A Funny Man's Dream
Ratings10
Average rating3.6
15
Ratings10
Average rating3.6
"The Dream of a Ridiculous Man" (Russian: Сон смешного человека, Son smeshnovo cheloveka) is a short story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky written in 1877. It chronicles the experiences of a man who decides that there is nothing of any value in the world. Slipping into nihilism with the “terrible anguish” he is determined to commit suicide. A chance encounter with a young girl, however, begins the man on a journey that re-instills a love for his fellow man. It was first published in A Writer's Diary.
Reviews with the most likes.
As the ridiculous man found himself between the old, harrowing world and foreign utopia, I found myself in the dilemma of supporting Dostoevsky's dream on non-essential
rating scales or expressing my disappointment as such dream with all its religious sentiments and naiveté failed to turn into a sophisticated prose.
Science fiction was often an arena for the utopian blueprint of future society, and this carried on through the soviets to today. Eg: Chernyshevky's infamous “what is to be done” (which Lenin drew his communist ideas). Socialism was perceived as the sociological equivalent of Darwinism - and as Isiah Berlin argues, the logical endpoint of an application of enlightenment thinking. The Soviet view of human nature is that humans are wholly shaped by their environment - the idea of something so nebulous and ineffable as a “soul” is preposterous (I can go into this a whole lot more - soviet architecture was the reflection of Stalin's attempt to create a new type of human.)
Dostoevsky's science fiction tale, where the vision of salvation through scientific and material progress advanced by Chernyshevskt is dispelled in a dream of tulips on a perfect twin of earth: the cosmic paradise breaks down into a society of masters and slaves (ominously prophetic). The narrator wakes from his dream to see the only salvation lies through the Christian love of neighbours (how very Dostoevsky).
This story was deep. It sucked me inside and I could relate to everything. Human psychology has been portrayed in one of the best ways ever. LOVED the writing style and language.
