"Crime and Punishment"

Book Review # 116117

English > Analysis
Literature > Russian

An analysis of the psychological elements of the novel "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

1,007 words () | 1 source | APA | 2009 United States

Paper Summary:

A psychological novel is a work of fiction that places a lot of emphasis on the interior mindset of the protagonist. In particular, this paper examines how in his novel "Crime and Punishment", Fyodor Dostoevsky does just that with the character of Rodion Raskolnikov and the account of a crime that he commits. The paper first looks at how, throughout the first part of the novel, we see how this character conceives of his crime, plans it out, and ultimately commits the crime. The paper then looks at how, throughout the rest of this lengthy novel, Dostoevsky explores the psychological consequences that this crime has on his protagonist.

From the Paper:

"Early on in the novel, we are introduced to Raskolnikov and we see the deplorable conditions in which he must live and through a lengthy letter from his mother, we learn of his family situation. All of this is Dostoevsky laying the groundwork of the character's troubled psychology. Raskolnikov lives in a shanty room that he rents in the city of St. Petersburg. He has failed as a student and therefore his future prospects are fairly grim. Raskolinikov has some financial trouble but, though his friend Razumikhin offers to help him, he decides to handle it on his own. He decides to murder his money-lender, an old woman named Alena. Though he does plan to have financial gain from her murder, this does not seem to be his ultimate motivation. In any case, he bungles the murder. He panics and fumbles with the woman's keys and even slips in her blood. "