The massacre of 25 students at a high school in Colorado shook the nation as the most devastating and heartless crime of youth. No one questions that these murders were a crime to society, as no one questions that rape, assault, and theft are also crimes. Society has dictated and labeled these actions as crimes because they harm others. One must question, however, whether the crime lies more in what caused the action. Many works of literature have posed this idea, but it is thoroughly discussed in the novel Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Through the main character, Raskolnikov, the dictionary definition of crime and punishment become blurred. It becomes obvious that the murders he commits are not the crime, but instead are simply results of his actual crime-isolating himself from society. Raskolnikov's true crime is that he completely alienates himself from authority, love, and all associations, and his punishment is that he becomes alienated even more and is unable to reenter society. This complete isolation prevents the individualism, and liberty of thought, that Raskolnikov strives for.

Viewing Raskolnikov's actions from society's perspectives, it appear

s that his crime was killing Alyona Ivanovna and Lizaveta Ivanovna. What is more important to understand though, is how he arrived at this stage. What process led him to the point of killing a moneylender and her sister? The answer can be found in his alienation from the rest of the world. Razumikhin, during a discussion with Raskolnikov, states that the Socialists' view on crime is that it is "'a protest against the unnatural structure of society'" (Dostoevsky 245). Society is structured so that everyone conforms to the wishes of the greater good. By isolating himself, Raskolnikov puts himself above society and existing apart from society, because he believed the current structure of society to be unnatural. He does not wish to wait for the "common weal" and wants to have his own life (Dostoevsky 264). So, by removing himself from society it enabled him to question "'whether I was a louse like everybody else or a man, whether I was capable of stepping over the barriers or not'" (Dostoevsky 402). Is this in itself a crime? No, but his crime comes in that his isolation is so severe that he becomes self involved, and comes to see himself as an "extraordinary" man with certain rights and obligations. He forms a theory that there are two types of people:

His punishment restricts his ability to communicate with people, and thus his salvation comes in his confession of the murders and most importantly, the recognition of his having no other place to go. He has to realize the crime of his initial alienation and he accomplishes this through Sonya, who serves as the redemptive figure in the novel. The ideas of individualism and isolation can be seen to be similar, but in reality alienation serves to prevent true individualism and liberty of thought. Thus, alienation is the actual crime, and inhibitor of the freedom that Raskolnikov seeks. John Stuart Mill would say that individualism is necessary to the extent that it would not cause harm to others (Mill 53-59). Raskolnikov oversteps this line and the result is the murder of two people. The roles of crime and punishment comment a lot about the relationship between society and the individual. If the crime and punishment in this novel center around alienation from society, and the salvation comes in reentering society, then it can be seen that ultimately society rules over the individual. After all, the "gradual renewal of a man, of his gradual regeneration" can only come about, according to Dostoevsky, by conforming and living among society once again (Dostoevsky 527).

This second group is given special rights to do what they must in order to make th

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Approximate Word count = 1774
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)