López 1

Alexis Omar LópezDr. A. Lynn SukaloAP Literature and Composition, Period 111 September 2009

Timed Write 2A: Crime and Punishment

Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment is a psychological novel that vividly exhibits the machination of an assassin’s conscience as he intends to live with himself after committing a heinous crime. However, the protagonist, Raskolnikov later realizes that the only way to rid himself of self-consuming culpability of dissembling is through punishment; therefore, the events that occur throughout the novel and the actions of the main character lead the reader to understand that the theme of this work is clearly redemption by the means of castigation.

The setting of the city of St. Petersburg itself evokes the most piercing form of sentimentality that an author can impose on a reader. The conurbation as a whole reflects the spiritual decadence of the Russian citizens who reside in it. Dostoyevsky constructively uses the “special…stench” of the streets, olfactory imagery, and the varmints that plague it to reflect the soul of the city. This allows one to infer that its society, whose dependence on organic solidarity is failing, is dissolute due to the corruption of the common citizen. As Raskolnikov meanders through the city, he undoubtedly attributes the “revolting misery” of the moral and social decay to the “crushing poverty” and overflow of “drunken men,” (visual imagery,) rendering the city ineffectual and abject.

From the instance in which the story begins to unfold, it is noticeable that the city’s socioeconomic status is not well. Dostoyevsky foreshadows the inner motives of Raskolnikov through the use of the vivid imagery that help to characterize the city providing additional support when writing of Raskolnikov’s “accumulated bitterness” in his “young…heart.” This animosity that overwhelms the protagonist from his insides to his extremities represent his desire to cleanse the society in any way possible and in his case by eliminating the “spiteful old” pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna, and thus Dostoyevsky juxtaposes the idea of societal cleansing through the elimination of unacceptable people, and through this creates tension, conflict and contrast in the work. On his way to her apartment he speaks to himself and in a subtle way lays out the pros and cons of him committing the homicide. However, the author peculiarly contrasts his thoughts to the soon after mentioned spiritual “forgiveness” advocated by the drunkard in the bar, Marmeladov. He advocates the Christian idea of how even though men are “swine” and “children of shame” one can always seek and receive salvation by repenting of one’s sins and acknowledging the “Lord.” For even the mere acceptance of the idea that Christ is one’s exclusive and only savior leads to salvation; given that He will “judge and forgive all.” This could, in fact, lead the spiritual and societal salvation of St. Petersburg.

Although this is not the entire case for Raskolnikov, he is able to achieve deliverance through punishment. Clearly, his deeds can be considered Machiavellian, where the “end justifies the means,” (Niccolo Machiavelli). The means is the planned homicide and the end is societal cleansing; understanding that the supplanting of the “old” and “useless” and replacing it with valuable and productive members of society will be a ‘justifiable’ reason to perpetrate the act. In the end, Raskolnikov confesses to his actions and decides to pay the consequences. By doing this he is able to achieve peace of mind and after he serves his sentence he could restart his life.

The overall message that Dostoyevsky’s conveys is the idea that redemption is always is an alternative, and that through it there may be forgiveness and self-acceptance. The author’s voice can effortlessly be heard and identified since he lived, in part, Crime and Punishment, making the novel much more personal.