Crime and Punishment Essay

Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, there are a multitude of spiritual references. With Sonia, the love interest of protagonist Raskolnikov, reading aloud the entire Lazarus passage in the gospel of John, and Sonia herself a Christ figure, spiritual references are prominent throughout the novel. Raskolnikov kills the pawnbroker, Aliona Ivanovna and her sister Lizaveta Ivanovna, early in the narrative. That act plagues him for the rest of the novel. In the epilogue of Crime and Punishment, his…

Many people have said “If two people truly love each other, they will find a way to make it work.” This quote is a prime example of how Romeo and Juliet would do anything to make it work between them. The story “Romeo and Juliet”, authored by Shakespeare, shows how two people loved each other so much that they would rather take their own lives before living without each other because Juliet’s dad was too strict, forced her to marry a man she didn’t love, and drove her to fake her death. Because…

When Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote Crime and Punishment in 1866 he had no idea that hundreds of years later, in the year of 1982, there would be a crime committed that was so similar to that described in his novel. Raskolnikov and Robert Durst, besides the difference that one is a fictional character and the stories are over a century apart, have many striking similarities. Not only do both of their conscious lead each to their inevitable doom, but both manage to escape the hands of authority several…

Development of Guilt in Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment Ideally, when committing a felony, the criminals main concern is not getting caught. In Dostoyevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment, the poverty-stricken, ill man Raskolnikov proves otherwise; it is not the punishment that provokes fear, it is the guilt and psychological instability that will drive the convict to insanity. Set in the late eighteenth century in St. Petersburg, Russia, Raskolnikov is faced with the dilemma of whether or not…

In Chapter 2 of Slaves of the State named “Except as Punishment of a Crime”, Dennis Childs expresses how slavery was still continuing even after the thirteenth amendment had passed. Childs has the overarching argument that the thirteenth amendment actually has an exception clause that allows chattel slavery to occur. Evidence of African-Americans being sold as property differently than traditional slavery and the use of the exception clause of the thirteenth amendment is apparent throughout the…

In Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov’s sense of guilt serves as his primary motivation for finally confessing and serving his punishment. After murdering Alyona the pawnbroker and Lizaveta, Raskolnikov hides from the law, trying his best to avoid punishment. He would have been successful if not for his sense of guilt. Porfiry figures out Raskolnikov is the murderer because Raskolnikov “went to rent the apartment… and asking about blood… because [he is] sick of these stupidities and…

There are many themes and motifs throughout Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment. Perhaps the most prevalent is the theme of transgression followed by redemption. Raskolnikov seeks redemption after committing the murders in distinct ways. He turns to good deeds, religion, and and moral justification to try and receive the regeneration that can come after wrongdoing. Redemption, however, is not easy to achieve. It is something that takes time and work, and we can see Raskolnikov going…

for any social interaction that takes place within these spaces to be without the restrictions of defined societal restrictions. The majority of the complex discourses the characters have occur within these undefined spaces. For instance, in Crime and Punishment, discourse demonstrates key liminal spaces such as the stairs, bridges, and even hotels. St. Petersburg itself is liminal in its torn identity. For instance, in the article written by Danielle Marie Lavendier called Holy Fools,…

Discussing the cultural context of the novel, Crime and Punishment by F. D, helped me make a connection between the contrasting characters of the novel and understand the author’s source of inspiration for his work. When reading the novel, I had already recognized that Raskolnikov was a very pessimistic character who viewed the world in negative terms. However, after being introduced to the popularized theory of nihilism in Russia during the oral discussion, I concluded that the character might…

Character Analysis Crime and Punishment is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866. It was later published in a single volume. It is the second of Dostoyevsky's full-length novels following his return from ten years of exile in Siberia. Crime and Punishment is considered the first great novel of his "mature" period of writing. Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental…