Crime and Punishment Essay

The themes of sacrifices and egoism are usual in his works. He believes that egoism became that reason that destroyed earlier civilizations and made a threat to contemporary societies. Despite the fact that he saw nothing wrong in the wish to self-perfection, he blamed those, who tried to oppose their â€Å"I† to the rest of the world and considered only their own needs and desires. Raskolnikov, the protagonist of Crime and Punishment is severely punished for his extreme egoism and daring to take the decision about human lives. For example in The Brothers Karamazov Zosima worries about moral responsibility for all actions, committed by the person. Ivan doubts his views and states that responsibility is nothing but abstract notion and without God it becomes impossible to talk about any limits to the behavior of an individual. In the poem Ivan declaims to his brother in the cafe he expresses his view on the free will. The Inquisitor blames Jesus for giving people free will, which has become a hard burden and the reason of misery. The feeling of guilt becomes Ivan’s price for an attempt to express his free will. Dostoevsky does not agree or disagree with any opinion discussed but he constructs the plot of the story in such a way that the readers get an opportunity to get the proofs of ideas, expressed by Zosima. (Dostoevsky) The characters of Dostoesky are haunted by their past. In many his stories people cross the limit and take excessive responsibility to make the decision for other people and get severe punishment for it. In contrast to Borges, whose characters exist in present, and to Tolstoy, who regarded human history as a reason for all the events, which happen to us, Dostoevsky made the past the reason of suffering and misery. His characters are haunted by the ghosts from the past and can not find their place in present. For Dostoevsky the conflicts between free will and determination, and between egoism and responsibility become driving force and a source for creativity. All three authors use literature not only as means to bring their messages for the readers, but also as a way to resolve their inner conflicts. Art is always a personal experience for both – creator and those, who perceive it, and Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Borges make their art serve one ultimate purpose – a quest for the meaning of life. Sources Dostoevsky, Feodor (1992). Crime and Punishment. Pevear, R. and Volokhonsky, L. transl. New York: Alfred Knopf. Dostoevsky, Feodor (1992). The Brothers Karamazov. , Pevear, R. and Volokhonsky, L. transl. New York: Alfred Knopf. Dostoevsky, Fyodor translation by Pevear, Richard and Volokhonsky, Larissa (1990). The Brothers Karamazov. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Tolstoy, Leo (1969). War and Peace , transl. Rosemary Edmonds, Penguin. Borges, Jorge Luis (1998). Collected Fictions(translated by Andrew Hurley), Viking Penguin