The novel I have chosen is The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. A universally lauded literary classic, the book deals with several subjects that I consider critical to humanity’s philosophical development. One of Dostoyevsky’s primary ideas was that human redemption can be achieved through the act of sons atoning for the sins of their fathers, which in turn would lead to a type of human unity not yet seen. It is because of this belief that the novel revolves around the concept of patricide, to serve as a reversal of his idea. The brothers do not redeem their father; instead they are complicit in his death which would be considered a polar opposite (human disunity) by the author. One of the novel’s themes is the benefits and disadvantages of free will. Whether it be the freedom to believe in God, rejecting or adhering to the tenets of basic morality, or acting virtuously or maliciously towards your fellow man. Ivan the intellectual middle brother believes that free will is more a curse than a blessing and expounds this notion in his poem within the book “The Great Inquisitor”. He allegorically explains his views on freewill through Christ’s denial of Satan. He states that Christ’s decision was not really rejecting evil but instead renounced the comforts of bread (relief from hunger), power (the safety that it ensures) and the certainty of Jesus’ divine nature (by the performance of a miracle.) Ivan believes that mankind is not strong enough to find the answers to life on their own through free will and instead would have greatly benefited from “Satan’s offers”, for they would have at least allowed us to live our lives on Earth enjoyably. To him Christ’s (and mankind’s) decisions illustrate the importance of being able to determine between right and wrong but Ivan believes that this is inconsequential because living a secure life in which free will is sacrificed for security is the optimal decision. This view that the greater good takes precedence over the individual reflects the outlook of Cesare Beccaria who believed in “the greatest happiness of the greatest number” (Beccaria 14). Ivan views free will as a curse due to the fact that it has the potential for and often is abused, people constantly mistreat each other and most of the world’s suffering stems from the amoral decisions people make through their free will. The fact that free will allows us to make wrong decisions and commit “evil” actions has created a necessity for laws and rules. As Beccaria put it, human kind has the tendency to “confer on one part the height of power and happiness, and to reduce the other to the extreme of weakness and misery.” (Beccaria 14) If human beings sacrifice our free will for peace and harmony then rules, laws and the social contract would then become superfluous. The most central subject of the novel is the conflict between faith and doubt. Two of the brothers represent differing views on the subject with the youngest son Alyosha resembling a firm belief in God and morality which lends itself to kindness, forgiveness and overall goodness. Ivan on the other hand represents logical skepticism that has begun to disseminate through the world which lends itself to rejection of God, morals, and mankind. Ivan explains the reasons behind his doubt to Alyosha during their dinner together in Book five. He states that he cannot reconcile the concept of an all loving and benevolent God with the suffering innocent people are subjected to. He places emphasis on the suffering of children who he considers completely pure beings incapable of committing sins to justify their “punishments”. This mirrors the struggles of Eliezer, the protagonist of the semi-autobiographical novel Night that lead him to question his faith in God as well. While viewing the hanging of a young boy, Eliezer hears someone ask “Where is God? Where is He?” and he hears “a voice within me answer, he is hanging here on this gallows.” This tragic scene embodies the difficulties inherent in the decision to turn away from God. Abandoning one’s faith is never easy and it is almost always somber. It takes repeated disappointment in God’s judgment, a constant observance of injustice and suffering along with prayers consistently going unanswered (all of which were experiences for those living through the holocaust). It also results in the realization that there is no true purpose to life and all of our experiences (whether good or bad) are for naught for they will be lost once we die. The book contains several instances displaying the consequences of doubt, the most important being exemplified through one of the most integral plot points, Smerdyakov’s murder of Fyodor. After listening to Ivan’s idea that God’s non-existence justifies the fact that everything is permitted, Smerdyakov is able to commit the killing without any misgivings. Ivan after realizing that his lecturing has led to the death of his father, proceeds to have a nervous breakdown resulting in a hallucination of a demon that will not leave him be. Ironically Ivan is ill-equipped to deal with his grief, due to the fact that he does not have access to the consolation provided by faith and prayer. Eliezer suffers the same fate somewhat, after seeing himself in a mirror for the first time in years he says that “From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me.” By referring to himself as a corpse he is implying that after witnessing so many horrors and losing his belief in God he has nothing and no one to console him, so he therefore no longer has anything to live for and may as well be dead. While The Brothers Karamazov offers a balanced view of faith and doubt, it is not difficult to determine which choice Dostoyevsky preferred. Alyosha the faithful ends up being cheered on by the schoolboys listening to his eulogy emphasizing the importance of love, while Ivan ends up in a deeply disturbed state with Grushenka pledging to nurse him back to health. Alyosha is as content and mentally balanced as he began the story while Ivan’s world has spun out of control and is clouded in despair. What ends up being Dostoyevsky’s main message regarding faith is that it is a decision that ultimately defies logical reasoning, but the individual ends up better off with it than without it.