Where I am in the Brother's K

I mentioned before that I am only on pg. 255 of the Brother's Karamazov and probably will not finish it before the end of the school year. I will however continue to read on into the summer. I have enjoyed the story immensely so far with the love triangle between Dmitri, Katarina, and Ivan. Or is it a love square with Grueshenka? Who knows. I have also come to really appreciate Alyosha's love, kindness, and respect towards everybody. His fervent belief in all human beings in astounding and almost warrants complete disregard as an idealistic literary element. He reminds me a lot of an Anime character by the name of Vash the Stampede from the show Trigun. While the stories are drastically different the characters are quite close. Vash is a framed outlaw on a desert planet with an incredible bounty on his head. Throughout the show many people are hurt around him (usually in the act of trying to hurt him or those he loves) Vash never kills and he always appeals to mercy, sympathy, and love. I can't help but compare his love of all mankind to Alyosha's. What really interests me about both of these stories though is how it is not the main character or hero of the story that changes but every other character that is growing and learning. Throughout both Trigun and Brother's K our heroes are surrounded by adversity and sadness yet they both manage to hold on to their beliefs tenaciously. It is this act of impermeability that solidifies my love for Alyosha and Vash. That even when it is their life on the line they will not falter. They are heroes not in the classical sense of the word, with swords and shields rescuing maidens and all that, but heroes because they stand tall and bright in a world of darkness. Their everlasting ideals inspire those around them to do good and to love as they love. In my mind that is what it means to be a great hero.