Corruption In The Brothers Karamazov By Father Zossima

In today’s society we are naturally skeptical about people who seem too good to be true. We don’t naturally trust those who seem to have a holier-than-thou persona. We seem to always be on the lookout for chinks in their moral armor as a way to justify our own short comings. This could be from spitefulness or jealousy that there are people who are truly in touch with God. It seems that believers are worse than nonbelievers in wanting those that seem beyond reproach to show that they are sinners just like the rest of us. It helps those that have sinned rationalize their action not only to themselves but to God. In The Brothers Karamazov, when Father Zossima dies people see his body smelling as a sign of corruption. They don’t think of it as
They didn’t really want to give Father Zossima the benefit of the doubt as later pointed out by the narrator, “Afterwards, even many years afterwards, some sensible monks were amazed and horrified, when they recalled that day, that the scandal could have reached such proportions. For in the past, monks of very holy life had died, God-fearing old men, whose saintliness was acknowledged by all, yet from their humble coffins, too, the breath of corruption had come, naturally, as from all dead bodies, but that had caused no scandal nor even the slightest excitement.” What made Father Zossima so special in that his worshippers really clung to the notion that since his body started to show signs of decomposition he must have been corrupt? Father Zossima himself always tried to give people the benefit of the doubt and have the best of intentions when counseling anyone who came to him for advice. Even the narrator questions what the real motives of these supposed faithful followers. “Yet, in spite of these edifying memories, it would be difficult to explain the frivolity, absurdity and malice that were manifested beside the
While Dimitri wasn’t exactly righteous he did have his own downfall and disgrace but this just allowed for him to redeem himself by the end of the book. He may have had his faults but he didn’t appear to have bad intentions. Instead it seemed he just lost his way and after he came to terms with any wrongdoings he did he was able to make amends to those he had wronged. Father Zossima’s downfall on the other wasn’t of his own doing it came at the hands of jealous monks and followers who didn’t want to accept that someone so holy didn’t have a dark secret. They would rather equate the smell of his decomposing body to that of corruption instead of the logical reason that the smell was just a natural occurrence. It seemed easier to accept that he was corrupt instead of that he was exact what he appeared to be a holy