Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky Essay

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky - Essay Example The old woman is crazy, deaf, sick, greedy, and evil. She charges scandalous rates of interest, devours the well-being of others, and, having reduced her younger sister to the state of a servant, oppresses her with work. She is good for nothing. "Why does she live" "Is she useful to anyone at all" These and other questions carry the young man's mind astray. He decides to kill and rob her so as to make his mother, who is living in the provinces, happy; to save his sister from the libidinous importunities of the head of the estate where she is serving as a lady's companion; and then to finish his studies, go abroad and be for the rest of his life honest, firm, and unflinching in fulfilling his humanitarian duty toward mankind. This would, according to him, "make up for the crime," if one can call this act a crime, which is committed against an old, deaf, crazy, evil, sick woman, who does not know why she is living and who would perhaps die in a month anyway. (Notes 2007) The story is basically the struggle between Raskolnikov's Napoleon-bermensch theory and his conscience which make him confess to his crime. According to Tanguay (1997), the novel is an expos of the evil system which forced upon Raskolnikov the choice between crime and death by starvation. However, as the epilogue goes, the novel suggests the brighter side of man's connection to his creator as its more important theme. A repentant man can still hope for his benevolent creator waiting to hear him confess. This paper discusses how Fyodor Dostoevsky tries to present his message through many techniques. Basically, he tackles the issue of poverty and tries to show how an intelligent university student goes about in solving his financial problems. With it is the bermensch theory which he puts in the mind of Raskolnikov, thinking an ordinary man can become extraordinary - jumping from one level to another. The problem is that it has to be done with a crime and to come off it clean. The novel shows that the thinking of the protagonist, Raskolnikov, comes from great men like Napoleon who made history. From here, he uses dreams to foreshadow what is to come or make flashbacks on the past to register well a point. The novel throughout speaks of poverty as a theme as the different characters portray how they each respond to their problem of making both ends meet. As the characters go about their business, especially with Raskolnikov, Dostoevsky tries to go deep into the workings of the mind and present the progression of the psychological struggles. Dostoevsky also utilizes character contrasts to magnify other characters, such as the employ of the oversexed Svidrigalov trying to express regret for his dastardly acts by expressing charity after every wild act. He is contrasted against Raskolnikov who looks up to him as the extraordinary man who can commit crime without any pangs of regret. Dostoevsky finally ends his novel with a meaningful epilogue about man's redemption and his final association with his creator. The discussions that follow deal deeper with these elements to show how Dostoevsky tries to communicate his message. Communicating the message The social issue of poverty. Dostoevsky portrayed the contemporary social reality. Raskolnikov's murdering of the old moneylender resulted apparently from his dire poverty. He had no alternative but murder and robbery if he were to survive. From a thesis