The Dream of a Ridiculous Man (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
- First Published: 1877
- Type of Plot: Fable
- Time of Work: The 1870's
- Setting: St. Petersburg
- Principal Characters: The ridiculous man
- Genres: Fable, Short fiction
- Subjects: Philosophy or philosophers, Suicide, Dreams, Perfectionism, Rationalism
- Locales: St. Petersburg, Russia
The Story
The ridiculous man introduces himself as he is seen by his friends and neighbors, a madman who was formerly considered to be merely ridiculous. He states, however, that he does not mind being the object of laughter and does not dislike those who ridicule him; on the contrary, he pities them. He alone possesses the Truth; he wishes that others would believe him. After this introduction, the narrator goes back in time to describe why he was always considered ridiculous, how a dream changed his life, and why he is now considered a madman by his peers.
The narrator...
[The entire page is 1584 words long]
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