Crime And Punishment Analysis

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Crime and Punishment written by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a Russian novel about a handsome, yet very poor man in his twenties who believes that all men are separated into two groups, “ordinary” and “extraordinary.” The “extraordinary” man owns the right to commit any felony he wishes upon. The “ordinary” man is forced to live his life strictly in obedience, has no right to violate the law, and his only purpose is to merely exist. The reasoning for these “extraordinary” men to have the right to break the law is because if they are not alleged to a greater standard, they will no longer be great. To be great means that one is capable of breaking free from common laws. Raskolnikov shows his theory throughout the book, starting when he commits two murders and he feels that this is an acceptable thing for him to do because he believes he is an “extraordinary” man. But soon after Raskolnikov commits the crime, guilt quickly creeps up on him. His mind becomes surrounded with paranoia and he feels as if he will be caught any minute of any day. Even though Raskolnikov wants to see himself as an extraordinary man, he is faced with two sides: the giving/caring side and the “extraordinary” side. Symbolization, diction, repetition, and allusion are various aspects of Dostoevsky’s style that helps support one of crime and punishment’s major themes, identity crisis that’s caused by two conflicting views of oneself.

Allusion
Raskolnikov believes that “ordinary” people’s purpose is to just exist, in order to form the world and the society. The second group is those who are “extraordinary” and a step above those who are simply ordinary. Raskolnikov cites such “extraordinary men” as Newton, Mahomet, and Napoleon. He tells us that Newton had the right to...

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...or his twisted mind.
Another very important symbol of restoration for Raskolnikov was the cross that Sonya gives to him before he goes to the police station to confess. The cross symbolizes Jesus’ unselfish sacrifice of himself to forgive humanity’s sins. Raskolnikov rejects any feeling of sin or spirituality even after he receives the cross but he begins to subconsciously recognize that he has sinned. It symbolizes that he is on the path to recognition of the sins that he has committed.
The axe that Raskolnikov used to commit the murders, symbolizes the two halves of Raskolnikov's nature. These contrasting sides are in conflict during the course of the book and are reflected in his two victims, Alyona and Lizaveta. He uses the dull side to murder the old woman and the sharp edge to kill Lizaveta, symbolizing that he has additionally killed himself in the action.

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