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/lit/ - Literature

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2362841 No.2362841 [Reply] [Original]

Just bought Dostoevsky's The Idiot, and Camus' The Stranger. What should I expect and what else should I read?

>> No.2362847

>What should I expect
It's best not to go into a novel with any expectations.
>what else should I read?
Think about that after you read the books you just bought.

>> No.2362892

A dumb guy and a strange guy.

Said above
>It's best not to go into a novel with any expectations.
Is absolutely right

>> No.2362944

dostoevsky is a boss

>> No.2362949

>>2362892
Did you even read them? The book is not called "the idiot" because the character is dumb

>> No.2362969
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2362969

>>2362949
>Dumb guy
The Idiot
>Strange guy
The Stranger

While I am not saying it was a interesting, you should have gotten that.

>> No.2362972
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2362972

>>2362949
I have read the Stranger, but you miss the point of the post. Here it is again.

"It's best not to go into a novel with any expectations."

>> No.2362979

>>2362949
Ehhhh, that's a debatable point.
Myshkin isn't clearly stupid, in the narrow meaning of the word, however he's naive and the society around him does view him as somewhere between a harmless lunatic and a bumbling moron. Now, in the course of things, what Myshkin is revealed to be a truly virtuous person, and neither lunatic nor moron... except that his truly virtuous character is useless, it does nothing but isolate him and he ends up having to run away.
So, you do still have this problem: was Myshkin somewhere between harmless lunatic and bumbling moron? The very actions that are the argument against this turn around to become actions which argue for it. His virtue is both genius and idiocy.

>> No.2362998

>>2362979
"Dumb" is often defined as "Conspicuously unintelligent". Now, you can argue for his lack of social intelligence, as he's often compared to Jesus, in terms of his kind, and naive mind.

But he is by no means unintelligent, as in "ntelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, retaining, planning, and problem solving"

>> No.2363025

>>2362998
>but he is by no means unintelligent
You really missed some stuff in that book, I think. How intelligent he was became a constant debate, even appearing between characters. You're taking one position, and that's fine, but your position is not indisputably correct, and the idea that Myshkin was a naive idiot has its own credibility. That's even part of the genius of the work, a central question within it: is virtue smart? Is it worthwhile to be Christ-like, or is it the words and work of a fool?

>> No.2363037

>>2363025
I certainly agree, I just pointed out that it's not fair to simply identify him as "dumb".

>> No.2363046

>>2363037
Yeah, I'm just splitting hairs, actually. Oh well, maybe we've given OP shit to think about.

>> No.2363060
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2363060

>>2363046
Maybe I'm going to split your ass. With my dick.