suffering- crime and punishmen

A detailed Summary of suffering- crime and punishmen

In the novel Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, suffering is an integral part of every character's role. Dostoevsky uses comic characters as instruments for competing ideological issues. A typical example is the loquacious bar room character Marmeladov, an alcoholic with an ironic abstract side to his personality. Through his behavior, Marmeladov draws the reader's attention to questions about environmental and psychological influence and theology and specifically, the conflict between organized religion and personal spirituality. His confession to Raskolnikov sets the stage for a complex pattern of cross references to these ideas and their impact on the main characters. At the center of these related questions is Marmeladov's self-assured claim that he knows that redemptive suffering will lead to salvation, such as when he tells Raskolnikov that he knows with certainty that God has a special place reserved in heaven for repentant drinkers: "then He will summon us... 'Come forth ye drunkards... and He will hold out His hands to us and we shall fall down before Him..." (Dostoevsky 20).

Connected to this theological side of Marmeladov, and the basis of a psychological subtext, is his enjoyment of self-induced suffering,

After the crime, these two alter egos compete for Raskolnikov's attentions. However, because of his pride, he tries to hide from any open acknowledgment of either one. This mask of denial is the basis of Dostoevsky's irony in scenes where Raskolnikov is clearly drawn to the spiritual side of Sonia or the criminal side of Svidrigailov. Raskolnikov especially finds it hard to admit that he is drawn to a self-denying victim like Sonia because it violates his idea of the "extraordinary person." It is easier to identify with an aggressive victimizer like Svidrigailov because he embodies the ruthless behavior of a man who has overstepped the laws of society. However, basically Raskolnikov is attracted to these opposing doubles, it is a conflict between innate feelings and ideology. Sonia represents Raskolnikov's innate morality and the goodness of his heart, while Svidrigailov stands for the evil of abstract theories, and when Svidrigailov dies, the theoretical voice of Raskolnikov's personality seems to fade out and the Sonya voice begins to speak with greater conviction, which becomes Raskolnikov's most important first step towards his confession.

However, it is Sonia, the holy fool who is forced to work as a prostitute, who will eventually bring this lie to the surface. In the meantime, Raskolnikov will be

Some common words found in the essay are:
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Indeed Dostoevsky's, Svidrigailov Raskolnikov, Dostoevsky Marmeladov's, Crime Punishment, Dostoevsky Christian, Dounia Sonia, Dostoevsky's Christian, Katerina Ivanovna, redemptive suffering, shame redemptive, raskolnikov drawn, shame redemptive suffering, , crime punishment,

Approximate Word count = 887
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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