"Crime and Punishment"

Book Review # 91376

English > Analysis
Literature > Russian

An exploration of theme in Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment".

1,147 words () | 4 sources | MLA | 2006 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses two of the most prominent themes in Dostoyevsky's masterpiece. Raskolnikov's psyche is juxtaposed with the 19th century and the class struggles in the city of St. Petersburg. It also looks at the progression of the novel and how the protagonist, Raskolnikov, gradually disproves the notion of the "extraordinary man" and establishes that suffering is the path to redemption.

From the Paper:

"After the double murder, Raskolnikov's mental condition deteriorates as the guilt builds commencing the punishment. Each time there is even mention of the murder, Raskolnikov falls into a delirious state. He becomes increasingly belligerent at the others, including his own mother and sister, when they attempt to help him. "If I ruin anyone, it is only myself... I am not committing a murder" (Dostoyevsky 185). Unlike Raskolnikov, Dounia, his sister, is selfless and self-sacrificing. When he demands that she not marry for wealth, she states that she should make her choices and that she is not doing anyone else harm. At this state, Raskolnikov promptly faints revealing the internal torment he endures. In committing the murder, he traversed the boundaries of his superego and he is faced with indelible fear and guilt. "

Sample of Sources Used:

Cox, Gary. Crime and Punishment: A Mind to Murder. Boston: Twayne Publishers. 1990.
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 2001.
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. The Notebooks for Crime and Punishment. Edited and Translated by Edward Wasiolek. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 1967.
Freud, Sigmund. "Dostoevsky and Parricide". Dostoevsky: A Collection of Critical Essays .Edited by Rene Weller. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1962.