The work of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment" has become one of the most important books of Russian classical literature. It carries a very important meaning, since it refers not only to books of fiction, but is deservedly considered a philosophical masterpiece. The Little People in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment play the most important role.
"Little people"
The theme of the “little man” in Crime and Punishment plays an almost leading role. If you look and carefully analyze the heroes of the work, you can see that almost all the characters in the book indicate to the reader the vital traits of a person’s character.
In general, speaking of “little people” in the novel Crime and Punishment, it must be said that Fyodor Mikhailovich identified several criteria that distinguish these heroes from others. In literature, the phrase "little man" refers to those lyrical heroes who are not able to withstand the surrounding problems, are forced to wage a constant struggle for survival with the most powerful people. In addition, as Dostoevsky himself emphasizes in his work Crime and Punishment, “small people,” as a rule, live and stay at the lowest standard of living, spending most of their lives beyond poverty.
In addition, Fedor Mikhailovich himself depicts his heroes not just as beggars and incapable of providing themselves with necessary means, but as offended by life, humiliated by others, and feeling completely insignificant in the outside world.
Hero Rodion Raskolnikov
“Little Man” “Crime and Punishment” Raskolnikov leads the main storyline. It is around him that all events unfold. The image of Raskolnikov as a “little man” in Crime and Punishment is indicated by his low social position, which pushes him to kill the old percent-centric woman. It is his poverty and inability to earn money, to provide for himself and his family that break the main character. In addition, because of his poverty, Raskolnikov is unable to help his sister, who is eventually forced to marry a rich man, greedy and prudent, as it turns out later.
Already completely desperate in his position, Raskolnikov takes the decisive step - he agrees with himself to kill. Despite the fact that initially such an idea came to the hero solely because of poverty, in the end Rodion concludes that he did not do this in order to help his family or himself out of his predicament. Raskolnikov admits that he committed the murder, for which he alone was responsible, exclusively for himself.
Hero Semyon Marmeladov
In "Crime and Punishment" the "little man" Marmeladov also has an important role. A former military man, having lost his job, is depressed. He drinks all the money that this “little man” “Crime and Punishment” receives, which is why he cannot provide for his family. Despite this, Marmeladov perfectly understands his position, but he is no longer in a position to correct it - the struggle against his own drunkenness seems so impossible to him. Because of his alcoholism, the hero dies, and his death is too stupid for a man who was previously respected - he just gets drunk and falls under the wheels of a wagon. Dying, Marmeladov tells his eldest daughter that she is the only support of the family, thereby he discards any responsibility and obligations to his family.
The image of Marmeladov
Marmeladov is a lyrical hero who could not resist his financial difficulties, but found a great way to get away from them: the resulting alcohol addiction allowed the former ladle to be forgotten for a little while. However, he himself was the arbiter of his fate - he himself destroyed his family, having drunk all the family funds; he himself borrowed from a very greedy man, who later did not give rest to his family; he himself lost his essence.
In one of the conversations with Raskolnikov, Marmeladov asks Rodion if he knows the feeling that arises in those circumstances when a person has nowhere to return to. After all, Semyon believed that he had no home, that he had nowhere to go. But the fact was that when he left home, he took all the money, after which the family again was left without a livelihood. The fact that Marmeladov was not welcomed at home was only his own fault.
Sonechka Marmeladova
Among all the "little people" of "Crime and Punishment" Sonechka Marmeladova was distinguished by her selflessness. Sonya, seeing the family in a difficult situation, got a job that is completely unsuitable for a young girl. Sonechka and her image of a "little man" in "Crime and Punishment" also has an important role. Despite her work as a corrupt girl, Sonia still lives by the principles of the heart. Her religious views became for Sonechka a guide to life. Christian norms that guide the heroine become an important reason for the recognition of Raskolnikov in the murder.
The image of Sonya
An unselfish heroine who can accept any person without blaming him for anything, like a ray of light in the whole work. Sonechka’s image is an example of a righteous person, placed in the framework of a forced existence, which forces him to do completely wrong things. However, the position of Sonya is justified - she became a savior for the family. It was thanks to her work that younger brothers and sisters could at least occasionally eat normally, and their mother could work and manage to solve household chores.
Katerina Marmeladova
The problem of the “little man” in “Crime and Punishment” was also reflected in Katerina Marmeladova, the mother of Sonya. A thirty-year-old woman, who became a widow at an early age, marries very unsuccessfully the second time - despite the fact that Semyon was once a decent and revered man, he eventually becomes an intolerable drunkard. Katerina, who is a mother of many children, is trying to fight her husband, trying to explain to him that children suffer from his drunkenness - the whole family lives very poorly, they have a huge amount of debt, and the eldest daughter will never be able to leave due to her work getting married. Katerina constantly talks about this to her husband, showing him that there is no need to break lives and other children, that the eldest daughter sacrificed her future so that the family could still survive. However, all her moralizing has no effect on her husband - he still drinks and comes home only when he needs money again.
The exhausted woman is no longer able to tolerate this behavior of her husband and one day she simply begins to beat Semyon. Rodion Raskolnikov becomes a witness to this scene, which makes a strong impression on him. He leaves the last money on the windowsill to at least help this family. However, Katerina, who was from a decent family, does not accept his money. This immediately characterizes the personality of Marmeladova - despite her position, she is too proud to accept handouts from the outside. "Little Man" Katerina Marmeladova is not able to humiliate herself in front of others.
Razumikhin
The image of Razumikhin personifies the opposite of the images of “little people” in the work “Crime and Punishment”. Despite the fact that he is as poor as all the other characters in the book, he still does not despair and tries to cope with his difficulties. A poor student, in love with the Dunya and caring for the distraught Raskolnikov, he tries to survive in his difficult situation. His love of life and optimism guide his actions and worldview. Despite the fact that he, just like Raskolnikov himself, is at the social “bottom”, he is trying to get out of it in honest and righteous ways. Fyodor Dostoevsky portrayed this hero as a mirror image of Raskolnikov, showing readers that another outcome of such a life situation is possible.
The image of Razumikhin
Razumikhin is the embodiment of faith in the best and the ability to survive even in the most difficult conditions. The hero manages not to go crazy in his poverty, which interferes with his normal life in the same way as the lives of all other heroes. Such an ability to remain faithful to his principles greatly helps Razumikhin not to fall into apathy, into which Raskolnikov fell. But besides these moral qualities, Razumikhin is also not disappointed in people, does not notice their true essence. He completely believes Raskolnikov that he is not a killer. In addition, he is sure that all Rodion’s confessions were delirious, because the news of the death of the old percent-woman had a strong impression on the hero - he was her debtor.
The main thing in the work
Looking at all the statements and quotes of “little people” in Crime and Punishment, we can say that Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was the first writer who paid attention not to a person’s financial situation, but to his spiritual qualities. All the heroes of Dostoevsky’s work are too proud to accept the help of others. They all try to survive, everyone follows his own path. However, they share one common goal - to get out of poverty, start your life anew and live it happily. The roads along which the heroes go lead them to different decisions. She led Raskolnikov to hard labor, Sonechka to humiliation, Katerina to illness, Marmeladova to drunkenness.
General conclusion
Dostoevsky perfectly shows in his work how much people themselves are to blame for the fact that their lives are formed in this way. An excellent example of this is Raskolnikov: he could not go to the murder, but try to find a job that would bring him a decent income over time. So did Marmeladov, who could try to quit drinking and find a good job to provide for his family. Katerina could forget about her pride for a moment, return to her parents' home, and not get married a second time.
All the heroes faced serious consequences because of their pride and attempts to get out of their position dishonestly. This is what the author shows, and this is what became the main theme of the work.