Of all the Russian works, the novel Crime and Punishment, thanks to the educational system, is most likely to have suffered the most. Indeed, the greatest story about strength, repentance, and the search for oneself in the end boils down to schoolchildren writing essays on the topics: Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky, Summary, Protagonists.
The book, which is able to change the life of every person, has turned into yet another necessary homework. But how much controversial information is written and told by teachers about the main characters of the novel. It is worth trying to separate the grain from the chaff and make a brief description of the heroes of the story "Crime and Punishment." What will we do now.
Notes from the student house
The protagonist of Crime and Punishment, a student Rodion Raskolnikov, lives in extreme poverty. He regularly wears things with an old woman-interest-holder in order to be able to at least feed herself. Learning is no longer out of the question.
He himself lives in St. Petersburg and receives a letter from his relatives from the provinces. Sister Dunya, dear to his heart, arrives with her mother in the city so that the girl marries the rich businessman Luzhin. This sacrifice of the sister in the name of material wealth finally brings Rodion - he decides to kill and rob. And that old woman becomes his victim. But the student’s innocuous younger sister also gets into the student’s hot hand.
Raskolnikov was absolutely confident in his theory of "higher" and "lower" people, according to which, for the sake of great deeds, he was allowed to cross over ordinary mortals. However, suddenly, remorse begins to torment him, he cannot use the stolen goods, and everything around him spins around him ...
He meets the unfortunate drunkard Marmeladov, who fell under the wagon. His daughter Sonya, in the name of a large family, sacrifices her body every day. Rodion's compassion makes him give all the money that he had with himself to an unhappy family.
And the marriage of Dunya and Luzhin is hindered by Raskolnikov's close friend - Razumikhin. He is madly in love with Rodion’s sister, and he himself is not indifferent. From the first meeting, the main character hated Luzhin, and the party of Razumikhin-Dun was much prettier to him.
All this time, terrible paranoia and mental anguish torment Raskolnikov. He feels all the blame for his crime, but has not yet decided to admit it. Rodion considers this all a "test for greatness."
Greatness Test
However, his meeting with Svidrigailov, the depraved landowner, who had previously served Dunya, finally breaks. It was her love for Petersburg that brought Raskolnikov's new acquaintance. Svidrigailov had long experienced the sin of murder and now sees his "relative" in Rodion. But Raskolnikov reveals the whole essence of the killer - not greatness, but infinite abomination; not power, but pity; not power, but the inability to control oneself. Just thinking that such a person can love his sister, Rodion has a heartache.
The last straw for the criminal student was the tragedy of the Marmeladov family: after the death of his father and breadwinner, the humiliation of his eldest daughter by Luzhin (whom he accuses of stealing money), the expulsion of the family from home and the tragic death of his mother, he completely changed. He hides with Sonya and confesses to his crime. The girl asks him to give up.
Conscience tells Raskolnikov to do the same, and he comes to the station. There he was struck by the last stunning news - Svidrigailov shot himself.
... Hard labor. Already confessed, but not yet repenting, Rodion is not very fond of his classmates. Still faithful to his theory, he simply decides that he lost in these conditions. Sonya, who followed her lover, everyone receives a sweet and warm. The point in the story of the unfortunate killer is the gospel, which he now holds under his pillow, and the awakening endless love for everything.
Teenager
Analysis of the images of the main characters in the novel Crime and Punishment, of course, must begin with a description of Rodion Raskolnikov. And it is precisely in the analysis of his image that the main drawback of school textbooks lies.
We are endlessly told about the deep background of the novel, about the complex psychological portrait of the protagonist, about the writer’s ability to penetrate deeply into the souls of characters, about the conflict of Nietzscheanism and humanism. But they forget to tell us why, in fact, “Crime and Punishment” was written.
The main value for Fedor Mikhailovich was precisely the last chapter, which is the least discussed. After all, Dostoevsky bluntly says - it doesn’t matter how much evil you have committed, as long as there is at least a string of good in your soul, you always have a chance to improve. After all, the first who followed Christ to Paradise was a robber. And what he had to do was just repent.
From here comes the name of the protagonist. For us, the split within the personality should not be important, but the one who ultimately wins in the human soul. And this Dostoevsky stubbornly demonstrates - get better. In the name of himself.
This is precisely the main purpose of the novel. Not to trace the movement of the crime, not to find out the essence of the sinner's internal throwings, but to give them a balm in the form of remorse. After all, it is probably the culmination and meaning of the life of every person.
The sleep of an unfunny person
The fact that the protagonist (Crime and Punishment) actually has infinite good and compassion necessary for a person inside, Dostoevsky demonstrates almost at the beginning of the novel. Even before killing the old woman and finding herself at the very bottom accessible to man, Raskolnikov had a dream about a suffering horse, which had been killed because she did not want to go.
The future killer does not want to interpret this dream and runs away from the thought of him as he can. However, we, readers, already understand that, in fact, remorse for each of our actions lives in the soul of the unfortunate. He feels guilty even for such a trifle as seeing suffering in a dream and doing nothing.
Humiliated and offended
Once again, Dostoevsky proves his genius by creating such a character as Sonya Marmeladova. In it is the whole dualism of being.
A woman working as a prostitute, it would seem, is a model of moral decline. But no! She is above everyone in the novel, a man who sacrifices himself. The Christian faith teaches us that giving everything for others is the highest point of holiness.
In this case, Sonya Marmeladova may well be considered a saint. She gave her whole life to her family, and when she was gone, she found another person - the one who so lacked kindness and honesty. The protagonist (“Crime and Punishment”) finds peace precisely thanks to her. And then Sonya goes to a new round of sacrifice. With a man whom she loves and who so needs her support, she goes to the ends of the world.
A symbol of faith, it suffers millions of hardships and sufferings, deceits and false accusations on its way. However, he continues to carry his cross to the end - silently and with kind eyes.
Double Svidrigailov
The main characters of the novel Crime and Punishment do not end on Raskolnikov and Sonya. There is another important figure - not so much the plot, but psychologically.
Svidrigailov is the future of the person walking the path suggested by Rodion. Indeed, it is from him that it is clear that indulging our passions for power, love, adoration and greatness does not lead to anything good. No matter how egoistic philosophers think about it, all this leads to the collapse and fall of the human spirit, the destruction of the soul.
And Svidrigailov is a vivid example of this. In it, Rodion Raskolnikov can see all the problems of the existence of a killer. Through Svidrigailov, a student can understand that what he calls strength is actually weakness, and vice versa.
Walking over heads, through corpses is not a good idea. As a result, these people end in one of two ways - either they will have to repent, or they will wallow in a vice for life.
Poor people
The strongest tragedy is also happening in the background of the novel.
The main character (“Crime and Punishment”), although it is in focus, but this does not cancel the drama of the characters around him.
Dunya is ready for anything for her older brother. She herself for life had come to see misfortunes. Most likely, this is precisely what makes her character an image of infinite strength and kindred love. She is close to Sonya. However, unlike her, she does not do absolutely sacrificial acts. Dunya goes through life, gritting her teeth, ready to accept all adversities.
Therefore, she is surprised by such a strange love of her brother. After all, he is ready to alienate Dunya from Luzhin, an extremely profitable party, but a bad person, only for the reason that she will be unhappy with him.
For the reader and Dostoevsky, the image of Dunya is very important. Indeed, it is through Raskolnikov’s care for her that we understand that he is still not a missing person, while he takes care of his loved ones.
Moron
But who really left the world of good people forever is Marmeladov. A man who has long spit on everything. Low drunkard, who gave the whole family hostage to a terrible financial situation. It is precisely from these that the theory of “trembling creature” arises from Raskolnikov, it is precisely such people who should be chopped with an ax and hated, it is through them that one should step over for great things!
Or not? As a result, Marmeladov, along with sleep and with Dunya, becomes the third of the main proofs that good is still in Raskolnikov. After all, the unfortunate protagonist (“Crime and Punishment”) does everything to help a drunkard.
The sight of ruined life touches Rodion's soul. He cannot just look at the suffering of another person. He is not able to stay away from grief, and even being in terrible mental throwings, he is obliged to help.
Conclusion
All the characters of Dostoevsky are incredibly lively, with a wide and interesting biography. They are personalities, real people.
The list of heroes of Crime and Punishment is extensive, and each character is sorry in his own way. However, do not forget that they are all created in order to revolve around Rodion Raskolnikov to tell his story.
And the story of Raskolnikov, first of all, tells us about repentance. Not about psychological throwing, not about the choice between "trembling creature" and "right having". And all the characters work on the idea that it’s enough for a person to take one step to change forever ...