Comparing Dostoevsky's Crime And Punishment

In Dostoevsky's novel, Crime and Punishment, he presents his theme of the psychological effects of committing a crime through the third person omniscient perspective. The theme and point of view are important to the story because they coincide with each other to exemplify the other, as well as other elements of the novel. Through the description given by the third person omniscient point of view, the reader is able to identify the guilt and fear that Raskolnikov is experiencing as emotions associated with the major theme.

Third person omniscient view describes the perception of the story in which the narrator knows everything that is happening, is to happen in the story, and all the characters. This type of point of view is exemplified in Crime and Punishment, and is important because it allows us to see into the mind of all the characters, and have a vivid description of the character's physical reactions to their inner thoughts. One character that this is particularly evident in is Raskolnikov. While reading, Dostoevsky implies Raskolnikov's guilt through his thoughts about committing his crimes through this point of view. Shown by his dreams and hallucinations that invoke fear, his growing fear is further emphasized through his constant worry of being caught through actions such as

In Crime and Punishment, the specific effects that were shown were guilt and fear. These two emotions create the theme and carry it throughout the rest of the novel, which are evident in the thoughts and actions of Raskolnikov heightened through the third person omniscient narration. This theme is significant to the literary work because without it, there would be no purpose to the novel. Raskolnikov would have never turned himself in, nor would the novel's graphic and insanity driven plot concluded without this theme, which is expressed through the