Dream of a Ridiculous Man
Erin Simpson 263388 RLST 1117 EL10 Essay 2 Dr. Ron Srigley March 28th, 2013
Dostoevsky’s short story “Dream of a Ridiculous man”, describes the difficulties of the main character in finding the meaning of life. He is troubled with the idea that life has no meaning and that science and logic only exist, analogized as the “head” in relation to the meaning of life. The story begins with the character believing that nothing in his life matters. He is set on killing himself until one night changes his perspective on the meaning of life completely. He begins to believe that science and logic are not enough to make people happy. He decides that people need something to believe in order to make living life worthwhile. The short story begins with the classic question of the greater human need: what is the meaning of life? Some say that people are searching for something that holds everything together. There is a need for us to make sense of the world’s past, present, and future (Cicovacki, 2012). A more precise thought is that life is more meaningful if there is a purpose to it. To have a purpose in life gives humans a sense of direction and allows for them to figure out their place in the world. The question is whether this purpose comes from within or from internal or external forces (Cicovacki, 2012). One conception of life is that a “creator”, more powerful than the human world, supplies the purpose of life. This is one of the most significant theories because it has been around for so long. It reassures our existence in the world because it leaves us believing that there is always someone watching us and they will be around for support in times of need. This approach may be difficult to follow because it requires a great deal of faith (Cicovacki, 2012). The main character in “Dream of a Ridiculous man” initially defines the “head” as the meaning of life, meaning that the world
Dostoevsky’s short story “Dream of a Ridiculous man”, describes the difficulties of the main character in finding the meaning of life. He is troubled with the idea that life has no meaning and that science and logic only exist, analogized as the “head” in relation to the meaning of life. The story begins with the character believing that nothing in his life matters. He is set on killing himself until one night changes his perspective on the meaning of life completely. He begins to believe that science and logic are not enough to make people happy. He decides that people need something to believe in order to make living life worthwhile. The short story begins with the classic question of the greater human need: what is the meaning of life? Some say that people are searching for something that holds everything together. There is a need for us to make sense of the world’s past, present, and future (Cicovacki, 2012). A more precise thought is that life is more meaningful if there is a purpose to it. To have a purpose in life gives humans a sense of direction and allows for them to figure out their place in the world. The question is whether this purpose comes from within or from internal or external forces (Cicovacki, 2012). One conception of life is that a “creator”, more powerful than the human world, supplies the purpose of life. This is one of the most significant theories because it has been around for so long. It reassures our existence in the world because it leaves us believing that there is always someone watching us and they will be around for support in times of need. This approach may be difficult to follow because it requires a great deal of faith (Cicovacki, 2012). The main character in “Dream of a Ridiculous man” initially defines the “head” as the meaning of life, meaning that the world
Bibliography: Cicovacki, P (2012). Dostoevsky and the Affirmation of Life. Transaction Publishers. Dostoevsky, F (1877). Dream of a Ridiculous man. R. Srigley (ed.) RLST 1117 EL 10 Ideas of Love 11 Winson, J (1990) The meaning of dreams. Scientific American