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This 3 page paper discusses the cross as a symbol of love and redemption in Crime and Punishment. Bibliography lists 1 source.
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3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KV32_HV678415.rtf
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is used in the novel. Discussion Crime and Punishment is unusual in that the murder occurs early in the book and there is no mystery at all about who the
murderer is. The fascination for the reader comes in Dostoevskys examination of Raskolnikovs motives for the crime, which seem muddled and tinged with a great deal of self-delusion, in which
the man feels superior to others and thus entitled to kill. In addition, Raskolnikov exhibits a callousness toward others than makes taking a human life something of an interesting experiment
for him, rather than a crime. Its almost as if he doesnt understand why anyone would object to what hes done. Its clear, in other words, that this character doesnt
operate in the same reality as most people. While not precisely insane perhaps, his thinking is disordered enough that finding him guilty would be a miscarriage of justice. It can
be argued that his eternal self-examination and his wretched mental state are almost punishment enough. Indeed, its obvious that Dostoevsky was thinking the same thing when he titled the book,
inviting readers to consider just what sort of punishment fits the crime Raskolnikov committed. At any rate, the characters in the novel are fully developed, three dimensional people and they
cannot be easily labeled, which is the point. Raskolnikov killed a repulsive old pawn broker who cheated the people who were forced by their poverty to deal with her; but
he also killed a young woman simply because she was there-in the wrong place at the wrong time. The double murder weighs profoundly on Raskolnikov; he is always nervous and
upset, watching for the police and expecting to be arrested at any moment. The dreadful uncertainty is a cross of a sort, and he bears it throughout the entire novel.
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