Pinion Paper on the Brothers Karamazov, the Grand Inquisitor by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Opinion Paper on The Brothers Karamazov, The Grand Inquisitor by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
In Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov, the Grand Inquisitor is told by Ivan to Alyosha. The setting of the story is in the 16th century in Spain. According to the story, Christ came back once again, briefly, and appeared quietly in the midst of the people, healing those who came to him. People begin to recognize him though, and the guards came and took him away and put him into prison. The “Grand Inquisitor” visits Christ in jail and begins to question why Christ has made a reappearance. He begins to state that Christ has already had his say, and that he set the world in motion and that he already had his turn on earth. He also says that everything is running according to his plans, and he doesn’t belong here anymore. The grand inquisitor says that he has made things better and fixed the mess he left them. He tells Christ that he has given people free will and it was not a wise thing to do. He says that people will always make bad choices and that people are not capable of using free will. I personally disagree with the Grand Inquisitor when he states this. Christ was definitely not wrong in giving people free will, and people do not just use it for bad reasons. I believe that throughout the talk between the Christ and The Grand Inquisitor, it seems as if the Inquisitor argues, the only option is for people to lead sinful lives ending in damnation, and this occurs because of free will. This is definitely not true. Free will, although at times might be used in the wrong ways is definitely not just a bad thing. It is certainly a good thing as well. People being able to choose what they like to do, and having free will does not mean people will always use this to make decisions for the worse and to do harm. People most certainly use free will in good ways as well and Christ was not wrong for giving people this asset. In essence, without free will evil would
In Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov, the Grand Inquisitor is told by Ivan to Alyosha. The setting of the story is in the 16th century in Spain. According to the story, Christ came back once again, briefly, and appeared quietly in the midst of the people, healing those who came to him. People begin to recognize him though, and the guards came and took him away and put him into prison. The “Grand Inquisitor” visits Christ in jail and begins to question why Christ has made a reappearance. He begins to state that Christ has already had his say, and that he set the world in motion and that he already had his turn on earth. He also says that everything is running according to his plans, and he doesn’t belong here anymore. The grand inquisitor says that he has made things better and fixed the mess he left them. He tells Christ that he has given people free will and it was not a wise thing to do. He says that people will always make bad choices and that people are not capable of using free will. I personally disagree with the Grand Inquisitor when he states this. Christ was definitely not wrong in giving people free will, and people do not just use it for bad reasons. I believe that throughout the talk between the Christ and The Grand Inquisitor, it seems as if the Inquisitor argues, the only option is for people to lead sinful lives ending in damnation, and this occurs because of free will. This is definitely not true. Free will, although at times might be used in the wrong ways is definitely not just a bad thing. It is certainly a good thing as well. People being able to choose what they like to do, and having free will does not mean people will always use this to make decisions for the worse and to do harm. People most certainly use free will in good ways as well and Christ was not wrong for giving people this asset. In essence, without free will evil would