Essay --

Katie WernerMr. OsterAP Composition & Literature12/13/13Crime & RedemptionFyodor Dostoyevsky sets his classic romantic novel, Crime and Punishment, in nineteenth century Russia, and addresses the many psychological issues faced by lower class Russian citizens of the time, such as morality, insanity, alienation, poverty, and religion. In the novel, Dostoyevsky presents his character, Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov (also referred to as Rodya,) as a non-typical miserable who murders Alyona, an unfair pawnbroker, simply to test his theory that exceptional men are exempt from the law. In doing this, Dostoyevsky creates a complex character, whom, because of his actions and apathetic nature, can easily be perceived as evil or immoral He pulled the axe quite out, swung it with both arms, scarcely conscious of himself, and almost without effort, almost mechanically, brought the blunt nerve down on her head (Dostoyevsky 72). Raskolnikov commits this crime in such a cold, detached fashion, t hat based on this action and the additional murder of the pawnbrokers mentally disabled sister, Lizav...