Conformity
By: Fatih • Essay • 565 Words • March 5, 2010 • 888 Views
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Think about this, you are a young teenager and your family is down on its luck. You are hard pressed for money, so your family turns to you to go get a job. Having such poor education the only thing that you can do is get a job as a prostitute. That is the life that Sonia Marmelodov has had to take on. Other examples of struggle throughout the novel occur when Dounia gets married. Another example would be when Raskolnikov tells his entire story to Sonia. Crime and punishment is a classic example of sacrifice and suffering. It is through this that Dostoevsky shows us what it takes to make it through and try to survive those hardships.
The first example of such suffering is going to start with Sonia. Sonia is the young daughter of Marmelodov. Sonia has a huge heart. When her family needed her to work, she became a prostitute. This is difficult for her because she is a very pure girl. One of the immediate downsides to Sonia’s new found job is that she is issued a yellow card. A yellow card labels someone as a prostitute, thus forcing her out of her family’s home. This is the ultimate sacrifice for her family.
The next example of suffering comes from Dounia. Dounia is Raskolnikov’s younger sister, and she loves her brother dearly. Dounia is very strong willed much like Sonia, and would do almost anything for the people she loves. Raskolnikov sees that his sister is not getting married because she is in love. Rather because she feels the need to so that she can help out her family, mainly her brother. Dounia was planning a marriage to Pyotr Petrovich. Pyotr only viewed the marriage as a business proposition that would benefit the both of them. Raskolnikov vows to himself that he will not let his sister due such a thing.
A final act of sacrifice comes yet again from Sonia. Sonia listens to the story of Rashkolnikov. Rashkolnikov committed a double murder as