The novel Crime and Punishment is a long debate about what constitutes a crime and how it should be punished. Dostoyevsky presents many divergent opinions on the subject through the different characters. There is one central crime in the novel, the murder of Alyona and Lizaveta Ivanovna by Rodion Raskolnikov, but many other crimes are described along the way to move the discussion forward. The main issues raised repeatedly throughout the novel concern scale. Is there a justified crime? Are some crimes worse than others and where is the line? Raskolnikov presents a very clear point of view on these issues and continues to defend this position in the face of many other points of view presented by the other characters. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The debate initially focuses on the crime of murder, because it is the first crime we witness. Raskolnikov believes that some murders are in fact justified and develops this point throughout the novel. He considers the murder he commits to be completely justified, because Alyona Ivanovna was a pawnbroker who took advantage of the poor and caused a lot of suffering in the lives of many people. He believes that it is simply killing one when it benefits many. He repeatedly calls her a “louse” in order to justify her death. As the novel progresses, he also begins to attempt to justify it with statements such as: "It wasn't a human being I killed, it was a principle!" » (Dostoyevsky, 274). Raskolnikov's argument is known to the other characters through an article he wrote while still a student. This article divides the population into two groups, those who are somewhat above the rules and allowed to commit justified crimes, and those who are ordinary, expected to live like sheep and just blindly follow the laws. In a key scene in the novel, Porfiry Petrovich and Razumikhin debate whether criminal behavior originates in nature or nurture, leading Porfiry to bring up the article to also provoke debate with Raskolnikov. Raskolnikov explains that “the ‘extraordinary’ man has… his own right to… overcome certain obstacles… in the case where the realization of his idea – sometimes perhaps salutary for all humanity – requires it” (Dostoyevsky, 259 ). . He then emphasizes that extraordinary people do not have the right to kill as they please; they can only murder when necessary to achieve their goal. This debate also highlights two other perspectives on crime, as demonstrated by Razumikhin and Porfiry. Razumikhin vehemently denounces the idea that all crime results solely from environmental factors and is not at all attributed to the nature of the criminal, while Porfiry argues that the environment is essential in the creation of criminals. The question of the magnitude of a crime seems to rest on a few factors. Raskolnikov mentions that "extraordinary" people can kill when the killings benefit the rest of humanity. However, from what we see of the other crimes committed, it becomes clear that the worst offense in his eyes is exploitation. The people presented as the most vile are those who exploit others for their own gain. The reason Raskolnikov feels justified in killing Alyona is because she exploits the poor and takes advantage of those in bad situations. Later in the novel, Raskolnikov also meets Luzhin and Svidrigailov, both of whom have a completelyinsensitive towards crime. Svidrigailov allegedly caused the deaths of several other people and attempted to exploit Raskolnikov in order to gain access to Dunya. Luzhin attempts to exploit Sonya in order to get revenge on Raskolnikov for helping break up his relationship with Dunya. Raskolnikov has a low opinion of these two men and the way they exploit innocent people. The book seems to be the "ordinary" people that Raskolnikov describes in his theory of crime. They respect the law and consider it unacceptable to break the law for any reason. Many of these characters are also very religious and therefore strongly believe in repentance and suffering for their sins. These characters include Sonya Marmeladova, Pulcheria Alexandrovna and Mikolka. All of them strongly believe that those who commit crimes should admit to them and be sent to prison so that they can suffer for their sins. A final perspective on the crime is presented by Arkady Svidrigailov and Pyotr Luzhin, who seem callous towards their sins. committing crimes without having any noble ideals behind them. Both are portrayed as more immoral than Raskolnikov and their crimes are worse than his. Svidrigailov takes advantage of young women and tries to impose himself on Dunya and Petrovich tries to slander Sonya in order to take revenge on Dunya for rejecting him. Both of these crimes serve only selfish purposes and have no greater value for humanity, which is why Raskolnikov considers them to be unjustified crimes and therefore actually immoral. In addition to the many visions of crime that we discover during the course of the novel, there are several visions. of punishment. Religious, “ordinary” people are those who are most outwardly concerned about punishment. When Raskolnikov first confesses his crime to Sonya, his first instinct is to tell her to announce it to the world and accept his suffering so that he can repent. They focus on the sinful aspect of the crime rather than the legal aspect. People must be punished for their sins in order to go to heaven and this punishment involves suffering. This view even leads Mikolka to falsely confess to killing the Ivanovnas, so that he can obtain suffering to repair his own life. The characters who committed crimes in the novel all show a tendency to punish themselves even though they escaped the crime. Raskolnikov spends the entire novel alternately terrified of being caught and wanting to surrender. During this time, he becomes deliriously ill due to the combination of guilt and fear, which is the first part of his punishment. He has the rather Lady Macbethian predicament of seeing blood everywhere and feeling like he is frequently covered in blood. He chooses to absolve himself of this guilt by helping others, which causes his illness to disappear and the blood sightings to end. In this way, he repents of the crime without surrendering and no longer feels any remorse for what he has done. Meanwhile, Svidrigailov has also committed several crimes and shows no signs of self-flagellation. In fact, he even brags about his offenses to Raskolnikov and seems to have no desire to change until meeting Dunya. After this meeting, he too gives all his money to those he has hurt and then publicly commits suicide. This public suicide is yet another example of atonement; it is a public admission of his guilt and an expression of his wish to no longer hurt others. Porfiry Petrovich exploits the self-flagellation view of punishment. As a detective, he is fascinated by the psychology of various people and uses psychology to attract criminals. He discovers early on that Raskolnikov is the one who actually committed the murder, but has no proof.