Essays on Crime and Punishment

In absurdist fiction, authors and writers focus on characters who investigate the meaning of human existence in order to call into question existential notions. Some writers may utilize character’s confrontation with absurdism to either reject or honor existentialism, whereas others may use it to prove...

Fyodor Dosteoevsky’s Crime and Punishment is a renowned 19th-century novel that has captivated audiences for generations. Part of the appeal for this classic text comes from the densely interwoven and constantly evolving thematic motifs and symbols. Arguably one of the most crucial episodes in the...

One of the most notorious hate crimes in American history titles the prominent lynching of a young 14 year old boy in the Mississippi Delta of 1955. Emmett Till reportedly flirted with a white woman while purchasing candy at a grocery store. Soon after he...

By the early 20th century many of the old industries on which Britain’s industrial supremacy had been based were in decline. In the 1930s depression, they were hit hard: national unemployment in 1933 was 22%, but in parts of northern England, Scotland and Wales it...

The character of Raskolnikov is an interesting one in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. A failed visualization of the Ubermensch initially, there is leagues more depth to the character, not only in a psychological way but in the context of his own creation and purpose...

Crime in itself is a variable and a dynamic subject. Thus, there are different types of crimes. Some crimes may be similar and other differ greatly. We see crimes committed by a single person or a group, crimes on nation and international stage. Thus, we...

Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment lets the reader into the mind of a murderer as he commits his crime and copes with the consequences. The novel grapples with many philosophical questions and challenges accepted ideas of right versus wrong. Many scholars agree that Dostoevsky incorporated...

Dreams are considered a link to one’s unconscious, able to offer explanations that “… the dreamer could not invent for himself in his waking state,” (46). Sigmund Freud made revolutionary strides with the psychological implications of dreams in the late nineteenth century. But before Freud,...

Emmett Till was a 14 year old boy who got killed for whistling at a white woman. On August 28, 1955 Emmett was taken from his great- uncle’s house by two white men, Roy Bryant and JW Milam. Emmett Till lived in Chicago, but traveled...

Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment can be read as an ideological novel because those typically represent the social, economic, and political concerns of a culture. Dostoyevsky gives an interesting twist to this genre by examining society through the eyes of a criminal and, instead of delving...

In Feodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, the protagonist, Raskolnikov, murders an old woman and her sister because he believes himself to be an extraordinary man. Throughout the rest of the story, Raskolnikov deals with the repercussions of his actions, and he discovers the truths and...

In Chapter V of Part IV of Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky uses the physical and emotional fluctuation of the characters to highlight the mounting turmoil within Raskolnikov and accentuate the semantic threshold at which he finds himself. To see this clearly one must understand that,...

Tragedies are often emotionally draining, whether they are classic or contemporary. The word itself implies heartbreak; a soldier lost at war or a ship wrecked at sea would be described as tragic. Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand is entertaining story. It differs from the...

“I like them to talk nonsense. That’s man’s one privilege over all creation. Through error you come to the truth! I am a man because I err!” (160) Dmitri Prokofitch Razumihin The psychological realism apparent in the works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky does not exclusively apply...

In the 1980’s, DNA analysis were found and had became a great advance crime-solving tool for investigators. DNA analysis were created to be used in crime cases and it can help clear suspects and identify criminals. Also, television shows like “CSI” had helped increase the...

The primary conflict in Crime and Punishment is the internal development of Raskolnikov’s character. In Raskolnikov’s mind are two contrasting personalities, each demanding control over him. One side, brought out by poverty and egoism, is the murderer who kills the pawnbroker. The other side, inspired...

Following his confession to Sonya, Crime and Punishment’s Raskolnikov attempts to explain the reasoning behind his murder. This segment of the novel illuminates the fundamental irrationality of Raskolnikov’s ostensibly logical reasoning. It also portrays Raskolnikov’s fragmented thought, his lack of self-awareness and understanding, and Sonya’s...

By the early 20th century many of the old industries on which Britain’s industrial supremacy had been based were in decline. In the 1930s depression, they were hit hard: national unemployment in 1933 was 22%, but in parts of northern England, Scotland and Wales it...

The novel Crime and Punishment is a lengthy debate on the topic of what constitutes crime and how it should be punished. Dostoevsky presents many differing opinions on the topic through the various characters. There is one central crime in the novel, the murder of...