Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment

The main character of the novel Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoevsky, Raskolnikov, is in reality two totally contradicting personalities. One part of him is the intellectual: cold, unfeeling, inhumane, but with tremendous self-will. It is this side that enables him to commit the most terrible crime imaginable─taking another human life. The other part of his personality is warm and compassionate. This is the side of him that does charitable acts and fights out against the evil in his society. Here are the musings of a tormented soul: 'But this is unheard of! I have never had anything to do with the police! And why should it happen just to-day?' he thought, tormented with indecision. 'Oh, Lord, at least let it be over soon!' He could almost have knelt down and prayed, but he laughed at his own impulse; he must put his trust in himself, not in prayer. He began to dress hurriedly. 'If I'm done for, I'm done for! It's all one . . .I'll put the sock on!' he thought suddenly, 'it will get more dirt rubbed into it and all the stains will disappear.' But no sooner had he put it on than he dragged it off with horror and loathing. The confusion in Raskolnikov's soul is best seen when he tries to help a girl in the street who has been raped and left to the whims of anyone who finds her. Raskolnikov tries to protect her from the evil of the street, but stops himself overwhelmed by the wickedness of his society. “Why did I take it upon myself to interfere? Was it for me to try to help? Let them eat one another alive - what is it to me?” At one time Raskolnikov is both caring and concerned and yet he is able to push aside the whole affair by being totally indifferent. The goal of the novel is to make him into one character. Sonia─a pathetic soul whose only means of survival for her and her family is prostitution─helps bring Raskolnikov back into his emotional, humane side. The author is involved every moment with all the characters. The book is complex because the minds of the characters and their thoughts are complex. Raskolnikov is a college student who doesn't have enough money to support his family or his education that constantly suffers bouts of depression and is stung by his conscience. This book offers a good insight about the human conscience and psychology. Raskolnikov tries to get some courage by persuading himself that human atrocities are real and swarming in a concrete jungle. But most of the time he tries to kill the thought of remorse by reading and using some of Napoleon war actions. One of those that stay in his memory is when Napoleon wiped out unarmed people. The delirious Raskolnikov's believes that man should be divided into two groups the superior men and the basic men; the basic men should just work and just live their lives while the superior ones should be above the law and do whatever they feel is good for humanity. Unfortunately despite a perfect plan, nothing goes clockwork. Not only does he assassinates the old woman─Ivanovna─but he also kills her sister (a very kind woman). The frustrating part for him is when he discovers that her possessions are worthless. Sonia, the young prostitute, is his angel of redemption. He is totally upset by this poor girl who has to sell her body for the sake of her relatives. He gets extremely close to her and confesses to her his horrible crime. She makes him understand he has to go the Police and tell the whole thing. He is convicted and deported to Siberia. It is very hard for Raskolnikov to accept his faith and the punishment. He knows he cut himself off from society because of his total alienation. Sonia succeeds in delivering him from his obsession and his guilt and he finally has a feeling of human solidarity, something he was looking for all his life. Yet he knows the world doesn't change, that it is a lousy place, and the bitter and ironic twist is that he becomes a louse himself. Here is an excellent book, with a timeless story; a book you'll either love or hate─I loved it! A book is always a welcome gift. This Christmas give a nice edition of Crime and Punishment to your friends and relatives; something they will value and treasure for life. Augustine, City of God Austen J, Pride and Prejudice Austen J, "Marriage Proposals and Me" Austen J, Emma Borges, The Aleph C. Bronte, Jane Eyre Burroughs E,Tarzan Cervantes, Don Quijote Chaucer, Wife of Bath Coelho P,The Alchemist Coyle H, They Are Soldiers Dante, New Life Dickens C, David Copperfield Dostoevsky, Crime&Punishment ConanDoyle,Hound of Baskervilles Dubner S, Superfreakonomics DuMaurier D, Rebecca Ellis B. E. American Psycho Fitzgerald S, Great Gatsby Flaubert G, Madame Bovary Fleming I,Doctor No Freud S, Leonardo Da Vinci Friedan B, Feminine Mystique GarciaMarquez, Of Love & OtherDemons GarciaMarquez,OneHundredYrs Guerrero M,ThePoison Pill Grass G, The Tin Drum Harris T, Hannibal Rising Heidegger M,House of Being Ishiguro K, Remains of The Day Johnson S,Rasselas Kafka,Metamorphosis Kosinski J, The Painted Bird Lee H,To Kill a Mockingbird McBain Ed,Gutter and Grave Murakami H,Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Nabokov V, Lolita Meyer, S, Twilight Ortega,Dehumanization of Art Poe E A, Gordon Pym Prose F, Reading Like a Writer Rushdie S,Midnight Children Sabatini R, Scaramouche Spark M, Prime of Miss Brodie Stendhal, Red and Black Sterne L,Tristram Shandy Stevenson R, Dr.Jekyll & Mr.Hyde Stoker B, Dracula Thackeray W,History of Pendennis Tolstoy L, Anna Karenina Trollope A, Autobiography Unamuno M, Tragic Sense of Life Voltaire, Candide Webb J, Fields of Fire Wharton E, The House of Mirth Woolf V, To The Lighhouse The secrets of 'no-doze' prose: Mary Duffy's Sentence Openers Image via Wikipedia Lindsey Vonn Back to main page

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