Gabriel's journal #3: Crime and Punishment

My last prediction of Raskolnikov’s possible revelation of his plans was wrong. Luckily the thought of justice by killing Alyona (and her sister) was not originally his, but wrong nonetheless. The intent to kill the pawnbroker and then distribute her wealth to the poor had a strong Marxist symbolism. According to Marxism, big business or government, Alyona, would have its power and/or wealth taken away to be spread among the proletariats, the poor. The killing of Alyona then gave Raskolnikov a paranoia that made him terribly sick, similar to Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus. Like Judas, Raskolnikov hallucinated, feeling terribly sick with guilt. Judas however hung himself on a tree. Coincidentally, Raskalnikov witnesses an attempted suicide, but is sickened at the sight.
Overall the book was a fascinating read. I felt entranced at some points of the story, full of suspense as Porfiry and the authorities looked to see him slip up and admit to his crime. I found Dostoevsky’s division of the book very interesting, it not only gave the story a sense of direction in the way the plot unfolded but also separated the mood of the story and the characters, mainly Raskolnikov. The duality of Raskolnikov’s actions throughout the book was something I particularly liked, as each author’s take on good and evil varies. In Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson uses the duality of Dr. Jekyll to represent the forces of good and evil, each fighting for control within one body, one eventually overcome by the other. In Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov believes that by doing good and acting justly, it will balance out his crime and wrongdoing, like the Taoist belief that for every good action there is bad and vice versa, a sort of balance. Anyone who enjoys reading would be foolish not to read this great book.