hod that was popularizing the West and challenging dogmatic practices. He preferred a Russian spiritual approach that did not quantify and "dehumanize" (Smith). Through the characters of his book, the author makes his persuasions known. When Raskolnikov first encounters a drunken Marmeladov, the civil service officer rambles to quote Lebezyatnikov's contemporary ideas: "...the science of our day has actually declared compassion a social evil, and that this notion is already being put into practice in England, where they have no political economy" (Dostoyevsky 45). Raskolnikov also criticizes Western preference for statistics when he speaks of the prostitution trend:
             They say that each year a certain percentage has to go off down that road...in order to give others fresh hope and not get in their way. A percentage! Nice little words they use, to be sure: They're so reassuring, so scientific. Just say: 'percentage' and all your problems are over...(Dostoyevsky 85).
             Crime and Punishment's central character, Raskolnikov, is a West
             ...