Ivan

For the first time in the novel Ivan and Alyosha have their first long chat at the tavern about Ivan’s views on religion. We get an insight into the way Ivan really thinks and get to know his personality a little better. Ivan thinks God does unjustifiable acts.

Ivan believes in God; he’s just not sure if God created people or people created God. In great detail Ivan describes true stories of injustices that have happened to children in the past. Children suffer daily for things that they didn’t do. He describes a little girl who was forced to sleep in the outhouse after her mother smeared poop on her face and made the little girl eat it as well. She weeps for God to protect her. Ivan thinks that’s nonsense. “—Can you understand such nonsense, my friend and my brother, my godly and humble novice, can you understand why this nonsense is needed and created? Without it, they say, man could not even have lived on earth, for he would not have known good and evil. Who wants to know this damned good and evil at such a price? The whole world of knowledge is not worth the tears of that little girl to ‘dear God’ (242).” Ivan is asking why would God do that? It’s wrong and painful to hear about.

On page 244 Ivan makes his point. “If everyone must suffer, in order to buy eternal harmony with their suffering, pray tell me what have children go to do with it? It’s quite incomprehensible why they should have to suffer, and why they should buy harmony with their suffering.” Why do children have to suffer for something that they didn’t do?

Ivan definitely proved the injustices in God’s plan because of his use of children. Children don’t have a say in it at all, if he were to use an adult, the scenario would be different because adults have free will for the most part. Ivan is asking Alyosha how God can let such terrible things happen to children. And it’s a good point; why should innocent people have to suffer for anything?