tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post854159705531981648..comments2024-02-29T02:54:19.767-05:00Comments on Babbling Books: The Brothers Karamazov and BuffooneryBrian Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-47435283947598902832013-09-07T00:16:26.404-04:002013-09-07T00:16:26.404-04:00Hi Maria- Thank you so much!
Some of the humor co...Hi Maria- Thank you so much!<br /><br />Some of the humor comes from the fact that some of these characters are very over the top. The word Tragicom certainly fits them. <br /><br /><br />Indeed I think that the clowns in several operas and plays represent this idea well.<br /><br />Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-66202322137471453662013-09-06T22:48:56.737-04:002013-09-06T22:48:56.737-04:00Hey, Brian!
The only Dostoevsky novel I've ev...Hey, Brian!<br /><br />The only Dostoevsky novel I've ever read is CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, which definitely blew me away! That particular novel is not, from what I remember of the plot, funny at all. I would definitely like to read THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV, now that I know there's humor to be found in it. It will be interesting to experience Dostoevsky's approach to tragicomedy, although your quotes do give me some idea. <br /><br />What you point out about buffoons is very true -- I too think that all their joking around is a way of criticizing the current status quo, and getting away with it. <br /><br />I am also reminded of the opera PAGLIACCI, in which the clown Canio laughs and cries as he sings that famous aria,,, I think it's called "Vesti la giubba". So it seems that Dostoevsky also intended his readers to realize that while we laugh at life, we also, at the same time, know and understand its sorrows, laughing defiantly in spite of them.<br /><br />Thank you for such a thought-provoking post! : )Maria Beharhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13635809880830316283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-51731384205627460002013-08-13T08:12:24.217-04:002013-08-13T08:12:24.217-04:00Hi Tom - I have never read Crime and Punishment bu...Hi Tom - I have never read Crime and Punishment but I hope to someday. <br /><br />Have fun with the reread!Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-62618773914575272492013-08-12T23:03:03.230-04:002013-08-12T23:03:03.230-04:00I hope to reread Crime and Punishment soon. Sooni...I hope to reread <i>Crime and Punishment</i> soon. Soonish. Carolien has given me an agenda that could easily fill a week of blogging. Thanks!Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-80200908209284982472013-08-12T18:37:03.218-04:002013-08-12T18:37:03.218-04:00Hi Himadri - The goldmine passage was hilarious. B...Hi Himadri - The goldmine passage was hilarious. Both Dmitri and Mrs Khokhlakova are absurdly funny in their own right.<br /><br /><br />I really need to read Gogol.<br /><br />Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-35333916981650319122013-08-12T18:06:08.347-04:002013-08-12T18:06:08.347-04:00I agree with to that Dostoyevsky was very funny - ...I agree with to that Dostoyevsky was very funny - and, further, that it is a very Gogolian humour. There is something very manic about it - something very close to the edge of madness. Or possibly on the other side of the dividing line.<br /><br />One of the funniest scenes in the Brothers Karamazov - placed, significantly, in the middle of a passage of rising hysteria - is the scene where Dmitri is desperately trying to raise money at short notice, and Mrs Khokhlakova keeps nattering on quite pointlessly about goldmines.<br /><br />Dostoyevsky loved buffoons. There are buffoons in, I think, all his major novels. In "crime and Punishment", for instance, there is that drunken sot Marmeladov. The humour is, admittedly, very dark and edgy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-90802335402083304322013-08-10T02:49:08.623-04:002013-08-10T02:49:08.623-04:00Tom,
I've read Poor People, Crime and Punishm...Tom, <br />I've read Poor People, Crime and Punishment, The Player and The House of the Dead and they did not strike me as funny. I did however find Gogols Dead Souls hilarious, so I guess our sense of humour cannot be all that different, I just did not read the funny Dostoevsky yet. Carolinehttp://beautyisasleepingcat.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-35935117641759535302013-08-06T22:18:07.654-04:002013-08-06T22:18:07.654-04:00Hi Tom - I will check out your posts on this book....Hi Tom - I will check out your posts on this book. <br /><br />I would say that Ivan took his conversations with the Devil or whoever he was pretty seriously at least towards the end. The entire episode really was satire thus making Dostoevsky the great satirist.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-34174460915838875012013-08-06T22:11:50.074-04:002013-08-06T22:11:50.074-04:00Really? Not a lot of humor? I think of Dostoevsky ...Really? Not a lot of humor? I think of Dostoevsky as practically a comedian. My week on <i>Karamazov</i> was largely about the comedy in the novel. It is the only part of the novel I take seriously.<br /><br />Fyodor, the father, is the satirist among the Karamazovs. See above, Gogol, Nikolai, although the question of exactly who or what Ivan is talking to in <a href="http://wutheringexpectations.blogspot.com/2010/05/they-never-understand-jokes.html" rel="nofollow">his encounter with the devil</a> complicates the answer.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-84061683683563582382013-08-06T22:06:30.619-04:002013-08-06T22:06:30.619-04:00Hi Harvee - Dostoevsky was definitely playing the ...Hi Harvee - Dostoevsky was definitely playing the satirist here. I agree that the Karamazovs do not fit the role of traditional satirist.<br /><br />On the other hand I think that Alyosha's above quote can be interpreted as seeing all silly people as satirists.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-30958261302579561872013-08-06T22:01:48.550-04:002013-08-06T22:01:48.550-04:00Hi Caroline - I wonder if the humor comes out more...Hi Caroline - I wonder if the humor comes out more in the translation that I read. Though I have no other translations to compare it to, I have heard that Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky really made a major effort to bring out all the aspects of the original text.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-24798585409488475002013-08-06T14:46:12.034-04:002013-08-06T14:46:12.034-04:00There are times when words come out as comedic whe...There are times when words come out as comedic when they are not meant to be. I think there is such a thing as the Comic Spirit, which also resides in satirists. I don't think there are any satirists among the Karamazovs though do you think? Maybe the satirist is Dostoevsky!Harveehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03490108303790217277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-21486742399478231842013-08-06T13:05:32.571-04:002013-08-06T13:05:32.571-04:00Your posts really puts me in the mood to read this...Your posts really puts me in the mood to read this. <br />I had no idea of the humurous aspects of the charcaters. I didn't find a lot of humour in those books I've read. <br />Carolinehttp://beautyisasleepingcat.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-69594998119172543502013-08-05T09:21:33.920-04:002013-08-05T09:21:33.920-04:00Hi Petty - I really did get a lot out of this book...Hi Petty - I really did get a lot out of this book.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-64097923462385351462013-08-05T09:11:09.708-04:002013-08-05T09:11:09.708-04:00Interesting reading. Thanks for the links to your ...Interesting reading. Thanks for the links to your further commentary, I'm heading over there now.Felicity Grace Terryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17852843882007267665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-16144944437829394472013-08-02T16:36:46.989-04:002013-08-02T16:36:46.989-04:00Hi Guy - I really must get to Notes from the Under...Hi Guy - I really must get to Notes from the Underground soon.<br /><br /><br />As for the The Brothers Karamazov, I think that folks often forget how funny it is in parts.<br /><br /> I will poke around for that Dostoevsky biography.<br /><br />Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-20422200524654501902013-08-02T15:34:52.273-04:002013-08-02T15:34:52.273-04:00Brian: I thoughts Notes from Underground was hilar...Brian: I thoughts Notes from Underground was hilarious. I loved it. Your enthusiasm for Dostoevsky shows on every line. <br /><br />A while ago, I was lucky enough to see a biopic on Dostoevsky--Russian of course, and it was marvellous. I think it's only available as a region 2 DVD but if you have an all-region player, it's excellent (and D. is portrayed by one of my favourite actors). Guy Savagehttp://www.swiftlytiltingplanet.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-32807685190684385102013-08-01T19:27:36.720-04:002013-08-01T19:27:36.720-04:00Hi Ryan - About ten years ago I started a project ...Hi Ryan - About ten years ago I started a project to reread everything that I read when I was young and did not get. I found that it was very rewarding thing to do.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-28170454545821276392013-08-01T18:57:21.061-04:002013-08-01T18:57:21.061-04:00I tried this book when I was far too young. I real...I tried this book when I was far too young. I really need to go back to this one.Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07998996750944114185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-64147431691203500562013-07-31T19:02:12.079-04:002013-07-31T19:02:12.079-04:00P.S. Sharon - have fun with the new computer. I ha...P.S. Sharon - have fun with the new computer. I have used Macs for years and I love them.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-53844176388134438882013-07-31T19:01:29.801-04:002013-07-31T19:01:29.801-04:00Hi Naida - Comedy is an amazing human phenomenon. ...Hi Naida - Comedy is an amazing human phenomenon. At least sometimes, and to some degree, the Comedians can say things and not elicit as much anger or backlash as serious commentary.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-56475164739986202632013-07-31T18:57:43.428-04:002013-07-31T18:57:43.428-04:00Hi Sharon - Really good points about Fyodor.
Insi...Hi Sharon - Really good points about Fyodor.<br /><br />Insightful take on Demetrious. Indeed, he is changing in a way that Fyodor did not. And yes, Fyodor sowed the seeds, in more way then one, of his own demise.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-24395837865505066092013-07-31T18:53:20.021-04:002013-07-31T18:53:20.021-04:00Hi Tom - I really must read Gogol soon.Hi Tom - I really must read Gogol soon.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-45768311179633463212013-07-31T18:50:47.785-04:002013-07-31T18:50:47.785-04:00Hi Stu - I have not yet read notes from the Underg...Hi Stu - I have not yet read notes from the Underground. I look forward to your commentary on it.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043273283783489008.post-85303381391269213852013-07-31T17:51:15.246-04:002013-07-31T17:51:15.246-04:00Interesting post Brian. I do think by wearing the ...Interesting post Brian. I do think by wearing the mask of a jester, or by being a clownish person, one can get away with saying certain things, as long as it's disguised with humor. How many comedians throw their political and personal beliefs into their jokes? And they do get a good laugh from the crowd. <br />It sounds like you've enjoyed reading The Brothers Karamazov very much.The Bookwormhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10217390642323530030noreply@blogger.com