Uncertainty in "Crime and Punishment"

Paper Summary:

The paper attempts to show how Fyodor Dostoevsky, in his work "Crime and Punishment", skillfully creates characters that are as complicated and incomprehensible as people in our real life. The paper explains that the atmosphere of hesitation is created by means of a third-person narrator who leaves the reader without any explanation of the motive of Raskolnikov's crime, and does not give any evaluation of his actions, ideas and words.

From the Paper:

"To begin with, William Leatherbarrow believes that in Crime and Punishment Dostoevsky's most important sacrifice to the principle of uncertainty is that of omniscience - one of the traditional novelist's prerogatives (par. 6). In other words, Dostoevsky shuns "God's eye" or omniscient point of view; the narrator doesn't see events in perspective not available to the characters of his work. As Leatherbarrow points out, "The author sees the world through the same haze of subjective uncertainty as Raskolnikov does" (par. 7). The third-person narrator, whose nature and point of view isn't clear, just records everything and locates his character in time and space but doesn't impose his values on the hero. Indecisiveness, constant feeling of hesitation introduce Dostoevsky's innovative principle of uncertainty and indeterminacy in the presentation of his character."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment. Fairfield, IA: 1st World Library, 2006.
• Jones, Malcolm. "Crime and Punishment: Transgression and Transcendence." Dostoyevsky: The Novel of Discord. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1976. 67-89.
• Leatherbarrow, William. Fedor Dostoevsky. Twayne's World Authors Series Online. New York: G K Hall & Co., 1999.
• Pachmuss, Temira. F.M. Dostoevsky: Dualism and Synthesis of The Human Soul. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1963.
• Santangelo, Gennaro. "The Five Motives of Raskolnikov." Dalhousie Review 54, 4, 1974. 710-19.

More papers on Uncertainty in "Crime and Punishment":

• Analytical Essay # 150019 : "Contrast and Duality in "Crime and Punishment"
• Book Review # 100421 : "Futurity and Free Will in "Crime and Punishment"
• Analytical Essay # 138818 : "Suffering in "Crime and Punishment"

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