Introduction: Marxist theory and Crime and Punishment:
Karl Marx may have been the most influential philosophers in Russian society. Marxism is a concept that “class struggle plays a central role in understanding of society’s allegedly inevitable development from bourgeois oppression under capitalism to a socialist and ultimately classless society”. With this theory Karl Max had a great influence on Russian literature; especially on Crime and Punishment. The novel stands to be a perfect example of Communism (a form of Socialism) and a rise of a proletariat (a common man) with reference to Marxism theory. With this idea, Raskolnikov can be seen as a version of proletariat that is a simple, impoverished, poor common man who is severely struggling from paralyzing poverty and most importantly has a craving for
Sukhija 14 fighting for the common good among a society of unjust people. There are many incidents in the novel, where the protagonist Raskolnikov and the other characters are shown suffering from mosquitoes of poverty and as a result helplessly, they have to take drastic measures.
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Though in novel Raskolnikov does not conduct a violent over-thrown of government but by violently killing what he sees as a rot in society. Raskolnikov from starting of novel, after murdering the pawnbroker, till the end, battles with his morality and emotions. Raskolnikov’s purpose behind killing the pawnbroker was not at all bad but he wanted to use stolen money to help his family and friends, who too like him, were poverty