Crime And Punishment Religion
Dostoyevsky’s Use of Religious Elements in Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s masterwork, Crime and Punishment, tells the story of Raskolnikov Romanovich. Raskolnikov is known as one of the most complex characters in literary history due to his intellectual depth and psychological and spiritual struggle. Dostoyevsky’s personal beliefs are reflected in Crime and Punishment, and his use of Christian symbolism and character representation establishes an overall theme of religion which is emphasized by Raskolnikov’s battle between good and evil. In Russia during the 1860s, the period of Romanticism came to an end. Romanticism was overtaken by the wave of Realism. Russian realists emerged and began addressing serious social issues.
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Some of the motives that drive him to commit the murder make the crime even more evil. Dostoyevsky gives several reasons for the crime: on one hand, Raskolnikov would gain money for his mother and sister and rid the world of an evil person; yet the killing was also driven by morbid curiosity, and most dominantly, his superman theory. Any and all of these reasons prove Raskolnikov’s selfishness (Rossow 39). Dostoyevsky shows Raskolnikov’s spiritually corrupt side, including when he leaves the drunk girl with the potential rapist, and also when he asks the devil for help while breaking in to Alyona Ivanovna’s flat (45, 65). Svidrigailov is the character representation of how evil Raskolnikov could become. In almost every discussion between Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov, Svidrigailov claims the two men are similar or connected, “Didn’t I say there was something in common between us?” (275). The two men have numerous parallels in behavior, personality, nightmares, charitable acts, fear of water, and murder (Rossow 42). When Svidrigailov commits suicide, it is a representation of what could happen to Raskolnikov if he were to continue down an evil …show more content…
Modern Critical Views Fyodor Dostoyevsky. New York: Chelsea House Publisher, 1988. Print.
Conyers, Lisa and Philip D. Harvey. “Religion and Crime: Do they go together?” Free Inquiry 16.3 (1996): 46. General OneFile. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
Crone, Anna Lisa. “Russian Literature.” World Book Advanced. World Book, 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment. Trans. Constance Garnett. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 1914. Print.
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. “Letter to N.D. Fonvisin March 1854.” 1854. MS. Internet Archive. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
Gibian, George. “Traditional Symbolism in Crime and Punishment.” Gibian 526-541.
Gibian, George, eds. Crime and Punishment The Coulson Translation Backgrounds and Sources Essays in Criticism. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1989. Print.
Parts, Lyudmila. “Christianity as Active Pity in Crime and Punishment.” The Journal of the International Dostoyevsky Society. Ed. Erik Egeberg. Germany: Dischingerweg, 2009. 61-76. Print.
Rossow, Justin. “The Gospel Pattern of Death and Resurrection in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment.” Concordia Journal. Ed. William W. Schumacher. Missouri: Concordia Seminary, 2007. 38-48.
Some of the motives that drive him to commit the murder make the crime even more evil. Dostoyevsky gives several reasons for the crime: on one hand, Raskolnikov would gain money for his mother and sister and rid the world of an evil person; yet the killing was also driven by morbid curiosity, and most dominantly, his superman theory. Any and all of these reasons prove Raskolnikov’s selfishness (Rossow 39). Dostoyevsky shows Raskolnikov’s spiritually corrupt side, including when he leaves the drunk girl with the potential rapist, and also when he asks the devil for help while breaking in to Alyona Ivanovna’s flat (45, 65). Svidrigailov is the character representation of how evil Raskolnikov could become. In almost every discussion between Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov, Svidrigailov claims the two men are similar or connected, “Didn’t I say there was something in common between us?” (275). The two men have numerous parallels in behavior, personality, nightmares, charitable acts, fear of water, and murder (Rossow 42). When Svidrigailov commits suicide, it is a representation of what could happen to Raskolnikov if he were to continue down an evil …show more content…
Modern Critical Views Fyodor Dostoyevsky. New York: Chelsea House Publisher, 1988. Print.
Conyers, Lisa and Philip D. Harvey. “Religion and Crime: Do they go together?” Free Inquiry 16.3 (1996): 46. General OneFile. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
Crone, Anna Lisa. “Russian Literature.” World Book Advanced. World Book, 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment. Trans. Constance Garnett. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 1914. Print.
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. “Letter to N.D. Fonvisin March 1854.” 1854. MS. Internet Archive. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
Gibian, George. “Traditional Symbolism in Crime and Punishment.” Gibian 526-541.
Gibian, George, eds. Crime and Punishment The Coulson Translation Backgrounds and Sources Essays in Criticism. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1989. Print.
Parts, Lyudmila. “Christianity as Active Pity in Crime and Punishment.” The Journal of the International Dostoyevsky Society. Ed. Erik Egeberg. Germany: Dischingerweg, 2009. 61-76. Print.
Rossow, Justin. “The Gospel Pattern of Death and Resurrection in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment.” Concordia Journal. Ed. William W. Schumacher. Missouri: Concordia Seminary, 2007. 38-48.