"Crime and Punishment": the main character. "Crime and Punishment": the characters of the novel

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Of all Russian works, the novel "Crime and Punishment", thanks to the education system, is likely to have suffered the most. And indeed - the greatest story about strength, remorse and finding oneself ultimately comes down to writing essays by schoolchildren on the topics: "Crime and Punishment", "Dostoevsky", "Summary", "Main Characters".

A book that can change the life of every person has turned into 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 wheat from the chaff and make a brief description of the heroes of the story "Crime and Punishment". What are we going to do now.

Notes from the student house

The main character of Crime andpunishment”, student Rodion Raskolnikov, lives in extreme poverty. He regularly wears things to the old pawnbroker, in order to be able to at least feed himself. Studying is out of the question.

He himself lives in St. Petersburg and receives a letter from his relatives from the provinces. His dear sister Dunya comes with her mother to the city so that the girl will marry the rich businessman Luzhin. This sacrifice of the sister in the name of material we alth finally brings Rodion - he decides to kill and rob. And the same old woman becomes his victim. But the harmless younger sister of the pawnbroker also falls under the hot hand of the student.

Raskolnikov was absolutely confident in his theory of "higher" and "lower" people, according to which, for the sake of great deeds, he is allowed to step over ordinary mortals. However, suddenly repentance begins to torment him, he cannot use the stolen, and everything around him revolves around him…

He meets the unfortunate drunkard Marmeladov, who was hit by a wagon. His daughter Sonya sacrifices her body every day for the sake of a large family. Rodion's compassion makes him give all the money he had with him to an unfortunate 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 she is not indifferent to her. The main character, from the first meeting, hated Luzhin, and the game Razumikhin-Dunya is much more attractive to him.

All this time, terrible paranoia and mental anguish torment Raskolnikov. He feels all the guilt for his crime, but does not dare to admit it yet. Rodion thinks it's all"a test of greatness."

Test for greatness

However, his meeting with Svidrigailov, a depraved landowner, who used to serve Dunya, finally breaks him. It was for her love that a new acquaintance of Raskolnikov arrived in St. Petersburg. Svidrigailov has long experienced the sin of murder and now sees his "relative" in Rodion. But the whole essence of the murderer is revealed to Raskolnikov - not greatness, but endless abomination; not strength, but pity; not power, but the inability to control oneself. The mere thought that such a person could love his sister makes Rodion's heart hurt.

The last straw for the criminal student was the tragedy of the Marmeladov family: after the death of his father and breadwinner, Luzhin's humiliation of his eldest daughter (whom he accuses of stealing money), the expulsion of the family from home and the tragic death of his mother, he completely changes. He hides with Sonya and confesses his crime. The girl asks him to surrender.

Conscience tells Raskolnikov to do the same, and he comes to the station. There, the last stunning news befell him - Svidrigailov shot himself.

… Hard labor. Rodion, who has already confessed, but has not yet repented, is not very loved by his fellow campers. Still true to his theory, he simply decides he lost under the circumstances. Sonya, who followed her beloved, is warmly received by everyone. The point in the history of the unfortunate killer is the gospel, which he now keeps under his pillow, and the awakening of an 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 the characters, about the conflict between Nietzscheanism and humanism. But they forget to tell why, in fact, Crime and Punishment was written at all.

The main value for Fyodor Mikhailovich was precisely the last chapter, which is rarely discussed. After all, Dostoevsky directly says - no 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.

Hence the name of the protagonist. What should be important for us is not the split within the personality, but who ultimately wins in the human soul. And with this Dostoevsky stubbornly demonstrates - correct yourself. For my own sake.

This is the main purpose of the novel. Not to trace the movements of the crime, not to find out the essence of the sinner's inner turmoil, but to give them a balm in the form of repentance. After all, it is probably the culmination and meaning of the life of every person.

The dream of an unfunny person

Whatthe main character ("Crime and Punishment") actually has infinite goodness inside and the compassion necessary for a person, Dostoevsky demonstrates almost at the beginning of the novel. Even before he kills the old woman and finds himself at the very bottom accessible to man, Raskolnikov has a dream about a suffering horse that was slaughtered for not wanting to go.

The future killer does not want to interpret this dream and runs from the thought of him as best he can. However, we, the readers, already understand that, in fact, remorse lives in the soul of the unfortunate for each of his actions. He feels guilty for even such a small thing as seeing suffering in a dream and doing nothing.

Humiliated and insulted

Once again Dostoevsky proves his genius by creating such a character as Sonya Marmeladova. It contains all the duality of being.

A woman working as a prostitute, it would seem, is an example of a moral decline. But no! She is above everyone and everyone in the novel, a self-sacrificing person. The Christian faith teaches us that giving our all 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 very one who so lacked kindness and honesty. The protagonist ("Crime and Punishment") finds peace thanks to her. And then Sonya goes on a new round of sacrifice. With the man she loves and who needs her support so much, she travels to the ends of the world.

A symbol of faith, she endures millions of hardships and sufferings, deceptions and false accusations on her way. However, he continues to carry his cross to the end - silently and with kind eyes.

Svidrigailov's double

The main characters of the novel "Crime and Punishment" do not end with Raskolnikov and Sonya. There is another important figure - not so much plotly, but psychologically.

Svidrigailov is the future of a person following the path proposed by Rodion. After all, it is precisely from him that it is clear that indulging your passions for power, love, adoration and greatness does not lead to anything good. No matter how selfish 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, the student can understand that what he calls strength is actually weakness, and vice versa.

Going over heads, over corpses is not a good idea. As a result, these people end up in one of two ways - either they will have to repent, or wallow in vice for life.

Poor people

The strongest tragedy is also happening in the background of the novel.

The main character (Crime and Punishment) is in focus, but it doesn't change the drama of the characters around him.

Dunya is ready to do anything for her older brother. She herself had seen misfortunes in her life. Most likely, this is precisely what makes her character an image of infinite power and kindredlove. She is close to Sonya. However, unlike her, he does not do absolutely sacrificial deeds. Dunya goes through life, gritting her teeth, ready to accept all adversity.

That's why she is surprised by such a strange brother's love. After all, he is ready to alienate Dunya from Luzhin, an extremely profitable party, but a bad person, just for the reason that she will be unhappy with him.

For the reader and Dostoevsky, the image of Dunya is very important. After all, it is through Raskolnikov's concern for her that we understand that he is still not a lost person, as long as he takes care of his loved ones.

Idiot

But who really left the world of good people forever is Marmeladov. A person who hasn't given a damn for a long time. A low drunkard who gave his whole family hostage to a terrible financial situation. It is from such that Raskolnikov develops the theory of the “trembling creature”, it is precisely such that one should chop with an ax and hate, it is through them that one should step over for the sake of great deeds!

Or not? As a result, Marmeladov, along with sleep and Dunya, becomes the third of the main evidence that there is still good in Raskolnikov. After all, the unfortunate protagonist ("Crime and Punishment") does everything to help the drunkard.

The sight of a ruined life touches Rodion's soul. He cannot simply look at the suffering of another person. He is not able to stay away from grief, and even being in terrible mental turmoil, he is obliged to help.

Conclusion

All Dostoevsky's characters are incredibly alive,with a wide and interesting biography. They are individuals, real people.

The list of characters in "Crime and Punishment" is extensive, and each character is pitiful in its own way. However, do not forget that they are all designed 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 "having the right." And all the characters work on the idea that it is enough for a person to take one step to change forever…