation from our lives, and so

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One of the greatest writers in world literature who deal with existentialism is

Fyodor Dostoevsky. He was born in 1821 in Moscow and considered ‘a forerunner of

existentialist thought; yet, he attained profound philosophical and psychological

insight which anticipated important developments in twentieth-century thought,

including psychoanalysis and

existentialism’.(http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/dostoevskybio.html#BiographicalI

nfoEssay). His novel, Poor People has been chosen to be analysed seeing that it is his

first novel which deals with existentialist ideas and was ‘praised for his social

awareness by Vissarion Belinsky (1811-1848)’

(http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/dostoevskybio.html#BiographicalInfoEssay),

‘father of the Russian radical intelligentsia and the principal champion of the realistic

and socially responsible new Russian literature’

(http://reference.allrefer.com/encyclopedia/B/Belinsky.html).

In Dostoevsky’s Poor People, existentialistic ideas can be seen through the

protagonist’s characteristics in his relation with his society which show that freedom

is worth fighting for because it is a precious thing in fulfilling his desire in life. His

choice in fulfilling his desire later brings about some consequences to be endured.

After reading the novel, I choose theme to analyse as it is the most prominent

literary aspect in the novel. In Dictionary of Literary Terms, it is stated that ‘The

theme is the central and dominating idea in a literary work and the message or moral

implicit in any work of art’. (Shaw, 1972:378). And I will analyse the theme through

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primarily focuses on theistic existentialism, a thought founded by the Danish

philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.

In theistic existentialism it is said that ‘every human’s aware about his own

freedom although he might choose wrongly which causes him to surrender himself

totally to God’ ( http://atheism.about.com/od/typesofexistentialism/a/christian.htm)

and ‘having a personal relationship with God superseded all set moralities, social

structures, and communal norms’

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_existentialism). And I use the theory of

theistic existentialism to make me understand more about freedom in the novel which

is closely related with the theme in my analysis.

Statement of the Problem

The problems that will be analysed in this thesis are:

1. What is the theme in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Poor People?

2. How does the portrayal and actions of the protagonist help to reveal the

theme?

Purpose of the Study

The purposes of doing this analysis are:

1. To analyze the theme in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Poor People.

2. To show how the portrayal and actions of the protagonist help to reveal the

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Method of Research

The method of research used is library research. First of all, I read the novel as

the primary text. Then I gather and search for some information needed for the thesis

from some references and materials from the Internet to support the analysis of the

primary text. Afterwards I apply Existentialism approach which primarily focuses on

Theistic Existentialism to have a better understanding about the theme which is the

most prominent literary aspect in the novel. Finally, I draw some conclusions.

Organization of the Thesis

This thesis is divided into three chapters, preceded by the Preface and the

Abstract. Chapter One consists of the Background of the Study, the Statement of the

Problem, the Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research, and the Organization of

the Thesis. Chapter Two consists of the analysis of theme in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s

Poor People. Chapter Three consists of the conclusion of what has been discussed in

the previous chapter. The thesis ends with the Bibliography and the Appendices,

which consist of the synopsis of Poor People and the biography of Fyodor

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CHAPTER THREE

CONCLUSION

Having analysed Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Poor People, I come to the conclusion that the portrayal and actions of the protagonist play an important role in revealing the theme. Dostoevsky has portrayed Devushkin in a skilful way because his characteristics are very lifelike. Devushkin is portrayed as a religious, strong-willed and unmaterialistic person who values pride highly. Thus, these characteristics which are so mundane can take the readers’ empathy, which make them understand more about the protagonist’s problem in the story.

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as a religious person, one has to use one’s freedom in accordance with God’s rule in order to have a better life.

I am of the opinion that the theme is universal because it can be applied by anyone who has faith in God anywhere and at anytime. It reflects clearly the message Dostoevsky wants to convey to the readers; God is omniscient and omnipotent, He can give solution to all our problems.

Having learned existentialism, I can understand more about Poor People as it deals with problems in life. This theory also gives a new perspective that teaches the readers to struggle for their own freedom like the author, Fyodor Dostoevsky. He also encourages that,

‘Man, for Dostoevsky, is limited by society, economic conditions, laws, history, the church, and especially by God. He is classified, defined, and fixed by a hundred institutions and conditions. Man, however does not want to be defined and limited – he wants to be free and he wants to be totally and completely free…man is right in wanting to be free, for freedom is the essential attribute of his identity.’

(http://www.historyguide.org/Europe/dostoevsky.html).

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Text

Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Poor People. London: Hesperus Press Limited, 2002.

Internet Sites

Cline, Aus tin_.Trends & Ideas in Existentialist Thought. 15 Mar ch 2 006.

<http://atheism.about.com/od/existentialism/a/introduction_2.htm>

Cline, Aus tin. Existentialist Thought & Christian Beliefs. 18 June 2005.

<http://atheism.about.com/od/typesofexistentialism/a/christian.htm>

Christian Existentialism. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 17 June 2005.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_existentialism>

Ex is tentialis m. Hyper dictionar y.com. 18 May 2005.

<http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/existentialism>

Existentialism. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 17 June 2005.

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Existentialism. Avoidingevil.com. 3 March 2006

<http://www.avoidingevil.com/blog/archives/000014.htm>

Kreis, Steven .Fyodor Dostoevsky. 18 June 2005

http://www.historyguide.org/Europe/dostoevsky.html

Teuber, Andreas. Home page. 26 August 2005.

<http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/dostoevskybio.html#BiographicalInfoEss

ay>

Vissarion Grigoryevich Belinsky, Russian And Eastern European Literature,

Biographies. AllRefer.com. 26 August 2005.

<http://reference.allrefer.com/encyclopedia/B/Belinsky.html>

References