Crime And Punishment Analysis

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Formal Paper II
Through suffering and guilt comes a personal need to redeem one's self and once again achieve an inner peace of mind. This process of redemption is not easy, but is worth the prize of being reborn into a new being. When one fully commits him or her self to being saved, there is no stopping that final result. In Crime and Punishment, Dostoyevsky draws from personal experience to create a story based off of suffering, which ultimately exemplifies a message of redemption and rebirth through said suffering.
Crime and Punishment is set in Russia; a place well known for its harsh and capitalistic punishments. The setting of the novel is in Russia for several reasons. Crime and Punishment largely parallels moments of Dostoyevsky's real life. Fyodor Dostoyevsky was a member of the Russian Orthodox Church and was arrested for participating in a socialistic political group when he was younger. He was sentenced to be executed, along with others, by a firing squad, but just as all of the men lined up to be shot, a messenger arrived with a reprieve from the czar. Instead of being shot and killed, these men in the line up, including Dostoyevsky, were exiled to Siberia (Kearney). Siberia is known for its punishment-centered prisons and harsh weather. Nowadays, the once cruel and unjust penal system has given way to reform-based program with fairer punishments; however, this was not the case in the 1860s when this novel took place (Becky). The sentence to Siberia was not only cruel in its afflicting conditions, but in the paranoia of death it presented the prisoners with. Dostoyevsky was extremely traumatized by this experience that he developed epilepsy, which affected him for the rest of his life. On the road to Siberia, Russi...

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...traordinary and is able to love Sonia (Ivants). The two are aware that their love will take years of endurance to finally be fulfilled when Raskolnikov is freed; however, they are also aware of the extremity of the case and are truly grateful for Raskolnikov's rebirth.
Dostoyevsky presents a theme of redemption and rebirth in his novel Crime and Punishment, which not only strongly reflects his life, but the lives of many Russian prisoners. In Siberian prison, prisoners are encouraged to pray and repent. Raskolnikov is an example of someone who, despite lack of compassion and sound judgment, was able to achieve rebirth through religious inspiration and influential relationships. Dostoyevsky teaches his readers that, in order to be reborn like Lazarus and Raskolnikov, one must take the necessary steps of suffering and punishment to get there. Annotated Bibliography

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