Comparing Judgment Day in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment and O’Conno

Judgment Day in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment and O’Connor’s Revelation Mankind is plagued by pride. Humans constantly compare themselves to one another and adjust their pride according to their observation of themselves in the world around them. Those who believe in an afterlife often incorporate their view of themselves and their morality into their perception of how they will be judged in the afterlife. Fyodor Dostoevsky and Flannery O’Connor, as writers and believers in the Christian religion, portray two characters that envision how they will be judged on judgment day. In â€Å"Dostoevskian Vision in Flannery O’Connor’s ‘Revelation,’† Norman McMillan effectively argues that O’Connor’s â€Å"Revelation† and the chapter about Marmeladov’s vision in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment share striking similarities in their themes and the experiences of their characters. In order to effectively draw the similarities of the two themes, McMillan supports his interpretation of the theme by accurately characterizing Marmeladov and setting the scene for Marmeladov’s vision in Part I, Chapter 2 of Crime and Punishment. As a responsible critic, McMillan must present the details of this chapter and name the theme in order to compare it with the theme of â€Å"Revelation.† A list of adjectives and actions that characterize Marmeladov and a description of Marmeladov’s circumstances help the reader understand the theme apparent in his vision of â€Å"that day ‘when God will call forth the blessed to be with him in Paradise’† (McMillan 17). Marmeladov is identified as a low-life in an utterly destitute position who acknowledges his own degradation. McMillan includes the actual text about Marmeladov’s vision to support his interpretation of t... ...truly is through an act of violence. Gradually, like Marmeladov, she realizes that on judgment day, the first shall be last and the last shall be first. O’Connor and Dostoevsky developed two pieces of literature that inevitably awaken their readers. All their readers must face their own pride and prejudice both in relating with the characters’ feelings and admitting their own feeling of superiority over these flawed characters. Both of these brilliant writers effectively strike their readers with their shared idea that it is only by the grace of God that anyone can be saved. Works Cited McMillan, Norman. Flannery O’Connor Bulletin: Department of English and Speech. Milledgeville, GA: Georgia College, 1987. O’Connor, Flannery. The Complete Stories. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1971. PID 8047 4 Marlow Engl. 12. Sect. 37