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Crime and Punishment, a la Shmoop: AKA Law and Order: St. Petersburg
In case you haven't noticed, we're obsessed with crime.
We want to know who did it . . . . . . how they did it . . .
. . . and why they did it. Maybe that's why Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment
. . . . . . is still relevant today.
Raskolnikov, a poor, young student in 19th Century Russia . . .
. . . commits a double *** . . . . . . but isn't particularly sorry about it.
Was he right to feel the way that he did? Can killing another human being ever be justified?
Raskolnikov killed Alyona because she was a mean, old cheat . . .
. . . without whom the world would be a better place.
He also thinks that he can use the money he steals from her . . .
. . . to do good things. So, is that it?
Is it justifiable to whack someone . . . . . . as long as they're a despicable excuse
for a human being . . . . . . or if something good could come out
of it? But who really gets to decide who's evil . . .
. . . and what happens when someone innocent like Lizaveta gets in the way?
Maybe it's easier to take the stance that killing can never be justified . . .
. . . that taking a life for any reason is wrong.
Our anti-hero clearly didn't agree . . . . . . though he did end up spending quite
a bit of time in Siberia. So, where do you stand?
Do you agree with Raskolnikov that evil people deserve to die? That good can come from their
demise? Or do you think that killing another human
being can never be justified? In a world full of wars . . .
. . . and quite a few despicable people . . . We've got to admit this is a tough one.
Shmoop amongst yourselves.