Old Karamazov Readings Pt. 3

Book 4:

It is interesting to note that when Zosima was dying, he asked once again of Alyosha to leave the monastery. Even more interesting is that this time, Alyosha listened.

The book consists of Alyosha's crusades, or whatever one may call them. It is filled with character development, and character exposure. We see exactly how similar Alyosha is to Zosima, as he defends his father, saying he is not evil but "twisted". He realizes that his father simply acts on his own moral compass, and wherever it may be pointing, it is not entirely his fault that it is pointing there. The scene with the captain was very revealing. At first, Alyosha was very befuddled that some random boy would bite him, for no reason. Then, when he finds out that his brother (Dmitri) brutally beat the old captain that is the boy's father, he understands, and does not pursue the matter further. He also understands why the old captain will not accept money, and this shows that Alyosha is the ultimate saint in the book, maybe even greater than Zosima himself. This is because while we do not know what kind of upbringing he had (many Russian priests were actually offspring of wealthy citizens), we do know that Alyosha has had a very difficult road of tribulations on his way to the monastery, and how he was able to stay so vigilant in his faith is a testament to the strength of it.