“On Rescuing a Despondent Monk from the Darkest Despair”

In a miraculous development, the novice monk, Alyosha Karamazov, has come back to life in the 21st century.  Although the world has changed in countless ways, he still labors under the weight of his brother Ivan’s brutal rant about the evil lurking within the human soul.  Worse still, Alyosha has rejoined the human race at a time when information continues to pour in about Russian atrocities in Ukraine. In particular, the fate of the maternity hospital documented in “20 Days in Mariupol” challenges his faith to an extent that even Ivan could not imagine.  How could a merciful God allow for such horrors!

Wracked by a sudden loss of faith in his Creator, Alyosha throws his Bible in the waste can and leaves the monastery—and his God! —for good, and then commits himself to seeking solace in other perspectives on the human condition. Luckily, a wise man provides him with three secular approaches that could offer lessons about finding hope in dark times: Roy Scranton’s, “Raising my Child in a Doomed World;” Samuel Scheffler’s, “The Importance of the Afterlife,” and an essay by the former dissident and first post-communist President of Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel, “Never Hope Against Hope” (PRINT AND READ)

Alyosha sits down at his desk, and reads each article carefully.

Assignment:

In a world where God seems to be absent, which one of these three writers will offer the despondent Alyosha the most persuasive guidance about finding hope in the face of unspeakable tragedies, such as those in Mariupol?

Please respond to this question in a typed, double-spaced essay of no more than five (5) pages.

To set up your argument, I recommend that begin by outlining the three authors’ perspectives. What are the similarities and differences among their recommendations for seeking hope? Once you have outlined their arguments, you should then identify the weakness in two of the authors’ remedies and say why you are convinced that the third one is most likely to provide Alyosha with a renewed sense of hope.

Important advice: Re-read my Tips as well as my comments on your earlier papers and paragraphs before writing this paper. I am continually amazed that so many of you fail to abide by Tips! Re-read them now.

The Honor Code to which you have affixed your signature applies! Since this is your final essay, please do not discuss it with your classmates or anyone else.  Your essay and argument must be absolutely, completely, and unmistakably your own work. Of course, you can always ask me questions about the assignment. I will also be delighted to comment on your first draft paragraph and the first line of the second paragraph if you send your draft to me by the beginning of this coming week.

Your paper should have a provocative title. Don’t forget to put your name on it.

As always, I emphatically recommend that you begin writing and rewriting this essay immediately. You will not be able to understand your argument until you have finished your first draft. Naturally, my expectations are not unreasonable. I simply request that you compose the best five pages of prose that you have ever written in your life.

Deadline: Please deposit your essay in your folder no later than Noon on Thursday, May 8.

Note: Notre Dame has made it very difficult to give extensions. They are only granted in “acute, unforeseen personal or medical emergencies.” In addition, only the Dean’s Office can make the final decision about an extension.

Naturally, please feel free to submit your essay earlier. This is likely in your best interest anyway.

The Registrar has become extraordinarily chintzy in the amount of time it gives us to submit grades. In my case, the window is very short. For this reason, if you would like me to provide you with detailed comments on your essay, I will be delighted to send them to you after the semester.  Just let me know.

It has been a pleasure working with you. I hope I will see more of each of you down the road.

Good luck!

AJM