Concept of Free Will in The Brothers Karamazov

2578 Words6 Pages

“And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of

heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for

they shall be satisfied.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of

God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

(John 5:2­10, English Standard Version)

One of the most important concepts in Dostoevsky’s novel, The Brothers Karamazov is the concept of free will. It is important to the novel because of the overall theme that everyone is responsible in some way for everything that happens. Also, it makes the novel more interesting because it essentially lets the characters run around doing whatever they like. However, there is one character in the novel who does not exercise his right to free will like the other characters do. Alyosha, who Dostoevsky calls his “hero”, is granted free will like the other characters in the novel, but at the same time, he doesn’t seem to actually use it. For all practical purposes, he doesn’t have free will. Because if free will is the right to make choices based on one’s own rational mindset, then Alyosha cannot be considered to have free will as the other characters in the novel have it. For example, his brothers Ivan and Dmitri are seemingly free to do whatever they please, whether it be not believing in God, or wasting large amounts of money. Their father is no different in that he pursue...

... middle of paper ...

...one around you, you need the free will to make the decisions that would lead to that. Alyosha does not have the free will required. Instead, he loves and trusts everybody unconditionally. He is a version of the woman from the onion story. The woman was always evil and did only small good thing and Heaven decides to raise her up. At the end, she reveals her true nature. Alyosha is different; he never has a choice of whether to become bad, he can only ever be good. He would not only have let people hang on, he would have tried to pick up some of them. Alyosha’s status as both a hero and a pious person mean that he never really have the use of his free will.

Works Cited

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. The Brothers Karamazov. Trans. Constance Garnett. Minneapolis:

Dover Publications, Incorporated, 2005.

The Holy Bible. Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2005.

Show More
Related

  • Free Will in East of Eden by John Steinbeck

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    Timshel; meaning “thou mayest”, holds a significant role in East of Eden. It shows that anyone can desire to surmount vile in their hearts and create morality within them self. In the novel, Steinbeck portrays the significance of timshel through the introduction of free will, the internal conflict of Caleb, and the blessing of Adam.

    Read More

  • A Case for Free Will

    2065 Words  | 5 Pages

    “He has finally learned to love big brother” was how George Orwell in his novel 1984 described Winston, conversion to the party are represented by big brother at the end of the novel. It is easy to believe that at this instance, after torturous reeducation that Winston has endured, he has lost free will and no longer be able to freely choose to love big brother but was forced to, against hiss will. Therefore Winston was never free to love big brother, and in fact not free at all after his “reeducation.” But if we are to accept a definition of free will that stipulates that we are able to produce and act on our own volitions we must accept that Winston has retained and has chosen to love big brother out of his own free will.

    Read More

  • Brothers Karamazov Suffering

    2476 Words  | 5 Pages

    Although Alyosha never questions God, he does question His justice. He doesn't understand why his Lord would allow such a shame to “occur to his elder. In the midst of such confusion, anger, and depression, Alyosha, for the first time in his life, gives way to temptations, displaying his carnal and human side. To show his defiance of his monasteric rules, he has a spiritual revolt: he violates his vows and accepts sausage and vodka during Lent, and goes to the house of Grushenka, who hopes to seduce Alyosha. However, once he sees the loving heart of Grushenka, who begins to denounce herself as an unholy sinner, Alyosha feels he cannot damn her.

    Read More

  • Free Will In Romeo And Juliet

    353 Words  | 1 Pages

    When the play begins, Romeo chooses to crash the ball. Even before the Capulet ball, Romeo predicts his “untimely death"(1.4,117). Fate did not make him go to the Capulet ball, he decided to go on his own, even though his “mind misgives some consequences”(1.4, 114). Another example of how free will comes to play is when Romeo finds out later on that Juliet his true love is his enemy. A "fear"(1.5.120), is placed in him. Nonetheless, he still continues to pursue the relationship even though he knows it will only end in trouble.

    Read More

  • Harry Frankfurt's View On Free Will

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    Harry Frankfurt is a refined and well known philosopher who has considered the issue of freedom through thought. Or in other words the debate on free will. Frankfurt has been claimed and is well known for being considered a traditional compatibilist. Frankfurt believes that there is a difference between freedom of an action chosen by the person and the freedom to commit the action through self will. Frankfurt explains this using many examples. In Frankfurt’s “Freedom of the Will and the Concept of the Person” he discusses the difference between a person and an animal. In Frankfurt’s opinion animals are only capable of first order desires and this sets them apart from people who are capable of second order desires (Frankfurt,1) . In Frankfurt’s

    Read More

  • Societal Norms In Voltaire's Candide

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    Evidently, various works bring a different approach to free will’s role in conquering fate. Within Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov is only freed from his fate of being consumed guilt when he confesses to his crime, proving that while he is physically imprisoned, he is emotionally and psychologically free from the predestined. Here, Dostoevsky suggests that freedom from one’s circumstances is only attainable by utilizing free will to challenge the predetermined. Similarly, Hamlet suggests that actions often have the reverse effect, as Hamlet had intended to challenge the predetermined, but ultimately gave into it. Representing his fate, the ghost of Hamlet’s father enacts the vicious cycle of vengeance that results in the prince’s death. On the other hand, Oedipus the King illustrates the young king’s blind and unintentional secession to his circumstances. Sophocles depicts the eternal endeavor to challenge the predetermined with little knowledge of the future. Thus, Candide offers a solution to the conflict between free will and fate, as Voltaire suggests that one’s circumstances are fixed, but free will enables the individual to try to better the predetermined. Moreover, one can only challenge an environment when equipped with the proper mindset, subsequently transforming these circumstances into destiny. Thus, these various works reveal several

    Read More

  • Self Will In Dostoevsky's Crime And Punishment

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the central principles of Enlightenment states that people should be ruled by laws and not by rulers, as this principle is the rule of law. A mysterious contradiction, which lies in the concept of human freedom, has opened to Dostoevsky in the early period of his life. The whole meaning and joy of life for man lies in this concept of free agency and this self-will. In "Crime and Punishment," the problem of self-will gets other artistic decision. The writer reveals the essence of the self-will of Raskolnikov using the words of Rodion Romanovich's for the good of humanity, which is the equivalent of the Crystal Palace, where the idea of Napoleon clearly emerges. This concept describes an elected one, who if standing over humanity and prescribing personal laws to them. Therefore, the writer uses his novel to prove, that the law is the central issue for the stable life of humanity, and anyone has the power and right of disobedience.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Paradise Lost And Frankenstein

    1615 Words  | 4 Pages

    Free will is an inherited ability everyone obtains from birth. This ability allows humans or any living being the freedom to act on their own behalf without being influenced or forced by an external medium. However, this fragile, yet powerful capability is susceptible of being misused that may result in unsavory consequences to the one at fault. In Paradise Lost and Frankenstein, both texts feature powerful figures who bequeathed the characters in focus, the freedom to do whatever they desire in their lives. Satan and Adam and Eve from Paradise Lost, and the monster from Frankenstein are given their free will from their creators, all encounter unique scenarios and obstacles in their respective texts however, have distinctions in how they handle each particular situation that ultimately conveys a similar message to

    Read More

  • Struggle between Belief and Disbelief in Brothers Karamazov

    978 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dostoevsky seems to put Ivan and Alyosha in the limelight so we can observe their striking differences. While the most important event of the novel – the murder of Fyodor – is rationalized by Ivan’s philosophy, Alyosha’s faith, influenced by the great Zosima, saves people from their wretchedness. Ultimately, faith in God and love for others prevail – there is no place for disbelief. The message Dostoevsky seems to try to send across is that however difficult faith in God may be when we have to deal with the gruesome reality of suffering in this world, its only alternative is an intolerable misery.

    Read More

  • Freewill In The Bible

    550 Words  | 2 Pages

    For, if God did not want worship from beings that could not exercise freewill, 8 then He could only get this worship from men outside of heaven. Heaven is a place without sin and only the righteous will exist in heaven. 9 so, logically, to transport a saint to heaven would be against the will of God, thus making God a sinner Himself! The Bible speaks of a final judgment. A time when all the people who have not been saved will be cast into the Lake of Fire along with the fallen angels and the believers taken into heaven. Now, if freewill, of the type spoken of by Towns, is allowed in heaven, then one must conclude that the saints would have the capacity to fall from grace as Lucifer and the angels of old, if they are not frozen into righteousness.

    Read More

  • The Concept Of Free Will In The Movie Gattaca

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine starting your day and not having a clue of what to do, but you begin to list the different options and routes you can take to eventually get from point A to point B. In choosing from that list, there coins the term “free will”. Free will is our ability to make decisions not caused by external factors or any other impediments that can stop us to do so. Being part of the human species, we would like to believe that we have “freedom from causation” because it is part of our human nature to believe that we are independent entities and our thoughts are produced from inside of us, on our own. At the other end of the spectrum, there is determinism. Determinism explains that all of our actions are already determined by certain external causes

    Read More

  • Free Will In Macbeth By William Shakespeare

    131 Words  | 1 Pages

    “Where we are, there’s daggers in men’s smiles; The near in blood. The nearer bloody,” Donalbain declares in Act 2, Scene 3 of the famous play, Macbeth. William Shakespeare, the author of Macbeth and many other famous writings, wrote the play Macbeth around the year 1606, and since then it has been a story acted out and told to many generations. This piece of literature is still relevant to this day, even though the main character, Macbeth, is in a different situation dealing with death, blood, and witches. Macbeth cheats fate and does many wrongdoings, which gets him killed in the end. The play, Macbeth, can teach generation to generation to do the right thing, be honest, and have ambition like Macbeth did to become king, but not involving

    Read More

  • The Brothers Karamazov By Dostoyevsky

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    In what sense does Alyosha Karamazov realize that he is free in Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov.

    Read More

  • Free Will In Antigone And Oedipus The King

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tragedies written by Ancient Greeks touch on sensitive moral and societal issues that raise a question about whether or not the course of one’s life is predetermined by the gods and the individual has no self-will to guide it. Spirituality was a significant part of Ancient Greek cul-ture which is displayed as unpreventable fate accompanying tragic heroes in plays. The plays Oe-dipus Rex and Antigone written by Ancient Greek author Sophocles explore the theme in ancient Greek tragedy of destiny versus free will. The main protagonists are tragic heroes who are des-tined to share a common strength, such as courage and common weaknesses such as stubbornness as well as to face their tragic doom. First, Oedipus and Antigone are both of a high standing, which distinguishes them from other characters in the plays. Oedipus is a King of Thebes and Antigone is his daughter, and therefore a princess of Thebes. Both of them show bravery and courage in fighting for what they believe is right. While

    Read More

  • Free Will And Fate In Machiavelli's The Prince

    357 Words  | 1 Pages

    On the other hand, Machiavelli describes free will and fate differently in his writing called, “The Prince.” This story come out of a wonderful time known to the art world as the Renaissance period. The Renaissance period lasted from the fourteen-hundreds to the seventeen-hundreds. Many great works of art that would impact the times and philosophical works would come out of this time frame. “The Prince” would be one of these great works. Unlike Socrates, Machiavelli would be banished from his home and sent away to live in exile. He would write “The Price” during his banishment in hopes to regain his power in the government. Machiavelli’s idea was in order to be a leader one must succumb to a certain ideology. In order to do this, one

    Read More

More about Concept of Free Will in The Brothers Karamazov

Open Document