López 1

Alexis Omar López

Dr. A. Lynn Sukalo
AP Literature and Composition, Period 1
11 September 2009
Timed Write 2A: Crime and Punishment

Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment is a psychological novel that vividly

exhibits the machination of an assassin’s conscience as he intends to live with himself after
committing a heinous crime. However, the protagonist, Raskolnikov later realizes that the only
way to rid himself of self-consuming culpability of dissembling is through punishment;
therefore, the events that occur throughout the novel and the actions of the main character lead
the reader to understand that the theme of this work is clearly redemption by the means of
castigation.
The setting of the city of St. Petersburg itself evokes the most piercing form of
sentimentality that an author can impose on a reader. The conurbation as a whole reflects the
spiritual decadence of the Russian citizens who reside in it. Dostoyevsky constructively uses the
“special…stench” of the streets, olfactory imagery, and the varmints that plague it to reflect the
soul of the city. This allows one to infer that its society, whose dependence on organic solidarity
is failing, is dissolute due to the corruption of the common citizen. As Raskolnikov meanders
through the city, he undoubtedly attributes the “revolting misery” of the moral and social decay
to the “crushing poverty” and overflow of “drunken men,” (visual imagery,) rendering the city
ineffectual and abject.
From the instance in which the story begins to unfold, it is noticeable that the city’s
socioeconomic status is not well. Dostoyevsky foreshadows the inner motives of Raskolnikov
through the use of the vivid imagery that help to characterize the city providing additional
support when writing of Raskolnikov’s “accumulated bitterness” in his “young…heart.” This
animosity that overwhelms the protagonist from his insides to his extremities represent his desire
to cleanse the society in any way possible and in his case by eliminating the “spiteful old”
pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna, and thus Dostoyevsky juxtaposes the idea of societal cleansing
through the elimination of unacceptable people, and through this creates tension, conflict and
contrast in the work. On his way to her apartment he speaks to himself and in a subtle way lays
out the pros and cons of him committing the homicide. However, the author peculiarly contrasts
his thoughts to the soon after mentioned spiritual “forgiveness” advocated by the drunkard in the
bar, Marmeladov. He advocates the Christian idea of how even though men are “swine” and
“children of shame” one can always seek and receive salvation by repenting of one’s sins and
acknowledging the “Lord.” For even the mere acceptance of the idea that Christ is one’s
exclusive and only savior leads to salvation; given that He will “judge and forgive all.” This
could, in fact, lead the spiritual and societal salvation of St. Petersburg.
Although this is not the entire case for Raskolnikov, he is able to achieve deliverance
through punishment. Clearly, his deeds can be considered Machiavellian, where the “end
justifies the means,” (Niccolo Machiavelli). The means is the planned homicide and the end is
societal cleansing; understanding that the supplanting of the “old” and “useless” and replacing it
with valuable and productive members of society will be a ‘justifiable’ reason to perpetrate the
act. In the end, Raskolnikov confesses to his actions and decides to pay the consequences. By
doing this he is able to achieve peace of mind and after he serves his sentence he could restart his
life.
The overall message that Dostoyevsky’s conveys is the idea that redemption is always is
an alternative, and that through it there may be forgiveness and self-acceptance. The author’s
voice can effortlessly be heard and identified since he lived, in part, Crime and Punishment,
making the novel much more personal.