ABSTRACT
The Brothers Karamazov is an elaboration of the biblical words: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12:24). Dostoevsky tries to convince us that death – of a nine-year-old Ilyusha, of Father Zosima and Fyodor Karamazov, or any other death – need not be the last word. A loss is not just a loss, for it brings closer those who remain. A newfound spirit ties Ilyusha’s friends together, so that the conclusion of the novel is also a new beginning. Alyosha does not turn his grief over the death of an innocent child into anger toward God, as his brother Ivan does, but has to show the confused friends of Ilyusha that life can have a meaning even in tragedy. To these twelve boys, Alyosha’s message is: Cherish the memory of your friend and this loss will make you more sensitive toward each other and toward all human beings. Despite such blows as the death of a dear friend, the boys should not be afraid of life; when they do good and rightful things, life is also good and worth living. Faith in life and dedication to noble deeds are stronger than death.
