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Money In Crime and Punishment Money is the driving force behind every conflict in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, proving that poverty causes destructive decisions regardless of class; this is evident in the sacrifices of Raskolnikov, Dunya and Sonya. When he came to St. Petersburg, Raskolnikov was attending law school; due to pecuniary troubles, he was obligated to leave his studies. It was during this time that he came up with a theory which eventually led to his destructive decision to murder the pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna. On the other hand, Dunya, Raskolnikov’s sister, worked for Svidrigailov as a governess, in order to provide money for her brother and his studies. After she lost her job, she sought the opportunity to obtain …show more content…
His mother and sister love him very much, and do whatever they can to help him; his sister, especially, sacrifices herself and goes through great hardships in order to help Raskolnikov become a lawyer. Dunya agrees to work as a governess for Svidrigailov, where she suffered many injustices and sexual advances, but she could not leave the job because she received her salary in advance to help her brother, “ and the greatest difficulty was that when Dunechka entered their home last year as a governess, she took a whole hundred roubles in advance, against monthly deductions from her salary, and therefore could not even leave her position without paying back the debt” (Dostoevsky 31). She endured much rudeness and suffered immensely. She had no choice but to stay because she had to pay off what she owed. It was impossible for her to leave because her harsh conditions were the only source of income to send to her brother. It is evident that, due to the lack of money in a family, suffering is a constant battle that can not be avoided because there is no alternative choice. They are obligated to go through the pain in order to survive. Not only does Dunya endure a harsh and shameful environment, but she is willing to sacrifice her own love life for the sake of her brother. She is willing to marry a man with no morals and despicable attitude, “ and despite Pyotr Petrovich’s present, quite understandable evasiveness (since he does not know you yet), Dunya is firmly convinced that she will achieve everything by her good influence on her future husband, and she is convinced of it. Of course, we took care not to let Pyotr Petrovitch in on these further dreams of our, above all that you will become his partner (Dostoevsky 37). Dunya is willing to suffer her whole life to give her brother a chance at a better life. “A pompous, self-important government official, he is
Svidrigailov is one of the most unfathomable characters in Crime and Punishment. As the novel goes on, Svidrigailov’s pursuit of Dunya progresses into sheer harassment. After eavesdropping on Raskolnikov’s confession to Sonya, he uses his newly acquired information to lure Dunya into his room. Svidrigailov proceeds to promise help to Raskolnikov if she will give him her hand in marriage. He then threatens to rape her when she tries to run away. Right when Svidrigailov appears to be purely evil, he surprises us all when his rational side kicks in and allows Dunya to leave. Although he may seem to be the cold-hearted villain of the book, his good deeds cannot go unnoticed. It cannot be forgotten that he is willing to give Dunya the three thousand rubbles in his wife’s will and offers ten thousand rubbles to help Dunya because he thinks her marriage will be a disadvantage to her in the end. Once Katerina Ivanonva dies, Svidrigailov also promises to pay for the funeral arrangements and to provide for the children, who will be sent to an orphanage. Although...
A Study of the literary techniques used by Fyodor Dostoyevsky in Crime and Punishment to convey the downfall and subsequent rise of the main character. "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky is the story of a young student Raskolnikov and his need to murder an old woman to prove one of his many philosophies. The book begins with the murder, but the primary focus is on his reasoning and reactions before and after the act. It is set in St Petersburg where the main character, Raskolnikov, appears to be an ex-student living, in poverty, a life of lethargy.
The main character in Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov, has nihilistic ideas, which ultimately lead to his own suffering. Raskolnikov, an impoverished student, conceives of himself as being an extraordinary man who has the right to commit any crime. He believes that as an extraordinary man that he is beyond good and evil. Since he does not believe in God, he cannot accept any moral laws. To prove his theory, he murders an old pawnbroker and her step sister. Besides, he rationalizes that he has done society a favor by getting rid of the evil pawnbroker who would cheat people. Immediately after the murders, he begins to suffer emotionally. Raskolnikiv “[feels] a terrible disorder within himself. He [is] afraid of losing his control…” (Dostoevsky 95). He becomes ill and lies in his room in a semi-conscious state. As soon as he is well and can walk again, he goes out and reads about the crime in all the newspapers of the last few days. The sheer mention of the murder...
Main Characters: Ivan Ilyich (protagonist), Gerasim (Ivan’s peasant servant – a young healthy man), Peter Ivanovich (Ivan’s closest friend and colleague – attends his funeral), Praskovya Fëdorovna (Ivan’s terribly selfish wife – she is more upset about a loss of income, than losing her spouse)
In Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky gives the reader an inside look to the value system that he holds for himself, as well as the type of characteristics that he abhors in people as well as the characteristics that he admires in people. He uses characters in the novel to express his beliefs of what a person should be like in life to be a “good'; person. Specifically he uses Raskolnokv to show both good and bad characteristics that he likes in people. Also he uses Svidriglaiov and Luzin to demonstrate the characteristics that people should shun and his personal dislikes in people.
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment begins with Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov living in poverty and isolation in St. Petersburg. The reader soon learns that he was, until somewhat recently, a successful student at the local university. His character at that point was not uncommon. However, the environment of the grim and individualistic city eventually encourages Raskolnikov’s undeveloped detachment and sense of superiority to its current state of desperation. This state is worsening when Raskolnikov visits an old pawnbroker to sell a watch. During the visit, the reader slowly realizes that Raskolnikov plans to murder the woman with his superiority as a justification. After the Raskolnikov commits the murder, the novel deeply explores his psychology, yet it also touches on countless other topics including nihilism, the idea of a “superman,” and the value of human life. In this way, the greatness of Crime and Punishment comes not just from its examination of the main topic of the psychology of isolation and murder, but the variety topics which naturally arise in the discussion.
Crime and Punishment at first is a daunting novel. With its sheer size alone, at 551 pages, combined with the dense writing style of Dostoevsky the initial sitting can leave one wonder how anyone ever finishes this hefty novel. However, the reasons soon become clear as you breeze through anxious to see where the next turn will take you. This psychological thriller aspect is also what leads to such a close examination of Raskolnikov's thoughts. It is not until part three that we are given the core idea that drives him to murder. Prior to his encounter with Porfiry beginning on page 248 the reader is left only with conjecture as to what drove him to murder of Alyona and Lizaveta Ivanovna. We see that he is ill and destitute, both good reasons to murder for money. We also have the dream with the horse starting on page 54 that at the very least gives rise to his brutal method of murder. It is clear in the exchange between Porfiry and Raskolvikov that Porfiry believes this idea hinted at in Raskolnikov's article is what drove him to murder. P...
In his novel Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky uses Raskolnikov as a vessel for several different philosophies that were particularly prominent at the time in order to obliquely express his opinions concerning those schools of thought. Raskolnikov begins his journey in Crime and Punishment with a nihilistic worldview and eventually transitions to a more optimistic one strongly resembling Christian existentialism, the philosophy Dostoevsky preferred, although it could be argued that it is not a complete conversion. Nonetheless, by the end of his journey Raskolnikov has undergone a fundamental shift in character. This transformation is due in large part to the influence other characters have on him, particularly Sonia. Raskolnikov’s relationship with Sonia plays a significant role in furthering his character development and shaping the philosophical themes of the novel.
Raskolnikov, in Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment, is a complex character difficult to understand. He believes himself superior to the rest of humanity, and therefore he believes he has the right to commit murder. After he kills Alena Ivanovna, an old pawnbroker, Raskolnikov discovers his supposed superiority has cut him off from other people. He exists in a self-created alienation from the world around him. Raskolnikov mearly drifts through life, unable to participate in it anymore. It is only through Sonya that Raskolnikov is able to gradually regain his connection to humanity; she helps him to understand that, although he cannot be superior to others, she loves him regardless. Although he finds it difficult to reject his theory that certain individuals may commit acts not permitted ordinary people, Raskolnikov does accept that he is not such an individual, that he is ordinary. Through this realization and Sonya's love for him he finds the strength to confess to his crime and accept responsibility for it; this allows him to slowly began to rejoin the world around him.
Most of the characters in Crime and Punishment live in small, crowded homes. Raskolnikov’s room is tiny and depressing. Raskolnikov’s mental state was changed because of his room. He does not have enough room to live his life. “He was hopelessly in debt to his landlady, and was afraid of meeting her” (1). This is where his poverty and his living situation tie together. Raskolnikov cannot afford to put himself in a better home. He does not have a job or any source of income. He is relying on selling things to the pawnbroker. His terrible living situation drives him to the point of murder. It develops an idea in his mind. It changes him into a person that no one wants to be. When Marmeladov is talking to Raskolnikov in the tavern, he explains his living situation. His home is intolerable. Marmeladov explains how he had to leave and
Dostoevsky’s crime and punishment, is set in Tsarist Russia in the 19th century. Rodya Raskolnikov, the main character, is a student at a University in St. Petersburg. By the early stages of the novel, he has dropped out of school and is left in his one room shanty, to ponder his own philosophical questions. He is poor, hungry and desperate for money. He begins to sell some of his possessions to a pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna, to gain money for his basic survival. He begins to see the poverty and desperation of St. Petersburg at this time. Rodya would begin to look at Alyona as a source of this problem. Alyona, in Rodya’s eyes, was profiting off of the poverty and misery of others by buying off their possession at unreasonably low prices. She would then horde the money for herself while the people outside of her own apartment starved to death. Raskolnikov decides to murder the pawnbroker for the sake of humanity. His plan is not deeply thought out in advance and i...
Raskolnikov commits his initial crime out of arrogance. "The old hag is nothing.... I killed not a human being," he says. (245) Raskolnikov feels that he has justification for killing the pawn broker. He thinks that the woman has no reason to live. He believes that the woman is less than a human, and that he is a superior being. Raskolnikov thinks that he has a right to kill.
In Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, the theme of duality and the conflict between personal desires and morals is present throughout much of the novel. There are dual conflicts: one external between a disillusioned individual and his world, and the other internal between an isolated soul and his inner thoughts. It is the internal conflict in the main character, Raskolnikov, that is the focused on for much of the novel. The first of Rodya’s two sides is his intellectual side. This side of rodya is inhumane, and exhibiting extreme self-will and power. This is the side of him that comes up with his theory. The crime was a result of his theory that some people possess extraordinary abilities while others have no ability. It's this intellectual side of him that caused him to conceive and execute his murder. Through the authors use of setting tone, diction, and allusion, the readers get a better understand if what type of character, rodya is.
Raskolnikov kills the pawnbroker ,Alena Ivanovna, not for the money or the valuables she had in her apartment.The reasoning behind Raskolnikov wanting to kill Alena is because she is immoral, who cheats the poor and considers her as a creature. She would brutally beat and abuse her step-sister, and pressure her do all the dirty work for her. After killing Alyona Ivanovna, Raskolnikov steals her possessions. Instead of selling the items , Raskolnikov hides the objects under a rock. Raskolnikov reasons this murder was for the greater good for the people, because Alyona’s money could go to help the people of the town. Raskolnikov knew no one would have the strength or means to get rid of “this creature” referring to Alyona Ivanovna. Raskolnikov thoug...
Crime and Punishment written by Dostoyevsky tells the story of a man living in St. Petersburg Russia in the 1860s. As an audience we get to see how one's psychology, society, and morals affect a person's way of life. Raskolnikov was an unfortunate man who killed his pawnbroker, Alena, and was constantly trying to determine if he should turn himself in. He was never able to express his feelings to Sonia, sister, or his mother. The story of Raskolnikov is tragic and shows how being alienated from society can affect one's psyche.