“And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. meek, for they will inherit the earth. «Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. «Blessed are the merciful, for they will find mercy. «Blessed are the pure in heart, because they will see God. «Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. «Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven» (John 5:210). Standard Version)One of the most important concepts in Dostoevsky's novel, The Brothers Karamazov is the concept of free will. It is important to the novel because of the overall theme that everyone is responsible in some way for everything that happens. It also makes the novel more interesting because it essentially lets the characters run around doing whatever they want. However, there is one character in the novel who does not exercise his right to free will like other characters do. Alyosha, whom Dostoevsky calls his “hero,” is given free will like the other characters in the novel, but at the same time does not seem to actually use it. For all practical purposes, he has no free will. Because if free will is the right to make choices based on one's rational mindset, then Alyosha cannot be considered to have free will like the other characters in the novel have. For example, his brothers Ivan and Dmitri are apparently free to do whatever they want, whether it be disbelieving in God or squandering large amounts of money. Their father is no different in that he pursues… a paper medium… one around you, you need free will to make the decisions that would lead to that. Alyosha does not have the required free will. Instead, he loves and trusts everyone unconditionally. It's a woman's version of the onion story. The woman has always been evil and has only done small good things and Heaven decides to raise her up. He eventually reveals his true nature. Alyosha is different; he never has a choice whether to become bad, he can only be good. Not only would he let people resist, but he would try to take some of them. Alyosha's status as both a hero and a pious person means that he has never truly used his free will. Works Cited Dostoevsky, Fyodor. The Brothers Karamazov. Trans. Constance Garnet. Minneapolis: Dover Publications, Incorporated, 2005. The Holy Bible. Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2005.