Rebellion
First off in this piece Dostoyevsky's character, Ivan, gives us an idea of the types of evil that exist in this world through examples of neglected and tortured children, the satisfaction parents get through torturing their children, and the abuse of animals. Through these examples Dostoyevsky brings the question to mind of what justifies this cruelty.
For example, a little boy hurt of the General's hound while the boy was playing. Then the General, in turn, stripped the boy of his clothes, sent him running, and released his hounds to kill him. Is that justified? Perhaps the child would have grown up to be a sinner. (A serial killer) By his death, would the world be saved of future evil? Does that make the General's decision to kill him right?
For something to be justified by the consequences associated with it, the good that comes out of it must justify the bad. Therefore, acts of evil cannot be justified by the positive outcomes at the sake of the negative consequences.
The siginificance of the title, "Rebellion", in this piece comes when Alyosha suggests that Ivan forgot that there is a God and who he was. A God who can forgive those who feel guilt for the killing of a child. Ivan argues with her by suggesting God would not allow a crime such as the torture and suffering of a child. Ivan accepts that God's judgement is good, bet he does not accept the world that God has created. He explains how he feels when talks about how he would rather kill himself than live in this world of evil.
I would also like to add the reason why dosoyevsky uses children in his argument against Alyosha because it is the basis of his agrgument. He uses children because they are still innocent. Children still haven't been exposed to evil yet. While adults no better, but they still do evil things.
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