Chaos breeds chaos. Attempts to emerge from society’s mayhem and internal struggles seem to land a person in the midst of a new level of destruction. For Rodya, a young man toying with the idea that murder may be acceptable, trudges through life disgusted by society and his doubts of his adequacy. It is the chaos in the world that convinces Rodya to find his own form of order. To him, order is established by the extraordinary of the world: the ones who can commit crimes and get away with them. He battles and doubts himself, wrestling with his own inadequacy. The inner tumult he struggles with and the displeasing state of society push him over the edge, leading him to murder two women. His attempt to create order simply landed him in more chaos. It was not until he embraced discomfort that he was able to find peace.
Dostoevsky argues that redemption requires suffering. Only through the pain and humiliation of acknowledging his own ordinariness is Rodya able to walk the path of redemption. Rodya’s attempts to rid himself of his concerns of his ineptitude result in even more confusion and disorder in his life. However, he finally achieves the peace and order he desired, battling through his deluded theory of the right to kill, and accepting the humiliating fact that he is ordinary. His acceptance of his original confusion, and the chaos which slowly robbed him of his soul, permit him to be resurrected and unexpectedly find order at the end of a conflicted journey.
A common theme emerging in this blog is the disruption caused when a person seeks peace or normalcy in their life. Does pursuing order always result in chaos? And is the existence of chaos necessary to struggle through in order to obtain order?
I really like how you are identifying a common theme of the entries--interesting how self-imposed order can so often result in disorder. What does this say about imposing our will upon the world/others?
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