Resumo de Crime And Punishment

A brief synopsis of Dostoyevski?s Crime and Punishment. This novel, written originally in Russian and published in 1867, is a psychological novel that explores the effects of isolation and guilt on sanity and conscience and the necessity of sacrifice and redemption. The story centers around Raskolnikov, a young student who has, over the course of several months, drawn further and further into isolation. In this isolation, he begins to process, somewhat obsessively, the concept of the uberman (superman); this is the idea that some men, because of their superior intellects and because of the great contributions they can make to the world, are exempt from certain moral laws. Isaac Newton, for example, would have been justified in killing had it been necessary to further his work. As Raskolnikov mulls over this idea, he begins, more and more, to place himself in this category of ?the extraordinary man?. To prove this status to himself, he decides to murder a pawn-broker. The justification for this act being that the woman, Alyona Ivanova, is human vermin and that killing her would be a service to mankind. In a state of semi-insanity far removed from the calm, logical state in which he feels the uberman should carry out such actions, Raskolnikov succeeds in murdering the pawn-broker with an axe. He also, however, kills the woman?s sister, a simple and kind woman named Lizaveta. Raskolnikov steals some things from the apartment, including Lizaveta?s cross necklace and makes his escape.Throughout the remainder of the novel, Raskolnikov descends into a paranoid state of fear and self-justification which demonstrates clearly that he does not possess the clean conscience and moral superiority of his uberman. In the process of his self-inflicted punishment he confesses his crime to Sonya, a prostitute who functions as a symbol of grace and sacrifice, who urges him to ?take up his cross? and face the consequences of his crime. This, he eventually does, serving his time in Siberia with Sonya at his side. Before his formal confession, however, Raskolnikov hints at his guilt and lays out his philosophical justification to Petrovich, the man investigating the murders of the two women. In a fashion resembling that of TV detective, Columbo, Petrovich plays upon Raskolnikov?s psychological idiosyncracies to trap him into a confession.Other important characters include Raskolnikov?s sister, Dunya, and his mother. Dunya gives the reader a picture of what Raskolnikov might be like had he not severed his connections with people: she is strong and proud but also intensely moral. She demonstrates this by her willingness to sacrifice herself (in marriage) for her family and her strong resistance of Svidrigailov, a former employer who attempted to seduce her and who acts as the overt villain of the story.The main foil to Raskolnikov?s character is Razumikin, a likable and vivacious student who is sociable and moral where Raskolnikov is morose and selfish. The main themes of the novel include social isolation and its effect on morality, the triumph of conscience over logic, and the importance of faith, self-sacrifice, and redemption.

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