Book I: A Nice Little Family

1. Why does Doetoevsky precede the novel with a brief introduction “From the Author”?

2. What is the hero according to Dostoevsky’s view?

3. Why does Dostoevsky begin the novel with a long exposition of the history of the Karamazov family?

4. Can you see any logic in the kind of women Fyodor Karamazov married?

5. What kinds of traits does Ivan exhibit while he is growing up?

6. Why did Alyosha become a novice?

7. Why does each member of the family come back to the town?

8. What does the narrator mean when he claims that “Alyosha was even more of a realist than the rest of us?” (25)

9. Note that Dostoevsky includes Father Zosima as a member of this family. Why?

Book II: An Inappropriate Gathering

1. What is the ostensible purpose for the meeting in Father Zosima’s cell?

2. What does the portraiture of Miusov tell us about Dostoevsky’s attitudes toward liberalism?

3. What does this scene tell us about Fyodor Karamazov’s motives for scandalous actions? Can we find logic in his actions?

4. Why does Dostoevsky have Dmitry Karamazov arrive late?

5. Is his position self-contradictory as Miusov suggests?

6. What do you think about Ivan’s philosophy? Do you mostly agree or disagree with his views? Ivan claims that the church and the state should not be separate because there would be less crime as a result since people will be afraid of God and what will happen to them as a consequence. Is this true? How does the Elder Zosima understand Ivan? What do you think about Zosima’s view that conscience is the real solution to crime? What does he mean by this? Whose view do you agree with more if at all?

7. Does it follow that if there is no immortality, all is permitted?

8. What does Dmitry’s exclamation, “Why is such a man alive!” mean? How is it understood by those present in Zosima’s cell?

9. Why does the Elder bow down to Dmitry?

10. What do you like and what you dislike about the Elder Zosima? Why do you think Alexei (Alyosha) chose him as his mentor and model?

11. Why is the second book named “An Inappropriate gathering”? Why do you think it is “inappropriate?” 

Book III: Sensualists

1. Why is Grigory important to the narrative? What kind of man is he?

2. What is Lizaveta Smerdiashchaia’s (Stinking Lizaveta’s) connection to Karamazov’s family?

3. What are the salient characteristics of Dmitry’s confession to Alyosha?

4. Why did Katerina Ivanova attract Dmitry?

5. What does Dmitry’s fateful meeting with Katerina Ivanovna tell us about him?

6. How would you characterize Dmitry’s relationship with Katerina Ivanovna?

7. How did Dmitry come to owe 3,000 rubles to Katerina Ivanovna?

8. Why is this debt such a terrible burden to him?

9. How is Smerdyakov introduced into the narrative? Are Smerdyakov’s arguments convincing? What kind of person is he?

10. Who are the sensualists (chapter 9)?

11. What are Fyodor Karamazov’s sons’ attitudes toward their father?

12. What does Fyodor Karamazov think about his sons?

13. Why is Katerina Ivanovna so excited when Alyosha conveys Dmitry’s message that he is saying goodbye?

14. What are we prepared to think about Katerina Ivanovna and Grushenka? Does or does not the scene at Katerina Ivanovna’s house tell us anything new about them?

15. Why does the author make Alyosha witness such a variety of scenes and circumstances?

16. Why does Alyosha decide to stay in his cell rather than go back to his conflicting family?

Part II

Book IV: Strains

1. Why is Father Ferapont included in this narrative? Is he a holy man, as many people believe?

2. How does Father Zosima’s Christianity compare to that of Father Ferapont’s?

3. What kind of ‘strains’ do we witness in personalities and circumstances of this book’s characters? Who are the characters inflicted by ‘strains’? What do their ‘strains’ tell us about them? What creates those ‘strains’?

Book V: Pro and Contra

1. Why is Alyosha attracted to Lise?

2. What do we learn about Alysha through the prism of his relationship with Lise?

3. What does Ivan mean when he talks about loving life more than the meaning of life?

4. In what way does Ivan accept God?

5. How does Ivan motivate his rejection of God’s world?

6. How do you interpret Ivan’s proof that God is either missing or not what we think He should be? Is Ivan right?

7. Is there any way of justifying God’s world in the face of these crimes against children? Which of them, if any, does (would) Ivan find adequate?

8. What kind of person is the Grand Inquisitor?

9. What is the Grand Inquisitor’s argument against Christ?

10. What is the Grand Inquisitor’s conception of man?

11. Why does Dostoevsky not have Christ answer the Grand Inquisitor?

12. In what way is Christ wrong, according to the Grand Inquisitor?

13. What kind of world does the Grand Inquisitor envision?

14. Most critics look at “The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor” as the culminating point of the novel, and even of Dostoevsky’s entire work. Can you give some reasons why?

15. What is it that men fear most, according to the Grand Inquisitor? Why?

16. What is it that they crave most?

17. In what way have the Grand Inquisitor and his followers “corrected” God’s work?

18. What does Alyosha think of the Grand Inquisitor?

19. Are there any similarities between Ivan and the Grand Inquisitor?

20. In the meeting between Ivan and Smerdyakov—after the Grand Inquisitor scene—in which they discuss whether Ivan is to go to Chermashnya, what relationship is there between Ivan and Smerdyakov? What is the significance of Ivan’s going to Chermashnya? For Ivan? For Smerdyakov?

21. Why, later that evening, does Ivan have the urge to go down and beat up Smerdyakov?

22. Why does he feel repulsion at himself for listening to his father stirring downstairs?

23. What significance is there in the fact that Ivan changes his mind and goes to Moscow instead of Chermashnya?

Book VI: The Russian Monk

1. Father Zosima’s words at his death bed were meant by Dostoevsky to be an answer to the Grand Inquisitor. How effective are they as an answer?

2. What is the significance of Markel’s conversion?

3. What kind of life did Father Zosima lead in his youth?

4. Why did he refuse to go through with the duel?

5. Who was the mysterious visitor?

6. Why was he afraid to confess? Were his fears justified as to what would happen if he confessed?

7. What is the episode of the mysterious visitor and his confession supposed to illustrate?

8. What are Father Zosima’s views on sin, hell, judging others, equality of men, love, pride?

Part III

Book VII: Alyosha

1. What kind of miracle was expected at the death of Father Zosima?

2. Who particularly expected a miracle?

3. Were there natural reasons why Father Zosima’s body should decompose more quickly than usually?

4. Who was glad that a miracle did not come about?

5. What is Alyosha’s reaction to the death of Father Zosima?

6. What does Alyosha’s going to see Grushenka have to do with his disappointment over Father Zosima’s death?

7. What is the significance of the folk tale about the onion?

8. What is the symbolic significance of the dream Alyosha has of the miracle of Cana of Galilee?

Book VIII: Dmitry

1. Whom does Dmitry try to borrow money from? How reasonable are his efforts?

2. Analyze the actual circumstances, as Dostoevsky presents them, when Dmitry almost murders his father. What stops his hand?

3. Why does Dmitry have an orgy at Mokroe with Grushenka?

4. Do you find Dmitry’s behavior probable after almost murdering his father?

5. Is Dostoevsky’s satire of the Poles effective?

Book IX: The Preliminary Investigation

1. Who and under what curcumstances discovers the murder of Fyodor Karamazov?

2. Where did Dmitry get the money for the Mokroe orgy?

3. At the time of the interrogation, Dmitry makes a number of confessions. What kind of man do we see through his candid account of his past? What are Dmitry’s sins?

4. Is the evidence against Dmitry convincing?

5. Is he guilty?

6. Interpret the significance of Dmitry’s dream of the burned-out huts.

7. How does Dmitry’s desire to suffer reflect Zosima’s teachings?

Part IV

Book X: The Boys

1. What kind of a person is Kolya Krasotkin? Whom among the adults does he resemble?

2. What are Kolya Krasotkin’s relations with Ilyusha?

3. It has been suggested that the boys resemble some of the adults in many respects. Can you point out which boys resemble which adults?

4. Why does Dostoevsky devote a whole book to the boys?

5. Why does Dostoevsky turn his attention from the drama of the murder story to this story about children?

Book XI: Ivan

1. What are the new developments in the love triangle of Mitya, Grushenka and Katerina Ivanovna? What are the two women’s fears, grudges and aspirations? How do they understand Mitya’s plight?

2. Why does Ivan want Dmitry to escape?

3. What happens in the three interviews between Smerdyakov and Ivan? What is the significance of these meetings? What do they tell us about Ivan’s own awareness of his motives?

4. Ivan bumps into a drunken peasant on his way to the third interview with Smerdyakov and leaves him in the snow to freeze. On his way back, however, he goes out of his way to find the peasant and to save him.

How do you account for the change?

5. What does the devil, who appears to Ivan, look like? What are his habits, likes, dislikes and ambitions?

6. Whose thoughts does he repeat?

7. Why does Ivan consider this devil unattractive?

8. How do we know (by what details) that Ivan has a hallucination?

9. What kind of struggle is going on in Ivan?

10. What role does Smerdiakov ultimately play in the novel?

11. It is possible to say that in Dostoevsky’s novel everyone is tormented by a demon. What are the particular demons that torment Grushenka, Lise, Aliosha, Dmitry, Katerina, Smerdiakov, Ivan?

12. Who is guilty of the murder of Fedor Karamazov?

Book XII: A Judicial Error

1. What does the trial reveal about Mitya’s life and relationships?

2. What course of argument does Dmitry’s lawyer follow?

3. Just like in modern courtrooms the lawyers argue the individual case by pointing to larger cultural issues. What issues does Dostoevsky raise?  What portrait is he painting of 19^th-century Russian culture?

4. Does Dmitry get a fair trial?

5. Why does Dostoevsky have the jury hand in a verdict so scandalously at odds with the expectations of the audience?

6. How does he use the Bible?

Epilogue

1. Why does the last conversation between Dmitry and Katerina take place?

What does the title of the sub-chapter describing their meeting, “A lie becomes a truth,” mean?

2. In the epilogue, Alyosha delivers the book’s final message. What is the message? Is it a satisfying message? Does it answer all the questions that Dostoevsky raises in the book? Why or why not?

3. Do you agree with Dostoevsky’s declaration in the Author’s note that Alyosha is the hero of the novel? If not, who is the hero of the novel? Why?