Crime and Punishment

Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment is the story of a poor man in czarist Russia who can only purge himself of his guilt through suffering. It deals with the mental and physical tribulation brought upon him by his crime. His troubles are compounded by the conflicting personalities which he possesses. The reader is inclined to characterize him by his cold, intellectual side. Yet, without the contrasting humane side of his nature, Raskolnikov never realizes the errors …

…cold side, and it occurs after every kind thing that Raskolnikov does. These shifts between two distinct personalities give Raskolnikov two separate points of view. The novel is founded on the distinctions between the two points of view, and the reader gets both angles. Both Raskolnikov's generous, and evil actions are essential to his character because they allow the reader to identify with these two points of view and the two facets of his personality.