The Symbolic Burden of Crime and Redemption in Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment

Name Institutional Affiliations Date Opinion Paper: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky Introduction “Without wisdom, courage bears no fruits.” One may wonder how a sane male would just think of taking other people’s lives to confirm his courage in facing life situations. It does not work like that especially in the context of law because ignorance of law has no defense. Crime and Punishment is a very interesting book that Dostoevsky uses to express how the transition from the medieval traditions to westernization exposed Raskolnikov to limited use of commonsense leading him to a very disturbing life. In my opinion, as much as this era came with defined challenges as many struggled to keep up with its demands, it did not justify the protagonist ignorance of humane ethical considerations while relating with his fellow civilians. On the contrary, Raskolnikov’s urge to eliminate any hindrance along his path to meet the expected standards of the transitions change brought him more evils than good as the law took its course. To this effect, this opinion paper will explain some of symbolisms used by Dostoevsky to express how the protagonist ignored the relevance of wisdom while approaching his psychological challenges and instead employed courage to seek greatness without thinking of the consequences of his actions. The Cross The use of symbols in literature allows the writer/author to use signifiers to allow the target audiences go beyond what is known or seen by creating links between different concepts and experiences. In my opinion, Dostoevsky uses a number of symbols to help the target audience understand the connection between the protagonists’ action and a great rough road to his redemption. The cross is one of the symbols this author use in the novel more than once to help Raskolnikov understand the need to carry his own burden and pay for it to acquire peace of mind and soul. While engaging in murder, the protagonist assumed his superhuman nature and believed that he is above reproach. At that instance, he felt justified to ignore the law if it would benefit great men who in this case included his assumed “super” being. However after murdering Alyona, his first encounter with the cross becomes defined. Raskolnikov finds a purse and notices a string tied around Alyona’s neck. Out of curiosity, he goes ahead to check on what the string held only to find two crosses attached to the string. Unfortunately, such confrontations with the crosses disgusts Raskolnikov who throws them on top of Alyona’s dead body. What does Raskolnikov’s detachment with the cross signifies? Based on my opinion, I believe that Raskolnikov’s act of throwing away the tied crosses expresses his feelings towards redemption. It is a sign of disposal and rejection redemption in that he feels that his killing acts are justified and had no need to seek for redemption. Unfortunately in th