Crime and Punishment Thesis

Crime and Punishment Thesis

Fyodor Dostoyevsky accomplishes one of his best and most compelling works through the novel Crime and Punishment. He demonstrates magnificently different sorts of human behavior between privileged and poor, good and bad. Sacrifice and suffering is an underlying theme in the novel which runs parallel to the meaning behind "crime and punishment." Characters in this novel commit crime and sin through sacrifice and their punishment is their suffering. Raskolnikov's sacrifice and suffering generates the Ubermensch theory where he clearly classifies himself as an extraordinary man, only later to realize he was just an ordinary being tormented by his environment. His interaction with the pawnbroker, an evil, greedy, and malicious old woman, drives him over the edge. The thought of people who are able to help and better society, but instead are consumed by greed and use and abuse the unfortunate ones for their own selfish gain enraged and bothered Raskolnikov exceedingly, allowing him to justify and implement the murder of the nasty old woman. Living conditions, extreme circumstances, and society, drive characters like Raskolnikov, Sonya, Dunia, and Marmeladov to commit sins and/or crimes that are justified and rationalized in order to better their situation, exist in society and be able to survive their poorly fated lives. Aside from being knowledgeable of what is right and wrong, it is a natural function of the human mind, body, and soul to react accordingly to inescapable living circumstances.

In Crime and Punishment, Dostoyevsky easily correlates suffering and sacrifice to characters that are subjected to a life of poverty. Details about their lives allow us to better understand their actions and their rationalizations as to why they feel and behave the way that they do. Raskolnikov is a man of intelligence, compassion, and good nature. He has to spend each waking day in a room that is often compared to a coffin with deteriorating wallpaper which he can't even afford to pay rent for and lack of food is also heavily influencing his thoughts and actions. To make things worse, Raskolnikov is forced to quit school, the one thing that would have been his ticket to a better life. As a result of not having money for survival and school, he is in agony over a low feeling of self-worth, not having a purpose in life anymore, wasting away, and deficiency of self-esteem. Self-esteem as a basic human need, makes an essential contribution to the life process, is vital to normal and healthy self-development, and has a value for survival. This was the formula that caused him to become depressed and isolated from civilization.

Raskolnikov's introduction to titular Marmeladov and his family formed into an instant relationship upon witnessing the family's living situation. Starving children and tuberculosis stricken wife, Katherine Ivanovna, makes Marmeladov feel incompetent when he is unable to fulfill his duties as a provider of the household which causes his depression and his only cure was to lead a life of an alcoholic. Ironically Marmeladov realizes how wrong his drinking is as he explained to Raskolnikov his reasons for it.

"My dear sir, poverty's no vice, and that's the truth. Drunkenness, however, is no virtue; and that's the truth, too only more so. But destitution my dear sir, destitution is most certainly a vice. You may be poor, yet still retain a certain inborn nobility of feeling. When you are destitute, there is nothing, there is nobody. When you are destitute, they don't use a stick to chase you away. When you are destitute, they sweep you clear of human companionship; and just to make it more insulting they use a broom. And rightly so. When I am destitute no one is quicker to humiliate me than I myself. And the next step is the bottle!" (Part 1, Chapter 2)

This type of thinking, reasoning, and behavior is common among groups who lose hope when their lives become consuming and draining, and not having any positive outcomes or show any improvements. Consumption of alcohol is a form of self-medication for Marmeladov. Knowing that to most people drinking impairs their thinking, behavior, and free-will, he still displays no evidence of any care or worry of the effects of his indulgence and abuse of alcohol. He uses his drinking as an excuse for making mistakes such as losing his job and being a deadbeat father and husband.

Raskolnikov then is informed about Sonya, a young girl forced into prostitution to help take care of the family and because of Marmeladov's failure as a father, a husband, and provider. At an instant, Raskolnikov is intrigued by Sonya and easily identifies her pain and suffering