Crime And Punishment By Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky is a novel that forces many readers to reflect on humanity and even their own lives, due to his intelligent perspective of human nature and its reasoning. Throughout the novel, the main character, Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov or Rodya, battles internally after murdering the hateful broker, which leads him to feel unexpected guilt, which supports Dostoyevsky’s reason for writing the novel. Dostoyevsky wrote Crime and Punishment to explain that within the most evil of humanity, it is usually supported by good intentions, which is explained through characters such as Rodya, Sonya’s mother, and Arkady. Regardless of the spiteful action of Rodya, his character is sympathized because of his good intentions

For instance, While Sonya’s mother is portrayed as selfish or cruel, one may sympathize for her character due to her reasoning for her actions. Sonya’s mother forces her into prostitution at any early age, which may seem cruel and inconsiderate. However, the mother’s desperate act was intended to save her family from starvation and death. Also, the death of her drunken husband left her with few options as to how she should support her family. Therefore, regardless of the mother’s actions, the intentions were only out of desperation and care for her family. Another way Dostoyevsky explains good intentions from evil actions is through the character of Arakady Ivanovich Svidrigailov. Arkady, a former molester who was avidly obsessed with Dunya, Rodya’s sister, is a man of unethical behavior. However, his main desire was for a reciprocated love from Dunya, which led him to his wrongdoings. Once Arkady traps Dunya in a room with him to convince her to love him and she refuses, he deems his life as pointless in the absence of her affection, which results in his suicide. This shows his true love for Dunya and a sympathy for his character is found common after the reader discovers the true intentions for his unacceptable actions. In conclusion, actions of Sonya’s mother and Arkady clarify that unethical behavior can be the result of human