Just a few facts about the author of Notes from Underground and his other works:
1) Dostoevsky was born as Theodore Dostoevsky, but due to a speech impediment in which he couldn't pronounce "th," he later changed his name to Fyodor.
2) We mentioned in class that Dostoevsky was opposed to secularism, which makes sense as he was a devout orthodox Christian.
3) Dostoevsky's work in philosophy drove many others to believe he was prophetic. In fact, his works inspired many other influential philosophers such as Ellison, Sartre, and Camus.
4) Although Tsar Nicholas I accused Dostoevsky of conspiracy and ordered his execution, his successor, Tsar Alexander II, respected Dostoevsky's works and even wanted him to tutor his children.
5) Vladimir Nabokov, the Russian author of many famous works such as Lolita, was not a very big fan of Dostoevsky. He found his works to be juvenile and childish. When asked how he felt about Crime and Punishment, Nabokov simply replied: "who cares?"
6) Crime and Punishment describes the moral conflicts and mentality of the main character, Rodion Raskolnikov, who plans to murder a pawnbroker for money. In the novel, the concept of "twice two is four" that we are introduced to in Notes from Underground is also used to illustrate determinism and reason.
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