| Dostoevsky is an influential writer in the Western literature. Crime and Punishment is one of his masterpieces that was published in 1866. Living in the 19th century, Dostoevsky was widely influenced by the contemporary philosophy of man, particularly the ‘overman’ theory popular among academics and intellectuals at that time. This concept, the ‘Übermensch’, proposes that ‘man is something which ought to be overcome’. In Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky developed a modern detective story which was more to a criminal adventure thriller. The novel focuses on the main character, Raskolnikov, a drop-out student, who lived in a tiny, rented room in Saint Petersburg. Being an un-socialized person, he withdrew himself from the surroundings. The story began to reach its complication when Raskolnikov decided to murder an old-woman money-lender, Alyona, and profit from her wealth. When Raskolnikov killed Alyona, however, he was also forced to kill her half-sister, Lizateva, who happened to enter the scene of the crime. He committed murder with the belief that he possessed enough intellectual and emotional fortitude to deal with the ramifications. After his act, Raskolnikov underwent a psychological struggle between his ego and his sense of guilt. |