Internal Conflict In Crime And Punishment

In Fyoder Dostoyevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment, many characters deal with internal conflict causing them to commit large and small crimes. Dostoevsky introduces a variety of characters, each of which has their own value that they contribute to the book’s theme. Each character has his or her own opinion which crimes are necessary and what deeds are evil. Some characters need to commit crimes just so they can survive in this harsh world, while others commit crimes because they think it will better the community in which they live. Within the crimes that unfold, the characters deal with inner conflict and use their crimes as answers to their problems, even if that crime is what their conflict is ultimately.
One of the first crimes addressed in Dostoyevsky’s novel is the pawnbroker taking advantage of people who are trying to pawn valuable items so that they can pay their bills. She only gives a fraction of the value and makes them pay an unfair amount of interest. People see her as a narcissistic person. Everyone hates the pawnbroker. Rodian overhears students criticizing the pawnbroker, “Kill her, take her money and …show more content…
Some crimes seem “large” compared to others because the circumstances in that person’s life are not as apparent. Rodian deals with this first hand. Rodian feels his crime is not technically murder because he believes he is doing it for the good of society. Society judges Sonia for becoming a prostitute, but she does not become a prostitute because she wants to; she does it to help her family with its financial problems. Each individual is punished for what he or she does, whether it is emotionally or physically. Everyone suffers in some way and this suffering, internal or external, helps them receive the redemption and shed the guilt that they need, whether it is to get rid of the guilt for past crimes such as murders or for offenses in society such as