Quote:
Originally Posted by esspoker
I was introduced to Tolstoy a couple years ago and I'm glad I was. I've never quite been able to plow through his novels but the short stories are some of the best things I've ever read. I'll read this one again in the next few days. I think it can lead to some interesting discussion.
There's a pdf here for anyone else interested
https://www.google.com/search?q=walk...utf-8&oe=utf-8
I read the story. It is an interesting read.
Textwise the the characters are fairly flat, the language very matter-of-factly and the ethical / moral verdicts fairly obvious.
I haven't read much Tolstoy, but I seem to remember "War and Peace" as containing more descriptions and inner monologue, so I suspect this is not coincidence but a purposeful method used by the author to have the story read like a fable.
I think atheists (and potentially some non-Christians) reading it might be a little off-put by the clear bias towards Pamphilius as the moral hero of the piece. The author's point about "debauchery", selfishness and self-doubt isn't completely without merit however, as modern research do in fact suggest the non-religious are somewhat more prone towards recreational drugs and depression, while the religious tend to give more to charity.
(In that vein I also think the piece I suggested earlier, Emile Durkheim's "Suicide", is also very interesting).
Still, I don't see that as problematic. A more one-sided portrayal such as this fits the short story format, and it generates more thought than a more balanced format. This is also why fiction can often be preferable to dryer and more balanced essays.
So, if we put the gloves back on and avoid the quarrel - then we start to see something very interesting about the story.
It isn't really a celebration of Christianity. It is a celebration of asceticism.
Christianity isn't heralded on the basis that god exists or the glory of divinity, it is heralded for how these specific its adherents behave and the simplicity of their lives. It isn't really a celebration of God, as much as it it celebration of labor and criticism of consumerism for consumerism's sake. Does this point hold up? Well, somewhat - but not as solidly as Tolstoy would perhaps have us believe. Research tells us that happiness actually does follow wealth, but only up to a point (which we in the west would probably think of as upper middle-class).
All in all a good read and one that many would likely find controversial. I think there is some merit to the story, if viewed as a commentary on culture and humans. As a commentary on theology there isn't much here, but I'm certain that is no coincidence on the author's behalf. A discussion on authenticity of religion is often pointless, but a discussion on its merit almost never is.
Last edited by tame_deuces; 09-28-2015 at 05:10 AM.