Although Ivan's big-picture opinion differs a bit from my own, a lot of his work's/argument's elements made sense and they stood for something, involving religion and other delicate matters, in our world. Words and ideas such as freedom, miracle, mystery, and authority stay with you after reading, although the middle of the chapter lost me for a bit. They are well emphasized and repeated, as they should be. Nonetheless, the endgame shows why a lot of people accept their happiness. Their ignorance makes them happy, and they accept, although they don't understand, that others (say, authority) will take the emotional and spiritual [or lack there of] hit. Their ignorance gives them freedom, freedom instead of a lifelong endurance of hopelessness, freedom from pain, happiness.
Ivan forms this Grand Inquisitor to act as an allegory of Jesus, the church, and other religious branches. Moreover, this Grand Inquisitor is a scapegoat for people's beliefs. If the G.I. helps uphold religion and God then people have reason to believe. The G.I.'s purpose is to be an excuse for people, a truth and a false truth simultaneously. His job is to uphold a lie, to let ignorance flourish, to let freedom reign. If [most] people are ignorant then they will truly believe a false truth, it's a sort of faith. The G.I. has the view that if he takes part of the burden [along with his few authoritative counterparts, those few who know the "real" truth], if he understands the true "truth" then the rest of the world's people will be free, they'll be happy. The Grand Inquisitor is like Jesus, except Ivan's Jesus doesn't believe in God. Why is this, though? His views are based on a mystery, ah, mystery, as are those who believe in God.
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