Ivan woulda, coulda, shoulda...

We talked in class about how the character Hamlet was split into 3 characters in the Brothers K. Ivan was written as the intellectual side to Hamlet and if you think about it, Ivan may have killed Fydor Karamazov if he had not procrastinated. His intentions to rid the Earth of all vermin (like his father) are outlined in "Rebellion", but he over thinks it and leaves the door open to have one of his other brothers finish out his plan. Both Ivan and Hamlet detest the antagonists of each novel, but Hamlet has no brother or associate who will do his evil bidding. It is Hamlet's alienated side that kills his uncle. Ivan, whether subconscious or not, laid the ground work for Smerdyakov to kill Fydor. Ivan is labeled as the thinker; thinkers do not kill directly. But since Hamlet is a multi-dimensional character, he does it all; thinks, acts aggressively, and shows compassion, thus making him all the more timeless.