Decisions of the Conscience in Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky and Huckleberry Finn by Twain

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“Sometimes one can't stand things,” a simple but meaningful quote for Crime and Punishment and Huckleberry Finn. This quote indicates an individual's inability to bare a certain situation. Concerning the novels, the quote displays how the character's can't mentally digest society or crime and how they react. The quote mentioned above was chosen for a couple of reasons. First, the quote plays a crucial roll in both novels that helps with the character's decisions. The decisions that are made are highly influenced by whether or not the character can conscientiously handle the thought of some thought. Thus the character's actions will be effected. Secondly, this quote has lifelike values attributed to it. In everyday life, one must go through countless decisions, many of which are affected by the individuals limit to how much his conscience can bare. For example if an individual cannot stand the thought of work on an evening, that individual might strive to accomplish all tasks before the evening. Within Crime and Punishment, the limit to Raskolnikov's mental capability, over certain thoughts, appears frequently. Raskolnikov is constantly battling with his conscience over the murder, before and after its committed. The results of this thinking mixed with the overall guilt and mental influence of the crime haunt him. While battling his conscience, Raskolnikov acquires an illness that makes him mentally weak and short fused. These side effects are a result of him passing the boundary of what his conscience can bare. An evidence of Raskolnikov's mental incapability to handle the thought of the crime and what may come of it, displays itself before the crime. Raskolnikov thinks about the crime he plans to commit. Rask... ... middle of paper ... ...ore and after it was committed weighed upon his mental state and ultimately on his physical state. On the other hand, Huck's disgust for society, especially slavery, pushed him to run away from society and make his own decisions that he thought were right. To conclude, it is apparent that Raskolnikov and Huck both encounter a thought that they cannot bear. For Raskolnikov, that thought is the crime, and for Huck, that thought is slavery. Raskolnikov then reacts by almost meditating on the crime, which in turn worsens his state. On the other hand, Huck decides to run away and make decisions for himself, separating himself from society and improving his mental state. Works Cited Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1994. Print. Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 2001. Print.

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