4 ms·

Dostoevsky once said that there are two stories: (1) man goes on a journey and (2) stranger comes to town.

gruseom 17y ago
Are you sure? That doesn't sound like Dostoevsky to me. Do you know where he said it? Crime and Punishment doesn't fit that rule (except perhaps as a moral journey). Notes From Underground doesn't fit it, and so on. The Double, on the other hand, which was the second thing he wrote and one of the best comic novels ever, is a classic #2. I highly recommend The Double! Edit: I suppose you could say the Odyssey is a prototype of #1 and the Iliad of #2. It's an amusing principle. But I'd bet money (well, five bucks) that it isn't Dostoevsky's. Dostoevsky is more the kind of writer who, if you gave him a list of all possible types of stories, would immediately set out to write one that didn't fit the list. Just to spite list-makers.
- biotech 17y ago
  After doing some light google research, I was not able to find the origin of the phrase "there's only two stories in the world: man goes on a journey, and stranger comes to town." It is generally attributed to peoples' literature or film professors. The quote is prefaced with "They say that...." very often, suggesting that the origin of the quote is largely unknown even by those who study stories professionally.
  - jpwagner 17y ago
    I heard it from a person. This is far from proof, but the first result in the only search I did (total time-9 seconds) yielded this ...http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:Fyodor_Dostoevsky http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:Fyodor_Dostoevsky
    - Semiapies 17y ago
      That's from the Unsourced section, as clearly described. It's roughly the opposite of proof.
      - jpwagner 17y ago
        good one
Groxx 17y ago
Well, that's a pretty random but effectively real dichotomy. Either the character goes somewhere, physically or emotionally / whateverly, and changes, or they're already a "complete" character and you just discover them through the story. I could easily make another split: main character lives at the end, or doesn't. And no fake line-crossers like "dies, but story ends in heaven/hell/limbo tournament", they either exist or they don't at the end.
citrik 17y ago
The man going on a journey IS the stranger coming to town...
wglb 17y ago
Hmmm. I thought that all you needed to get a story going is a girl and a gun.

Are you sure? That doesn't sound like Dostoevsky to me. Do you know where he said it? Crime and Punishment doesn't fit that rule (except perhaps as a moral journey). Notes From Underground doesn't fit it, and so on. The Double, on the other hand, which was the second thing he wrote and one of the best comic novels ever, is a classic #2. I highly recommend The Double! Edit: I suppose you could say the Odyssey is a prototype of #1 and the Iliad of #2. It's an amusing principle. But I'd bet money (well, five bucks) that it isn't Dostoevsky's. Dostoevsky is more the kind of writer who, if you gave him a list of all possible types of stories, would immediately set out to write one that didn't fit the list. Just to spite list-makers.

biotech 17y ago
After doing some light google research, I was not able to find the origin of the phrase "there's only two stories in the world: man goes on a journey, and stranger comes to town." It is generally attributed to peoples' literature or film professors. The quote is prefaced with "They say that...." very often, suggesting that the origin of the quote is largely unknown even by those who study stories professionally.
- jpwagner 17y ago
  I heard it from a person. This is far from proof, but the first result in the only search I did (total time-9 seconds) yielded this ...http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:Fyodor_Dostoevsky http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:Fyodor_Dostoevsky
  - Semiapies 17y ago
    That's from the Unsourced section, as clearly described. It's roughly the opposite of proof.
    - jpwagner 17y ago
      good one

Groxx 17y ago

Well, that's a pretty random but effectively real dichotomy. Either the character goes somewhere, physically or emotionally / whateverly, and changes, or they're already a "complete" character and you just discover them through the story. I could easily make another split: main character lives at the end, or doesn't. And no fake line-crossers like "dies, but story ends in heaven/hell/limbo tournament", they either exist or they don't at the end.

citrik 17y ago

The man going on a journey IS the stranger coming to town...

wglb 17y ago

Hmmm. I thought that all you needed to get a story going is a girl and a gun.