The Grand Inquisitor

The Grand Inquisitor

Throughout history many lifestyles have changed upon the many dramatic policies and ideas of the day. Not only upon these changes and reforms was lead to good outcomes but also harsh and radical formations of inadequate life within the population of the land involved. With this only through the time period analyzed to determine the actual figure of society can be brought forth from literature and history itself, but really what can history tells you if it wasn’t described in actual writing. The Grand Inquisitor by Fyodor Dostoevsky illustrates a story to relate the frictional meaning into that of a historical meaning and basis of a time period and what was really occurring within that land. This book is bringing forth a different way to persuade the reader to notice qualities of the government involvement in Russian life as long with what is happening among European Nations through meaningful stories within a frictional setting that displays the topic functionally effective to the meaning pointed toward. As told Dostoevsky displays the story that tells of the historical views of the day in Russian society, which in the Grand Inquisitor is based in Spain and told by a man and the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Inquisitor. The Grand Inquisitor is the tale told by Ivan a Spanish man which tells of Christ arriving back to earth in Seville at the time of the Inquisition. He performs a number of miracles and people recognize and adore him but soon is arrested by leaders of the Inquisition and sentenced to be burnt to death. Here the Grand Inquisitor visits him to tell Christ that the church no longer needs him and his powers because Jesus’ return would interfere with the mission of the church. The Grand Inquisitor reminds Christ of the time in the Bible, when the Devil presented him with three temptations, all he rejected. As though rejecting the temptations, the Devil guaranteed human beings will have a free will. Free will, he says, is a devastating, impossible burden for mankind. Christ gives humanity the freedom to choose to follow him or not, but no one is strong enough morally to be faithful, and those who are not will be damned. The Inquisitor tells Christ should have given people no choice, and instead taken power and given people security rather than freedom. So with this people that are too weak to follow Christ who would be damned will still have happiness and security on Earth, rather than the burden of freedom. The Grand Inquisitor says that Church has now undertaken the inquiries to correct Christ’s mistake and replace freedom with security. The first temptation is that of rejection of hunger, where Christ refused to turn stone into bread and, says that man should live by the word of God and not by bread. Relaying this that Christ should and could have offered the bread to mankind to keep people free of hunger rather than freedom of choice. The second temptation was that to perform a miracle, where Christ was to prove he was the messiah by throwing himself of a pinnacle. By this God would send down angels to catch Christ in mid air showing that he was supernatural. People need a miracle and a supernatural being to worship to be content with their religious faith. Christ refused to appear as a messiah. The third temptation was over power of the land. Satan showed Christ all the kingdoms of the world and offered him control of them all. Christ again refused, and allowing man to have free will over himself instead in favor of security within a single ruler. The main sequence of the book was to portray the story of time in history through the control of Russian leadership. The book ties in directly with the events that have happened to bring the society of Russia to what it is today. Russian history portrays this time as a great event full of freedom and perfect humanity with the greatest profit and prosperity. But deep down we can only see one thing that is happening, the central government of Russia can be portrayed as The Grand Inquisitor and the people of the land are Christ who believe in freedom. Russia of then was divided among two main groups, the upper class and the lower class, with a small middle class of managers and land owners. Dostoevsky wrote this chapter of his book to portray the evil that has been set upon the Russian people. First off the tsar of the Russian Empire Alexander II was known as a good man with an equal belief of freedom over government of the lower class. Society of Russia was terrible; many people including the serfs worked on farms and in ill-equipped factories until the rise of Industrialism. Throughout the last half of the nineteenth century, Russia’s economy developed very slowly compared to other major European nations to the west. Russia’s population grows larger than those of developed Western countries, but most of the people lived in rural communities and engaged in primitive agriculture. Agriculture which was technologically underdeveloped remained in the hands of serfs, who were about four-fifths of the rural population. In 1861 Alexander II proclaimed the emancipation of about 20 million privately held serfs, and local commissions, which were dominated by landlords; gave land and limited freedom to the serfs, but usually these serfs would remain in communes and were required to pay the government for fifty years in redemption. With inadequate farming methods many serfs who took over their own land issued to work, by the government to pay off their debt fell behind. The former owners of these serfs were unable to produce and had to sell their lands to remain solvent because the bonds issued to them by the government when releasing the serfs became inefficient, that is because serfs couldn’t pay back the government. The governments bonds began to lose value and the government began to fall apart leading to the first steps in revolution. All lands were undertaken by the state. Even though many say that the serfs got their freedom, the government ultimately took it away by trying to give them security by allowing them to run their own farming operation. Likely they lost everything as long did the previous owners of the serfs because they had to give everything back to the government and lease out the land in order to make a living. Everything turned around from people having the power to teal their own land to the government displaying its power and telling the workers what to do. You can see that this is the first form of socialism where agriculture is being taking over by the state and the struggle to survive lasts within the word of the tsar and high officials. The state began to become insufficient. Although “The Grand Inquisitor” proclaimed that security and power is the greatest ability one nation can have in the case of the tsar, it’s very wrong. It’s a way to control the people of the nation and restricting them to only a little revenue of what they actually produce and how they live. Industrial growth was significant, Russia was expanding with the idea of imperialism, technology increased and reform took over across the state. Russia began to fall into major debt and Alexander II believed in substantial reforms in education, government, judiciary and military. Reforms of local government closely followed emancipation of serfs. Local organized governments was split into districts and were made of representatives of all classes and were responsible for local schools, public health, roads, prisons, food supply, and other things. In 1870 elected city councils were formed, dominating property owners and constraining by provincial governors and police. They raised taxes and levied labor to support their actions. Over time the lower class and middle class were getting the boot, their lives were being created around them without their own word and ideas. People were beginning to be controlled from the upper class and mostly the rulers down to the low class. The tsar believes that they are giving them only security and a better way of life, but are they really happy with being controlled? No, because everything they do is monitored and they get nothing they produce, and nothing in return. Most people of Russia lost their freedom in the events of Alexander II’s reforms to society. In the eyes of Dostoevsky I believe that he see with great power comes great responsibility, and the ruler lost that when he took his power to grant and misused it to help destroy the respect of his family and himself and even the government itself the majority of the population. Most people are happy when they are free. Even though the serfs were owned, they had more freedom then they did when they were released because of government restrictions. I think Dostoevsky was right with that true freedom comes with a price and freedom should be worshiped. He foresees the future of Russia as where revolution and socialism will overcome the system of the tsar. As the government started to become insufficient, and the lower classes becoming unhappy with the lack of overall freedom, the people will overcome the government like that in “The Grand Inquisitor” as when he releases Christ. Christ relates the freedom of the people and is the greatest good; security is not always needed when the struggle for power within the government over the people is only causing chaos. Beginning after Alexander II’s reforms; liberals, nationalists, and radical writers helped mold public opinion to oppose tsarism, private property, and the imperial state through writings in journals and newspapers to gain support for its domestic and foreign policies. Many intellectuals, peasants and workers who all were treated unfairly in society shared opposition sentiments. Through this beginning of revolution in Russia the populist movement which included radical writers, idealists, and advocates of terrorism believed that Russia should drop the tsar and move directly into socialism and bypass socialism. From this revolution began to spread in the case of bringing a better government into power. The belief that the people have the greatest power can be found here where they believe they should have the most freedom compared to being controlled by a central government. Dostoevsky argues that the government just wants to keep the people in one place and happy. Unfortunately they are upset and on the urge of revolution, and when released they can do much harm and even control the land. Throughout history we can see many great events take forth, and from The Grand Inquisitor the freedom of the people takes control, allowing a new face and system to take over the lands of Russia. Leading to the revolution in the first Great War and socialism becoming the central system. The majority of the population can overcome any obstacle set forth before it; it is the power within freedom of people. Never underestimate what freedom can do to central a basic idea or society. If you have the power, don’t over use it, it must be used responsibly.