Prostitution

Prostitution is one of the most important symbols in Crime and Punishment. Dostoevsky talks about prostitution a lot. The two prostitutes in the novel are Sonya and Dunya, even though Dunya not as much as Sonya. Why does Dostoevsky talk about prostitution? Why is it important? Back then, in Russia, it was really hard to get a job and money, so I think one of the easiest ways to get money for women from rich and corrupt people was to work as a prostitute. We can see how women are ready to sell their bodies for the greater good. Once Sonya gets into that, she loses her innocence. There is not a way out for her. There is no other option to get money. Whose fault is it? Societies? Why women who are prostitutes are shamed by society when it is the actual society that pushes them over the edge. 

The Axe

The symbol that I used in this paragraph is "the axe". In Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, we can read that there is a murder that happens when Raskolnikov kills the pawnbroker and Lizaveta. We do not know what's going on on Raskolnikov's mind but the things that he does are strange. He uses the blunt side murder the old woman and the sharp edge to kill Lizaveta. We don't know why he chose to kill them with an axe and not something different. Raskolnikov is a weird guy and I think his point of view about "the axe" is different. I think "the axe" symbolizes strength, power, and something bigger. There are a lot of other symbols in the novel but I think one of the most favorite symbols is "the axe". We know how Raskolnikov forgets about stuff, and i think it symbolizes the two halves of Raskolnikov's life.

Time

Another symbol that I thought of was time. I think time is one of the important symbols in this novel. As we read, we can see that the time that Dostoevsky shows us is in some kind of order, but it is hard to figure out what he's trying to tell us. Example is when Raskolnikov wakes up and plans to murder. If we think the other way, it confuses us because for example, when Raskolnikov's dreaming he loses time. In the beginning of Part Two, Chapter Three, he wakes up sick: "Sometimes he fancied he had been lying there a month; at other times it all seemed part of the same day. But of that – of that he had no recollection, and yet every minute he felt that he had forgotten something he ought to remember." It shows us that it is really important for Dostoevsky to mention about time.

The city

One of the symbols that I was thinking about was the City. My parents and grandparents grew up in St.Petersburg and my grandma still lives there so we visit her every year. When I started reading Crime and punishment I clearly saw how it was related to me. The city of St.Petersburg represented in Dostoevsky's novel as dirty and crowded city. There are always drunk people on the streets, women who ask for money, and everyone lives in tiny apartments. The confusion and chaos of St.Petersburg is a twofold symbol. It represents the society and Raskolnikov's craziness. The city represents the state of Raskolnikov's mind; he is confused, worried, lost, understandable, and mentally unstable. It represents his confusion, dirty streets, great amount of people and drunkards. This city is related to me because the city that is in the book reminds me of the city that I visit every year.