Why You Should Read Crime and Punishment: A Journey Through Human Emotions and Moral Dilemmas

"But perhaps there is no God at all" Raskolnikov answered with a sort of malignance, laughed and looked at her. Despite being agnostic myself, chills ran down my spine and my chest physically hurt with fear and uncertainty when I read these lines.

Exploring the Context of Suffering and Belief

Now, not believing in God is not rare at all, but it's about the context in which it is said. Imagine being a poor lady who barely manages to keep her family alive, working day and night. It seems to only get worse, all because she believes the Superior Being will make things better. All this suffering for a reason, ultimately a just world. What if someone abruptly breaks this entire reason for pushing through life? That isn't just a thought; it's the magic of Dostoyevsky. Wrapped in immersive writing, he makes you
go through the depths of human emotion, question your sense of reality, and see 'obvious' things differently.

An Analysis of Crime and Punishment

Crime and Punishment is a wonderful book. It's interesting and captivating. The characters seem alive, and one can learn a lot from the story. It's rightly one of the best books ever written.

The Quest for Meaning in Literature

As I write this on a Friday night, carefully choosing the words to articulate my thoughts about this work of genius, my friend is sitting in the adjacent room playing PUBG. Unaware and indifferent to the existence of this novel and, more generally, of Dostoevsky, I wonder if he is missing something profound. What if he goes through life without knowing about the genius of Dostoevsky? But I am reminded of my pretentiousness thanks to Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

Taleb coined the heuristic Wittgenstein's ruler, suggesting that if you use a ruler to measure a table, you should also be able to use the table to measure the ruler. The Nobel Prize for economics awarded to someone could mean either the receiver knows a lot about economics or the judges know very little. I am aware of how little I know about human psychology, but reading Crime and Punishment over the last two months has given me a lot to mull over.

A Personal Experience with Raskolnikov's Moral Struggle

The protagonist of the novel is a former student named Rodion Raskolnikov, who is quite miserable because of his poverty-stricken life. He relies on his mother and sister sending him money but is already in a dire situation himself. He barely has anything to eat and goes on pawning his belongings to a wretched old woman, a person who exploits others through crooked pawn schemes. This woman hoards money and lives a poor life while treating her mentally feeble niece like a slave. She is hated by everyone.

Although the letter from his mother suggests that all their misery is coming to an end, Raskolnikov realizes that the guy his sister is about to marry is probably a leech and that she is essentially prostituting herself to save the family. Driven by this, Raskolnikov contemplates killing the old woman, thinking it would solve all his financial problems and allow him to continue his law education to do something good for humanity.

Raskolnikov rationalizes his thoughts and concludes that he would be doing a net positive to society by killing the unscrupulous old woman. He then kills her in cold blood, using an axe to hammer her skull. At this point in the book, I presumed the rest of the book would be an exploration of the moral dilemma: "Is it always unjustified to kill someone even when the act of killing has a net positive effect overall?" However, it was much more than that; it was an exploration of the psychological turmoil Raskolnikov goes through after the crime.

Exploring the Psychological Struggle and Complex Characters

Even though he gets away with the murder, he starts to lose his mind. The question Raskolnikov poses is, 'What happens when you violate an inviolable moral code?' More importantly, 'Is your internal conscience strong enough to cause extreme psychological turmoil even when you have all the necessary intellectual faculties to rationalize an act of crime?'

This is the major theme Dostoyevsky explores in this 19th-century Russian classic. Raskolnikov had rational reasons to commit the crime; his unfortunate personal situation, the cruelty and evil of the old woman, and the intention to do something valuable for society. But he couldn't withstand the effect of violating an inviolable moral code. It is truly fascinating to see the ensuing psychological struggle that Raskolnikov goes through.

But it's not just the psychological exploration that keeps you hooked. Dostoevsky is known for creating complex and original characters without relying on caricatures. Unlike other works where characters are clearly distinguished as good or evil, Crime and Punishment challenges this notion. You will be surprised to see acts of benevolence even by the seemingly evil characters. This is the superpower of Dostoevsky; he creates these complex and original characters because he doesn't need caricatures and exaggerated figures to put across his points.

Crime and Punishment is often cited as one of the supreme achievements of literature. I have not read enough in my life to appraise that statement fully, but it has certainly been one of the best works of fiction I have ever read.

In conclusion, it is a must-read for anyone seeking to delve into the depths of human emotion, moral dilemmas, and psychological turmoil. Reading Crime and Punishment will take you on a fantastic ride through the workings and failings of the human mind, making you question your sense of reality and see 'obvious' things differently.