God Loves Puns - BK Thesis

I loved when we were talking in class about how Shakespeare was quite fond of using puns in his plays. It's true, for some people, puns are often eye-roll inducing but it's the nerdiest and most fantastic form of humor I can think of. And trust me, not just anyone can come up with a really good pun. My friend told me a really good one the other day (in relation to Star Wars) : "Lookin' for love in Alderaan places." As lame as that may sound, you have to admit that it is pretty witty.

Now on the wonderful work of literature by Dostoevsky himself...

I really want to do a thesis relating to Ivan Karamazov. For me, he has been one of the most interesting characters in the story and throughout the book, I can often see apart of myself in this character. While I don't consider myself much of an intellectual, throughout most of high school, I struggled with the idea of God while all of my friends were devout Christians who lived and breathed for Christ. Personally, I never had an "eye-opening" experience and I've never been reborn as a believer in God. And I don't know if I ever will. But at the same time, I so badly want to believe in a higher-power that is responsible for all the complexities and unanswered questions in the universe. However, like Ivan, I refuse to accept a God that would allow the torturing of innocent people.

So for my thesis (and I don't know if this will work, but it's a start) I want to discuss the middle Karamozav brother and his beliefs. I think it will go something like this: "Whether or not Ivan chooses to believe in a God, he will constantly be in a state of despair due to theodicean views of God."

It's still kind of a work in progress, but I think I've got the ball rolling a little bit on this paper. Also, does anyone know if "theodicean" is the proper adjective form of theodicy? I just threw in what I though sounded correct.