It isn’t too uncommon to associate Russia with alcohol, and it is true that alcoholism was a large scale social issue in the time when Fyodor Dostoevsky's, Crime and Punishment was written. This novel has bounced around the concepts of poverty, suffering, murder, and surprisingly, faith in 19th century St. Petersburg, Russia. Many characters in this novel have faced the same hamartia that caused their downfall, the use of alcohol. Although there may be one character who is a true alcoholic, it’s a recurring remembrance of the broken and poverty struck citizens in the area. It’s a known fact that bad habits with drinking are dealt with problematic consequences and initially, that’s all I thought it had to do with the overall message of the novel. That alcohol was simply bad for people. Alcohol can serve as a symbol in a negative connotation for the …show more content…
Alcohol takes up Marmeladov’s mind every single day, it’s what cost him his job and virtually the lifestyle of his family. He is a prideful alcoholic who spends all his family’s money on alcohol. “And here I, her own father, here I took thirty kopeks of that money for a drink!” () Sonia is selling her body in order to gain money for her family, yet Marmeladov stubbornly justifies his actions as an alcoholic. Although the motif of poverty is reinforced throughout the entire novel, the status quo for Marmeladov’s family shows it stronger than anyone else. Marmeladov was hit by a carriage while drunk and died. With this, readers can finally see that alcohol was literally his hamartia and the cause of his downfall. Alcohol was able to symbolize the troubles of Marmeladov as being part of the Russian lower class, leading to his own destruction. Without alcoholism being a prominent lifestyle to Marmeladov, his family wouldn’t be as drowned in poverty and Rodia and Sonia may not have