Resumo de The Brothers Karamazov

The Brothers Karamazov is a literary masterpiece of the 19th century.
Russian literature was at its height during the time. Gogol, Pushkin,
Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Chekhov produced a series of
masterpieces that became popular throughout the world beating English
and French literary achievements hands down.

Like Dostoevsky's other two famous novels, The Idiot and Crime and
Punishment, this one also explores human mind and emotions in great
depth. The portrayal is realistic but the characters are too eccentric.
The storyline is pessimistic with the elements of tragedy.

The Novel is divided into 4 parts and 12 books. Each book is further
divided into chapters. The main characters in the novels are Fyodor
Karamazov, his elder son Dmitry (from his first wife), Ivan and Alexy
(also called Alyosha) from his second wife and Smerdyakov (the
illegitimate child of Karamazov). There are several stories intertwined
but one story of Ilusha is also central to the theme. Ilusha's father
was scolded by Dmitry in full public glare in front of Ilusha that
affected him so badly that after long suffering, he died ultimately (in
the Epilogue).

Part 1 takes us through the character skethch of the four main
characters and their relationships with each other. It also establishes
that all the sons except Alyosha wants to have their father killed by
someone. Dmitry even publicly claims that he would kill his father one
day. It also introduces us to the institution of the elders and Elder
Zoshima, one more prominent character in the story. Zoshima had changed
overnight from an irresponsible drunkard to a monk.

Part II outlines the growing enmity between Dmitry and his father (over
Grushenka, their common lover) and the death of elder Zoshima.

Part III highlights the events leading to the actual crime being
committed and the ensuing arrest of Dmitri as the prime suspect despite
his claim that he was not guilty to his father's murder.

Part IV concentrates for a major part on Dmitri's trial and the
revelation of the actual criminal (not in the court). Despite the
defence counsel's heroic efforts, the jury surprisingly pronounced
Dmitri guilty. The long and eloquent speeches of the prosecutor and the
defence counsel leaves the reader yearning for more. Smerdyakov commits
suicide.

Epilogue describes the efforts of Katerina (his fiancee) and Alyosha to
make Dmitri escape to USA, Ivan's illness and Ilusha's death. Thus the
novel is a tragedy for Ivan and Ilusha but a comedy for Smedyakov and
upto some extent to Dmitri. Alyosha is the hero of Dostoevsky (he
himself confesses that to reader in the begining itself) and is the
link between various stories.

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