Literary Criticism

Polyphony dialogue

Through Dostoevsky’s unique polyphonic or multi-voiced characters it allows for unique dialogue and a wide variety of viewpoints instead of just channeling Dostoevsky’s personal beliefs. This dialogue style creates a different reading experience for the audience where they can find conflicting viewpoints and sometimes find themselves relating to one over the other. Through polyphonic dialogue, Dostoevsky further improves traditional dialogue and doesn’t push an agenda on the reader and instead lets the reader digest every viewpoint individually. The polyphonic dialogue greatly resembled real dialogue and that's what made Doestoevsky’s work so incredible.

Slow realization of morality

Another criticism of Dostoevsky is the way he slowly reveals the moral dilemma underneath all of the dialogue and exposition. Instead of the reader immediately picking up on the author's intending goal of fixed morality, it instead slowly uncovers the true message of the story. As the book progresses so does the reader's philosophy on what they are currently reading, ever evolving as Dostoevsky planned. His way of allowing the reader to slowly form their own take on morality and what the book is willing to teach was revolutionary and a unique literary technique especially in the time his books were written.    

Theatrical fiction

Some critics find that Dostoevsky’s work lacks realistic characters and instead plays into more theatrical elements particularly in the physiological side. By making the characters so acted out, it finds that the critics cannot relate. Another criticism would be that the over theatrical roles of his characters finds that he will focus more on their trauma and mental breakdown over the character themselves. Through focusing on the big mental collapse and then reemergence of one's morality and redemption he may underestimate the character building itself.

Overuse of Suffering

Dostoevsky has used various types of suffering throughout his books but some believe that he overuses suffering as a way to redemption and to be good. This critic can be viewed as positive however as it demonstrates true knowledge and level to the understanding of suffering and the transition of redemption making his books more exact and specific. Almost like a pitcher who only pitches fastballs but insanely fast. This may force the ideology that true growth can only come from suffering but that ideology is one that Dostoevsky very strongly believes in especially in hindsight to his personal life.

Use of psychology in books

One of Dostoevsky’s greatest gifts is the ability to dive into the physiological mind of his characters in such a way that is almost like a Michelin star chef putting together a dish for service. His art of resembling different human psyche within his pages is next to none. His characters often have arcs of grand realizations after mental breakdowns and collapses. But what is special is what is happening in the middle of these arcs, you can feel and imagine exactly what the characters are feeling and thinking, making it that realistic.

Religious appeal

 Another great skill of Dostoevsky is his ability to use religion and more specifically Christianity as a form of redemption and escape of one's personal turmoil. In many of his works, characters will find their faith and be redeemed in their own moral compass after suffering great torment and anguish at their own hands. One of his core principles in most works is that through extreme suffering one can be led to the way of Christianity and freed from said suffering. Along with the religious aspect he often uses characters (Sonya in C&P) as introduction to the “the light.” Many literary critics find Dostoevsky's portrayal of religious suffering to be the best of all time. 

Use of Morality

To start this literary criticism is only on Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. It begins by arguing that C&P above all is a book on finding morality. The author first defines morality as one's compass between right and wrong and it is completely subjective from person to person. Furthermore, Raskolnikov (main character) kills upon the key idea that some people are born “extraordinary” and they have the ability to surpass morality for the greater good. This ultimately backfires leading to Raskolnikov suffering mental and psychological punishments far greater than physical punishments. Dostoevsky uses the mental torment in order to demonstrate the effects of someone’s moral compass over the potential external risks. Dostoevsky does so in a prolonged way leading the reader to believe this is a crime novel where the reader is wondering if Raskolnikov will escape his punishment not realising he is currently in his punishment. This literary device of morality leads the reader to find the true meaning of the book only in the final part of the book. Although Raskolnikov thought his theory was sound enough to go through with his vision, he could not escape his own mental morality and succumbed to it.