The Idiot

The Idiot (Russian: Идио́т, Idiot) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published serially in the journal The Russian Messenger in 1868-9.

The title is an ironic reference to the central character of the novel, Prince Lyov Nikolaevich Myshkin, a young man whose goodness and open-hearted simplicity lead many of the more worldly characters he encounters to mistakenly assume that he lacks intelligence and insight. In the character of Prince Myshkin, Dostoevsky set himself the task of depicting "the positively good and beautiful man". The novel examines the consequences of placing such a unique individual at the centre of the conflicts, desires, passions and egoism of worldly society, both for the man himself and for those with whom he becomes involved. The result, according to philosopher A.C. Grayling, is "one of the most excoriating, compelling and remarkable books ever written; and without question one of the greatest."

Plot summary

Part 1

The Idiot (song)

"The Idiot" is a song written by Stan Rogers, found on his albums Northwest Passage and Home in Halifax. On Home in Halifax, Rogers introduces the song by explaining that it is about the movement of people away from the Atlantic Provinces of Canada to the province of Alberta for work. The introduction also states that the song contains the "knuckle-dragging" beat characteristic of Morris dance tunes.

The song's narrator recounts how he moved to Alberta six years earlier. Many factories in his home province had closed, employment was scarce, and he did not want to go on unemployment because he "take[s] nothing free." Instead, he moved west and took a job in a refinery. He finds his new city unpleasantly dirty and he misses his old hometown, but he respects himself for making his own living and not having to rely on social assistance. He urges other young men from the Eastern provinces "who've been beaten to the ground" to follow his example, saying that they will probably miss their hometowns, as he does, but they will have "self-respect and a steady cheque" rather than the "government dole" that will "rot [their] souls."

The Idiot (opera)

The Idiot (Op.144, 1985), is a Russian-language opera by Mieczyslaw Weinberg after Dostoyevsky's novel of the same name. The piece was given its world premiere at the National Theatre Mannheim, on the 9 May 2013, conducted by Thomas Sanderling, followed by a recording on Pan Classics.

References

Idiot

An idiot, dolt, dullard or (archaically) mome is a person perceived to be lacking intelligence, or someone who acts in a self-defeating or significantly counterproductive way. Along with the similar terms moron, imbecile, and cretin, the word archaically referred to the intellectually disabled, but have all since gained specialized meanings in modern times. An idiot is said to be idiotic, and to suffer from idiocy. A dunce is an idiot who is specifically incapable of learning. An idiot differs from a fool (who is unwise) and an ignoramus (who is uneducated/an ignorant), neither of which refers to someone with low intelligence. In modern English usage, the terms "idiot" and "idiocy" describe an extreme folly or stupidity, and its symptoms (foolish or stupid utterance or deed). In psychology, it is a historical term for the state or condition now called profound intellectual disability.

Etymology

Idiot is a word derived from the Greek ἰδιώτης, idiōtēs ("person lacking professional skill", "a private citizen", "individual"), from ἴδιος, idios ("private", "one's own"). In Latin the word idiota ("ordinary person, layman") preceded the Late Latin meaning "uneducated or ignorant person". Its modern meaning and form dates back to Middle English around the year 1300, from the Old French idiote ("uneducated or ignorant person"). The related word idiocy dates to 1487 and may have been analogously modeled on the words prophet and prophecy. The word has cognates in many other languages.

Idiot (2012 film)

Idiot is a 2012 Bengali film directed by Rajib Biswas starring Ankush Hazra and Srabanti Chatterjee in lead roles . This is a remake of 2006 Tamil language comedy film Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambam. The film is a Super Hit.

Plot

Samrat falls in love with Anjali. Their love life gets on track. It was smooth sailing until the Anjali's ruthless brother gets into the picture. He does not accept Samrat. So Samrat tricks him and becomes a bigger business magnet and as a result, is accepted by everyone.

Cast

Music

References

Idiot (1992 film)

Idiot is a 1992 Hindi film based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel, The Idiot. It was directed by Mani Kaul and starred Shah Rukh Khan and Ayub Khan-Din. The film debuted at the New York Film Festival in October 1992. In this version of the tale, placed in contemporary Mumbai, Prince Miskin (Khan-Din) is a man whose epilepsy is mistaken for idiocy.

Cast

Production and release

The film was first released as a four-part television mini-series on state-run Doordarshan channel in 1991, and despite it outing at debuted at the New York Film Festival in October 1992, it was never commercially released.

Awards

References

External links