-Raskolnikov's Pilgrimage Towards Salvation-
             "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" John 11:25-36
             In the epic novel of poverty, sin and redemption, one of the most apparent themes is that of religious belief. In Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky includes religious themes to add depth to the main character, the plot and to express his own ideas about God and the human soul. The reader is led through the mind of the crazed Raskolnikov, an emotionally tortured young man whose theories about human behaviour make him think he is above the law. Scenes in the novel often include him restless, dreaming of the better life. These thoughts at first make the reader sympathetic towards Raskolnikov until he goes and murders the pawnbroker. The novel continues to follow Raskolnikov's ideas and desires until the denouement. The epilogue shows the immense pain and solemn heartbreak Raskolnikov feels until he discovers true redemption and love. We see Raskolnikov's character develop throughout the novel and his fight for and against a human conscience make Crime and Punishment a great novel. Dostoyevsky has clear goals in the novel and its main characters draw us into their suffering.
             Dostoyevsky was a religious man. He wrote all of his novels while he lived in St. Petersburg. He liked to live in a corner apartment with two streets passing it. The apartment always had one road going in the direction of a church representing the way of God, and the other representing the way of the world, thus suggesting the struggle between good and evil.
             When we read Dostoevsky's novels, it's easy to see how his own experiences influenced his choice of theme and character. This is especially true of Crime and Punishment. At the end of Part Two of the novel, for exa...