Crime And Punishment Passage Analysis Essay

In this passage from Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Marmeladov dies after being run over by a horse carriage. Raskolnikov watches his friend lose his life, and this sparks a light of positivity in him. Through the use of contrast, religious jargon, and a triumphant tone, it is evident that Raskolnikov develops into a positive and religious man by the end of this passage. At the beginning, Raskolnikov is not mentioned, and instead the passage focuses on Katerina Ivanovna’s reaction to the situation. She does not seem to be taking the accident very well. She is rowdily arguing with the priest. He advises her to “forgive in the hour of death” (50), but she continues bad mouthing her dying husband. Katerina suggests that if he had not been injured that night “he’d have come home to-day drunk” (57). It is clear that this woman thinks lowly of her husband, and she will admit that in his final moments. She characterizes him as a selfish drunkard who values alcohol more than his own family. Suddenly, Raskolnikov steps forward and paints Marmeladov as a completely different character. He describes
Even alone, his change in character is evident. He cries out “resolutely and triumphantly” (189). This word choice establishes a triumphant tone. Raskolnikov had been battling to keep his faith after committing the crime, and he has now developed the strength to “challenge some power of darkness” (195) that has been controlling him. He declares that his “life has not died with that old woman!” (191). He can still lead a religious life despite his action. Raskolnikov even wishes “the Kingdom of Heaven to her” (192). Wishing this upon her symbolises Rodya washing out darkness and negativity from the murder and replacing it with religious light. By the end of this passage, Raskolnikov can be described as a truly religious man who has had his faith