In this book, one of the main character traits that the author looks at is sensualism, also called hedonism. Fyodor is the oldest of four brothers, and he is the head of the family. His life shows how he has fallen into selfishness, cruel ridicule, and only cares about his own needs and wants. Fyodor leaves his four sons behind, and when they come back into his life, he takes advantage of them and steals from them. Each son learns something about sensuality from the way their father acts, even though they criticize him for it. Mitya is the best example of this because he spends all his money on women, wine, finery, and eating as much as he wants. When his money stops coming in, he says he will kill to get it back. Mitya talks with a lot of passion about love, but his real love is for himself. Ivan seems to be the sensible one, but his love of analysis, exactness, and logic is what gets him into trouble. He loves Katarina, but he doesn’t let her love him back, so he keeps losing her to Mitya. Ivan writes about his beliefs and talks about them all the time, but in the end, his focus on what is right and wrong and whether or not God exists tears him in two. Smerdyakov seems to be a real sociopath because he knows right from wrong but chooses to do wrong anyway. He doesn’t thank Grigory for raising him or Fyodor for giving him a job. He only seems to care about Ivan. Ivan and Smerdyakov were both very sensual. Like Ivan, Smerdyakov looked deep inside himself and found only madness and hate. The story’s hero, Alyosha, is the only one who grows and comes to terms with his sensuality in an adult way. Alyosha chooses to use his passion to show care for people and the planet.
SL Frank says, “The first minimum condition for finding the meaning of life is freedom; only if we are free can we act “meaningfully” and work toward a rational goal.” He goes on to list things that a man can’t do if he gives in to Satan’s temptations. This shows that everyone in the book is worried about their place in the world, whether it’s their place in the neighborhood or whether they’ll go to heaven or hell. God’s law weighs heavily on their minds, and when Ivan the atheist starts to go crazy, Satan comes to visit him and talks with him for a long time. The author’s message is clear: people are always asking if there is a God, what He wants from us, and how we can use that knowledge to rule other people.