The Brothers Karamazov

Hello, I'm having a little trouble with the Grand Inquisitor poem in Part 5 chapter 5 of the Brothers Karamazov.
I can't tell if there is any way to distinguish the Devil / Satan from the Grand Inquisitor. It seems like the Grand Inquisitor just supports everything that Satan supports. They both want to take free will from mankind and replace it with security. Is there any difference between The Grand Inquisitor and Satan?
I am basically trying to compare Ivan to the Grand Inquisitor, Christ, and Satan and I feel like comparing Ivan to the Grand Inquisitor is the same as comparing Ivan to Satan -- or is it not??

Also, when Ivan says Man can hardly live in rebellion and I want to live is he saying that man should not be free as the devil says in the Grand Inquisitor poem?

The inquisitor is just an ex disillusioned christain who still wants to create an 'idealistic' society whatever the human cost. He thinks people are not strong enough to be free.

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Originally Posted by Theunderground

The inquisitor is just an ex disillusioned christain who still wants to create an 'idealistic' society whatever the human cost. He thinks people are not strong enough to be free.

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In a way.

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Originally Posted by jip9

Hello, I'm having a little trouble with the Grand Inquisitor poem in Part 5 chapter 5 of the Brothers Karamazov.
I can't tell if there is any way to distinguish the Devil / Satan from the Grand Inquisitor. It seems like the Grand Inquisitor just supports everything that Satan supports. They both want to take free will from mankind and replace it with security. Is there any difference between The Grand Inquisitor and Satan?
I am basically trying to compare Ivan to the Grand Inquisitor, Christ, and Satan and I feel like comparing Ivan to the Grand Inquisitor is the same as comparing Ivan to Satan -- or is it not??

Also, when Ivan says Man can hardly live in rebellion and I want to live is he saying that man should not be free as the devil says in the Grand Inquisitor poem?

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I keep seeing the Grand Inquisitor in the modern democratic regimes, in that they put a great amount of stress on health, convenience, and comfort - both physical and mental. Those who subscribe to this philosophy seem to have no other goal but to make themselves and everybody else happy, even if it means that people would become increasingly devoid of individuality. Globalization, you know: let's all join hands to sing along, and forget our stupid medieval dreams about devinity... Most of such humanitarians are genuinely kind people whose only fault, if it is a fault, is inability of looking beyond the immediate and firmly believing their doctrines to be universally true, without a need of proof. But for people for whom "medeival dreams" are still more important than happiness, and human life is not a highest value in itself, yes, they are a gentler, kinder versian of Satan, or rather, Satan's ignorant helpers. In my opinion, that's how Dostoyevsky saw the the followers of the Grand Inquisotor. As for the Grand Inquisitor itself, I believe that he is not a person, but rather and idea, a Western tradition of thought, that is, yes, born of humanity combined wth deep disillusionment...