环球英语 — 438：Fyodor Dostoyevsky
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Hello. I’m Ruby Jones.
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And I’m Mike Procter. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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Everything was quiet except for the sounds of three men walking. They looked forward – not saying a word. Only one man looked back at the prison. But a guard pushed him forwards. The man felt cold inside. After a time, the guards told the men to stop. They had the men stand in a line. They tied cloths over the men’s eyes. The men knew what was about to happen.
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The guards raised their guns. They took aim. And the men waited. They waited for the terrible sound of the guns as they fired. They expected to feel the sharp pain of bullets striking their bodies. But instead there was silence, then clicks – the sound of empty guns. The men were very shocked. But they were alive!
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This was not a real execution. It was false – a mock execution. The experience was just part of the men’s punishment. It was done to frighten them – and it did. It deeply affected them all. One of the three men went completely insane. But another of them changed in a different way. The experience showed him how important life was. It helped him to become one of the greatest writers in Russian history. His name was Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
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Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s life started well. He was born in Moscow, Russia in 1821. His father was a doctor, and earned enough money to pay for his son’s education. Dostoyevsky studied at an engineering school. Later, he joined the army. He became an officer. People respected him, but Dostoyevsky was not happy. He wanted a different life. After his parents died, he decided to become a writer.
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Writing was a brave choice. It was hard for writers to earn enough money to live. And Dostoyevsky did struggle. He had problems with money for many years. But people loved what he wrote. His work became very popular. Experts said good things about him. And he met many interesting people.Some of his new friends wanted to change Russia. Conditions were very bad for many people in the country. His friends blamed the government for this. They wanted to force the government to change. Dostoyevsky also believed that things should change. He was not happy with a government that made so many people poor. He did not agree with everything his new friends said, but he decided to help them.
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A few years later Dostoyevsky was arrested. He knew that his punishment would be severe. And that is why he expected to die that day when the guards led him out of prison. But he was not killed. Instead, he was sentenced to four years’ labour in a Siberian prison camp. The experience of a false execution changed Dostoyevsky. After coming so close to death he said:
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“Now my life will change! I will be born again in a new form.”
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As he was put on a train for Siberia, a kind woman gave him something to read. It was the only book the government would let him own – the New Testament. The New Testament is part of the Christian Bible. It tells about Jesus Christ and his followers. Dostoyevsky kept this gift for the rest of his life and it changed him. He believed that God had given him a second chance.
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In Siberia, Dostoyevsky met many bad people. He lived in a prison camp with murderers and other criminals. He spent years with them in dirty and horrible conditions. The experience gave him many ideas to write about. His books contain characters like the people he lived with in Siberia. But the experience also destroyed his idea that people were good inside. He saw too many terrible things to continue believing that.
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Yet Dostoyevsky did not give up hope. He also found something wonderful in Siberia. He found love there, existing among all of the other, terrible, things. He felt that he saw God’s love, given to people there – and even making them able to love each other.
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Dostoyevsky wrote many books after he was freed from prison. Two of his most famous works are Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov. In these books he wrote about what people believe and how they think. And he wrote about common human experience.
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In Crime and Punishment a man named Raskolnikov does a terrible thing. He feels that great people become great by breaking the rules of good and evil. He does this in his own life. He needs money to help him progress. So he kills an old woman to steal her money. But Raskolnikov does not feel good, as he expected. Instead, his crime makes him feel frightened and alone. In the end, he understands that what he did was wrong. He finds forgiveness through the love and good example of a woman named Sonia.
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The Brothers Karamazov also examines the ideas of evil, freedom and belief. In the story the father of four brothers is murdered. Dostoyevsky tells how the father’s death affects each of the brothers. One of them, named Ivan, thinks like Raskolnikov did. He argues that there is no right or wrong, and no God. So people can do anything they want. He raises many strong questions but offers no answers. A wise man named Zosima answers Ivan’s questions. He believes there is a God. He believes that the power of love can defeat sin and evil. Ivan’s brother Alyosa feels the same way. He says:
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“I do not know the answer to the problem of evil, but I do know love.”
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The theme of love is very important to Dostoyevsky. His stories set love against human evil. The stories suggest the need for humans to be brought back – to be rescued from their own evil, their own sin. The stories suggest that people need forgiveness. Sonia’s goodness and Alyosa’s faith show how real love is stronger than evil. But Dostoyevsky is not only talking of human love. Sonia and Alyosa represent the love that God has for humans. In Christian belief, God demonstrated his love by sending Jesus Christ into the world to rescue people from their sin. Dostoyevsky said “If you believe in Christ, then you believe you have everlasting life.”
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Dostoyevsky affected millions of people through his stories. Many people think of him as one of the greatest writers who has ever lived. He was deeply interested in the ideas of love and forgiveness. The woman on the train gave Dostoyevsky a small gift – a book to read on his way to prison. In Dostoyevsky’s own life, her example shows how a small act of love can have a very big effect!
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