Preview

The Grand Inquisitor Essay

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
331 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Grand Inquisitor Essay
“The Grand Inquisitor” is one of the hardest chapters to read in the novel, in it the existence of God is affirmed by Ivan only to ask why if he exists and created man, he watches from afar as children are tortured, as mankind is mislead, through its own constructs and freedoms given through the rejection of the three deadly temptations. Here the question of whether God truly loves mankind is posed by implying, if God loves humans why does he let “turmoil, confusion and unhappiness continue, for these are the present state of mankind” (Dostoevsky 256). And why did he reject the three temptations which would have provided man with a force with authority, an ability to perform miracles and a mystery about them to follow, (Dostoevsky 256).

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    I think the kids will not meet boo. Boo appears to be locked up for the majority of his life. Boo is part of a gang. When the gang got caught everyone but Boo got locked up below the courthouse. Boo did not get locked up because his father said he would deal with Boo to make sure he did not do anything like this again. This leads people to think that Boos father locked him up. Some one saw Boo stab his father. People wanted to put Boo in an insane asylum but Boos father said no son of his will be put in an insane asylum. Boos family does not interact with other people in the town very often. Nobody ever saw Boo for fifteen years after he stabs his dad. People have been bothered b y a peeping tom in the town and many have seen Boo sneaking around at night. Scout says she saw him but when Atticus got there he was gone. People are scared to go by Boos house. People thought the pecans that fell from tree in his house where poisonous.…

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Phil 101

    • 1660 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In understanding “The Grand Inquisitor” and chapters taken from The Brothers Karamazov, the heart of Ivan’s search is a philosophical question: if God is almighty, why would God allow people to suffer? While this line of questioning can be seen as attacking faith by asking why God punishes people, it opens the door to understanding that faith requires willingness. Ivan Karamazov’s rejection of secular and Westernized faith can also be seen as the failed struggle of trying to find a God he can believe in. Ivan says he wants to get to know his estranged brother Alyosha (Dostoevsky, 1993, p. 1), but Ivan is lost and faithless, primarily because Ivan is unwilling to believe in God when he sees so much suffering in the world. Aloysha cuts to the heart of the estrangement between the two of them when he asks Ivan how he can love without having God in his heart (Dostoevsky, 1993, pp. 36-37).…

    • 1660 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ivan does not accept God's ethical system of "allowing" evil to occur, because he believes that God is omnipotent and has the power to stop it. On the other, Swinburne might comment by mentioning how Ivan uses the fallacy of ad populum by involving God when God has nothing to do with the choices people make; since God, like a good father delegating responsibility, gave us free will to use it for good, but humans are the cause for evil since they use free will to harm rather than help. I would rebuttal as to ask Ivan if he truly believes God allows evil in the world then he must also agree that there is no such thing as free will. With a divine being, being the cause of everything evil in the world, then us, humans, have no power or responsibility over the choices we make. Therefore, there is no purpose in rejecting God's ethical system since you are determined to obey his ethical system and you would have no control over your own actions just as everyone else. Lastly, Swinburne and I might conclude to say that Ivan has a biased argument due to his specific view on the suffering of children, as mentioned in the chapter Rebellion, and not the overall aspect of…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Awakening and the Enlightenment both produced writers and thinkers who argued for the implementation of a republican government. Writers such as Locke, Montesquieu, Edwards and Whitefield, all had a role in promoting republican values, which in turn influenced the establishment of a republican government.…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Grand Inquisitor Analysis

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Megalomania and the lust for power have never been more brilliantly portrayed than by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the famous Russian novelist, who represented this type in the character of the Grand Inquisitor. In his short story of the same title, a fictional Jesus returns to earth in the sixteenth century to face a corrupt Church. As head of the church, the Grand Inquisitor had a long and intriguing conversation with Jesus right before condemning him to death. Jesus faithfully believes what man needs more than anything else in his life is freedom from the oppressive yoke of the divinely Mosaic Law. By having this freedom, people can decide freely on what is good and bad for themselves without consciously thinking of what God told him to do. But the Grand Inquisitor explained to Jesus that truth and freedom are sources human anxiety and because of that in deep down people really don’t want to be free due to the fact that they are fragile, violent, worthless, and seditious. The Grand Inquisitor stated that human race can only be happy when give up their freedom and bow before miracle, mystery, and authority. Is only then that people live and die peacefully. The Grand Inquisitor noted that beyond the grave, people will find nothing but death. He continued but we will keep this as a secret, and for their happiness we will promise them with the reward of heaven and eternity.…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    These men are seen noble because they not bend to corrupt the courts, but to convince their…

    • 738 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Great Awakening Dbq Essay

    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Before the Great Awakening, religious authority was very bias which lead to many uproars. Religion was very strict back then and it shaped the way people lived their lives. It had total control over everything, including government. Acceptance into heaven wasn’t even a privilege because many believed that God decided who was going into heaven no matter what. However, by the 1700s, colonists believed that communities were beginning to take their religion a little less seriously. In order to bring religion back into the lives of the citizens, new discoveries needed to be made first. In the 1730s and 40s, the lack of interest in following a faith revived the belief of religion which became the Great Awakening. This eventually led to new…

    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One may think it is unfair to try so hard to accomplish a goal, and in the end it seems that all their hard work and everything they lost paid off for nothing. David Mamet once said “…it is the human lot to try and fail...” I agree with this quotation because it cannot be truer in my own life, as well as the tragedy Antigone by Sophocles in which two tragic heroes Creon and Antigone have to endure the pain of trying and failing. To the naked eye it may seem although Creon and Antigone are the complete opposite of one another, however Creon and Antigone are enduring the similar experiences throughout the play despite the despise they have for one another.…

    • 819 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the late 1820s and 1830s a religious revival called the Second Great Awakening had a strong impact on the American religion and reform. It grew partly out of evangelical opposition to the deism associated with the French Revolution and gathered strength in 1826, when Charles Grandsoin Finney preacher conducted a revival. Many people saw religion as a social gathering since people didn’t get out much in the 1800s it made going to church and being holy a more enjoyable activity then we would see it today.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Critical Lens Essay

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages

    When going through a rough patch in life, someone may notice and come to terms with things about themselves that they didn’t come to grips with before. In other words, “In times of adversity or hardship, one’s true character is revealed.” In Ellen Foster, a book about a young foster child by Kaye Gibbons, Ellen faces many challenges. These challenges include the suicide of her mother, the abuse and unavoidable death of her father, and rejection from family members which led her to be moved from home to home. In the end, however, she learns that she’s never had “the hardest row to hoe” and proves that she is a survivor.…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible Essay

    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Everyone, at one point in his or her life, experiences greed. Not because of choice, rather, by human nature alone. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays greed throughout many of the main characters. The main people, for example, include Thomas Putnam, Abigail, and Danforth. Each character shows greed in their own way. Throughout these characters, Arthur Miller try’s to show us that as a human, we cannot help to control the underlying greed within ourselves.…

    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible Essay

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages

    When you’re scared, sometimes it’s hard to go with your gut feeling, right? It may be hard to stick up for yourself, or stand up for what is right. This is the feeling most of The Crucible characters probably felt. Reverend Parris, Abigail Williams, and John Proctor are good examples of how fear and hysteria can destroy good judgment.…

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible Essay

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller is a cautionary tale. Miller warns his audience that the witch hunts and the Salem Witch Trials was a very tragic time period and we must not mimic what had occurred in the past in 1692. This affected many aspects of people’s lives. It cautions us to keep history from repeating itself. A way to prevent this is to avoid tolerance against ignorant power hungry officials at all cost so that lives may be spared.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    People have different perspectives of the importance of life. Some believe there are some things worth dying for in life such as faith, legacy, friends, and family. Some believe that life is too precious to sacrifice. John Proctor believed that his life was worth sacrificing and he chose to die in The Crucible. Though the character of Proctor is often praised for his integrity, is he helping his family by dying? His wife, sons, and unborn child will have to make it in the world without him. This is not an instance that would ultimately be worth dying for. What has John accomplished by dying? It seems as if the Salem witch trials have gotten the better of him and he has given up. Although he may have forgiven himself and been forgiven by his wife, there was not enough at stake for John to sacrifice his life. John even says, “I want my life” (Miller 127). There are some things that are worth dying for, however, in John Proctor’s case, life was not worth sacrificing.…

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible Essay

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Growing, learning and becoming the best we can be are all positive steps that evolve from life experience. It is human nature that wants to succeed and contribute to society in productive ways. In the play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, individuals display an ugly side of human nature and are motivated by less than noble goals. Throughout the story, justice is often replaced by the desire for personal gain. Perhaps the three best reasons are greed, selfishness and betrayal.…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays