We are Karamazov
As an aspiring writer who wrestles with their faith, I kept running into a name shared between intellectuals on podcasts confessing their conversion to Christianity and novel writers struggling with their work. His name is Fyodor Dostoevsky, who tells us we are all Karamazovs.
I was raised by a Jewish father and a Christian mother. Growing up, I went to Hebrew school on Sundays twice a week and church on the other Sundays. However, I never got a Bar Mitzvah like my brother and sister, and I stopped going to church on Sundays by the time I was in middle school.
I never felt I was in the middle of a clash between the two faiths; rather, I found myself distanced from the two. I still believed in God but didn’t have much faith in Him. I had never read any Scripture from front to back, and when I decided to read a verse, I couldn’t quite grasp it, regardless of the amount of Scripture classes I had attended. It wasn’t until after I left the military that I found a growing curiosity about Scripture and literature.
From 2011-2017, I flew 3,000 combat hours in the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper and conducted operations in three active war zones. Furthermore, the military was the most diverse community I had ever participated in–, racially, culturally, and religiously. Nonetheless, the demons from the stressors of war did not discriminate. Four of my friends I had served alongside with tragically took their own lives. I myself suffered from numbness, detachment, and suicidal thoughts and found myself acting recklessly, drinking heavily, and doing drugs. I gave in to my vices daily, even after I left the military, thinking that separating myself from war would change that.
I asked my co-worker and friend, whose resilience I always admired, how she coped with the stressors of war and everyday life. A relationship with Jesus, she said. While I was taken aback by her response, I still wasn’t convinced religion could help me.
As I went down the self-help rabbit hole on YouTube, I listened to what veterans like Jocko Willink had to say, or non-veterans like Ryan Holiday and Jordan Peterson. While they have helped the masses, I didn’t find much connection to what they were conveying. However, Jordan Peterson mentioned Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov's profound effect on him, which may have led to his recent statement that “Jesus is God.” And, as I grew a passion for writing, some of my favorite authors found inspiration from Fyodor Dostoevsky, such as Ernest Hemingway, Svetlana Alexievich, and Charles Bukowski. When I began my studies at Columbia University, I saw that Professor Liza Knapp, specializing in 19th-century Russian Literature, was teaching a class that included The Brothers Karamazov in the syllabus. Her class was transformative, to say the least, and while I had high expectations for Dostoevsky’s work, I was not disappointed.
The Brothers Karamazov follows a group of brothers as they solve the mystery behind the death of their father, Fyodor. Fyodor is described to be self-indulgent. His son, Ivan, is a cynical intellectual; Dmitry takes after his father in depravity, and Alysoha dedicates his life to Christianity.
The Brothers Karamazov follows a group of brothers as they solve the mystery behind the death of their father, Fyodor. Fyodor is described to be self-indulgent. His son, Ivan, is a cynical intellectual; Dmitry takes after his father in depravity, and Alysoha dedicates his life to Christianity.
While the story covers an array of topics such as religion, brotherhood, and overall family dynamics, I argue that the most pressing subject of the story is ‘free will.’ The simplest quote mentioned in this classic epic that initiates the question of free will is, ‘You’re a Karamazov’—a statement that rings throughout the story as an insult. What does being a Karamazov imply? Dmitry Karamazov says it himself:
“I am a bedbug, am I not, an evil insect? In a word—a Karamazov!”2
The statement implies that one born within the Karamazov lineage cannot help but live a life of depravity and blasphemy. If you are a Karamazov, you are a born sinner.
The brother who wrestles with the Karamazov nature the most is Alyosha, who has sworn a life of piety as a monk and is in constant battle with his inner turmoil and doubts, especially when confronted by his brother, Ivan, who questions God’s governance, stating he believes in God but doesn’t accept him. He rejects His overall rule due to the everyday suffering of man, most notably the murder of children. “For nothing has been more unendurable to man and human society than freedom!”3 Ivan believes had Jesus discarded the idea of free will and given in to the temptation, then people would no longer have to suffer, and children would not be subjected to senseless murder.
Ivan then references The Gospel of Matthew 4:4 and claims that the biggest mistake Jesus made was not giving in to Satan’s temptation as he states, “but you did not want to deprive man of freedom and rejected the offer, for kind of freedom is it, you reasoned, if obedience is purchased with loaves? You retorted that man lives not by bread alone, but are you aware that in the name of that earthly bread the Earth Spirit will rise up against you…Feed them, and then ask virtue of them!”4 He argues that had Jesus given in to his temptation, the world would exist without starvation and murder and only be populated by believers.
While Ivan’s logic cannot be denied when discussing the horrors of the world, and how organized religion has failed to stop it, Alyosha doesn’t dismiss his brother’s argument. Instead, he answers Ivan by kissing him. Alyosha tells us that, where there is unexplainable suffering, we must always answer back with love.
The Karamazov name represents the common man, the common sinner; as the Scripture states, we are all born sinners. However, the Karamazov name implies a question: if we are born sinners, or a born Karamazov, does that mean there is no free will due to our sinful genetic predisposition? Can there be free will without the freedom to sin? In Alyosha’s case, free will is used to combat his genetic predisposition and live a life of virtue. Free will is conducted through prayer and unconditional love, as demonstrated when he kisses his brother despite Ivan’s defiance of God.
When discussing the meaning of the Karamazov name and the tragedies on Earth, Dostoevsky admits that religion cannot solve the world’s problems, otherwise it would have already done so. The double-edged sword of free will, provided by God, prevents it. While some might feel enraged towards God, the same way as Ivan, Dostoevsky doesn’t give a straight answer to our doubts, rather, when in doubt, choose love. Dostoevsky’s lack of an answer is an answer in itself, an answer that transcends logic and reasoning which is what ultimately inspired me to regain my faith. And, while Ivan’s argument makes him ‘right,’ his intellect doesn’t prevent him from falling into a pit of cynicism. In fact, the novel characterizes him as being a depressed individual, showing that knowledge doesn’t equate to happiness. Therefore, the characterization of Ivan is one of the many ways Dostoevsky has expressed the idea that we are not solely governed by knowledge and reason—we, as human beings, require things we cannot scientifically explain. Love.
If we were to recognize free will solely as a craving that only causes destruction, then we would’ve abolished it long ago and surrendered it to our masters with smiles on our faces. However, we have a need to be free: the freedom to love, the freedom to succeed, and the freedom to fail. And through our failures, if God is the only one capable of unconditional love, who else can we turn to but Him?
1 Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, trans. David McDuff (Penguin Classics, 2003), 146.
2 Ibid.
3 Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, trans. David McDuff (Penguin Classics, 2003), 329.
4 Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, trans. David McDuff (Penguin Classics, 2003), 330.
Sam Nahins is a Columbia GS graduate of 2024 and a first-year student at Columbia School of the Arts. His other published works include “A Choir of Crickets” (https://www.thelineliterary.org/nonfiction/a-choir-of-crickets) and “Foreign Wars have become a Spectator Sport” (https://thedefensepost.com/2024/06/18/foreign-wars-spectator-sport).