Academic Integrity Responsible One of the Most

¶ … Academic Integrity Responsible

One of the most interesting passages in the Brothers Karamazov, written by Fyodor Dostoevsky, takes place in the Part Two, Book V Pro and Contra Chapter 5, The Grand Inquisitor. In this section of his work, the author explores the concept of free will, which most people generally attribute as a boon. However, in an elaborate poem told by one of the characters, Ivan, free will is largely portrayed as negative and the reason for all of mankind's suffering and ills. A thorough analysis of the events that take place in this poem, however, reveal the fact that it ultimately functions as a not-so subtle allegory alluding to the virtues of free will -- which in turn implies that despite what Dostoevsky articulates about the negatives associated with free will, he ultimately portrays it as an unquestionably positive asset.

The crux of the poem is that Christ has returned to earth and begins performing miracles and healing people. However, he is quickly arrested by an individual known as the Grand Inquisitor, who tells him that his performing miracles is contrary to the precedent he set in the Bible upon his first foray to the earth. Since Christ was able to resist the temptation of Satan three times in one biblical anecdote, he proved that mankind would have free will as to whether or not people would choose to believe in him. Yet the Inquisitor believes that this choice is one of the principle downfalls of man, since most people are not strong enough to resist temptation (as Christ did when the devil tempted him with food after starving). What the Inquisitor and the Roman Catholic church are attempting to do is to rescind mankind's free will, and supplant it with a form of security in which people will not have to worry about making decisions or about having faith in a particular religion.

Although the characterization created through this poem is finite due to the brief nature of this anecdote, it is quite clear that Dostoevsky utilizes the Inquisitor to personify the perspective of the church. Has religion ever been synonymous with true spirituality? Perhaps not, and certainly not in the case of this anecdote of Dostoevsky. As a man who is essentially reprimanding God, and his effect on humanity, the Grand Inquisitor seems as staunch and as immobile as the institution of organized religion itself. There are certainly similarities between him and Pilate, the man who previously judged Jesus during his arrest prior to his crucifixion. However, in the case of the Inquisitor, his ultimate judgment or action towards Jesus is all the more curious since the former clearly represents the security and the immutable nature of the Church for which Christ is now being punished.

Therefore, it comes somewhat as a shock to the reader (myself included), when this stubborn, intractable Grand Inquisitor is suddenly moved to commit an act of free will himself. In actuality there are two acts of free will that the author conveys to the reader -- the first when Christ kisses this Inquisitor on the lips, and the second when the Grand Inquisitor suddenly, abruptly, and contrary to virtually everything else he has said in the chapter and resents within this book, inexplicably lets Christ leave.