The Grand Inquisitor

The Grand Inquisitor

The author of The Grand Inquisitor, Fyodor Dostoevski, born in Moscow on November 11, 1821, was a russian novelist, short story writer, assayist, journalist and philosopher. He was influenced by William Shakespeare and Alexander Pushkin. He was the son of a doctor and was educated at both private schools and home. Eventually attending engineering college, he graduated as a military engineer but later retired to commit himself to writing. The setting of the story takes place in Seville Spain during the 16th century. This is the time of the height of the Spanish Inquisition, a time where the church was the enemy of freedom and free will, burning heretics, anyone who did not abide by their beliefs. It is the day

The Grand Inquisitor, a 90 year old man, also witnessed these acts and becomes angry. Enraged, he orders the guards to arrest him. All the people fear the Inquisitor, since he is the ruler and has been for many years, burning those at the stake who do not follow the organization of the church. Alyosha does not speak much, but does wonder why his brother would write such a poem. Ivan 's poem criticizes Christ for rejecting the three temptations offered by satan. Christ refuses, and does not see them as temptations. He wants men to have the freedom of free will to follow his as they wish. He does not want men to follow because he offers food, perform miracles or to be persuaded by power. This is the where Christ and the Inquisitor do not see eye to eye. The Inquisitor insists that freedom is a burden and is far too complex for most of mankind to handle on their own. It is only a few men who are able to, and he is one. It is his belief that mankind are happy to be relieved of the personal pain and anguish caused by freedom, religious freedom. He state that they have sided with “him” “we are not working with Thee but with him- that is our mystery. It’s long-eight centuries- since we have

Both Bartleby and Christ are mysterious men. Although Christ never spoke, Bartleby was a man of few words himself. Just as the Inquisitor found Christ to be a disturbance so did the co-workers of Bartleby. Also, in this story Ivan and the Inquisitor do most of the talking as well as question Jesus/Christ. At the same time, Alyosha and Christ speak minimally or not at all