Genre and stylistic originality of the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment"

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment” is the writer’s most famous work, included in the golden fund of world literature. Written during a difficult period in the author's life, it touches on many serious issues that remain relevant to this day. The novel is quite complex and deep, but a detailed analysis of the work will help to better understand the main idea and problems of the novel, the actions of the main characters. “Crime and Punishment” requires the most complete analysis, and it will be especially useful for 10th grade students when preparing for the Unified State Exam in Literature.

Brief Analysis

Year of writing– 1866

History of creation– Dostoevsky hatched the idea for “Crime and Punishment” during his stay in hard labor, during a period of intense emotional distress.

Subject- Displaying the inhuman living conditions of the poorest segments of the population, the hopelessness of their existence and anger towards the whole world.

Composition- The novel consists of six parts and an epilogue. Each part is divided into 6-7 chapters. The first part describes the lifestyle of the main character and the crime he committed, in subsequent parts - the punishment that followed, and in the epilogue - the repentance of the main character.

Genre- Novel.

Direction- Realism.

History of creation

During his stay in hard labor, Fyodor Mikhailovich was forced to communicate not only with political criminals, but also with dangerous criminals - murderers and thieves. Observing these human types, the writer came to the conclusion that the overwhelming majority of crimes were committed by these people out of terrible despair. After the abolition of serfdom, many peasants who had no means of subsistence went to big cities, where they drank, robbed and killed.

It was then that the writer first had the idea to write a novel full of drama and internal conflicts. According to the plan, the work was conceived as a confession by Raskolnikov, in which the spiritual experience of the protagonist was revealed. However, while writing the novel, the author began to understand that he was not able to limit himself to the experiences of Raskolnikov alone - the plot required greater depth and fullness. Having treated the written material with a great deal of criticism, Dostoevsky burned the almost completed novel and wrote it anew - the way the entire literary world knows it.

The writer also had a problem with the title of the work. There were several working versions, including “The Criminal’s Tale”, “On Trial”. As a result, he settled on the “Crime and Punishment” option. The essence and meaning of the title of the novel lies not only in the criminal punishment for committing a crime, but, above all, in the mental anguish of the criminal. Any crime entails inevitable punishment, and it is impossible to hide from it.

Fyodor Mikhailovich worked on the novel in 1865-1866, and immediately after completion it was published in the popular magazine “Russian Messenger”. The reaction to the work was very mixed, from sharp rejection to wild admiration.

In the 80s of the 19th century, the novel was translated into many European languages. His influence on the world literary process turned out to be enormous: writers began to develop the theme raised by Dostoevsky and, at times, openly imitate the classics; theatrical productions were staged in different cities of the world; later, the imperishable work was filmed many times.

Subject

main topic the works depict the oppression and appalling poverty of the majority of society, the sad situation of which few people are interested in. Also running through the theme is the theme of personal delusions and forced rebellion due to stifling poverty, social inequality and hopelessness.

The problem of false beliefs raised in the novel is relevant at all times. The theory to which Raskolnikov was subjected, about permissiveness and the possibility of committing a crime for good purposes, is destructive. It is precisely this that is the cause of arbitrariness, violence and terror.

In his novel, Dostoevsky wanted to convey his Christian ideas about life, according to which one must try to live morally, without succumbing to pride, lust, and selfishness. Living for the sake of your neighbors, doing good, sacrificing your own interests for the good of society - this is what the writer teaches. It is for this reason that at the end of the epilogue Rodion Raskolnikov comes to faith, which is the salvation of his tormented soul, and finds hope of salvation.

Composition

The structural composition of “Crime and Punishment” is quite simple: the novel consists of 6 parts, each of which, in turn, consists of 6-7 chapters.

The novel is divided into two components: the first describes the ordeal of the protagonist, his reasoning and, ultimately, the crime he committed. Then follows the punishment and self-exposure of Raskolnikov, and the remaining 5 parts of the work are devoted to this.

A characteristic feature of the novel is some inconsistency in the chronology of Raskolnikov’s actions. By this, the author wanted to emphasize the instability of the protagonist’s internal state, his loss. An excellent addition to Raskolnikov’s mood are the dark, gray streets of St. Petersburg, the description of which Dostoevsky devoted a lot of space in the work.

In the final part of the novel - the epilogue - the writer pointed to Raskolnikov's possible healing thanks to sincere repentance and faith in God. The moral revival of the hero became possible only thanks to his complete rethinking of his life, actions, and values.

Dostoevsky paid much attention not only to the poor student, but also to other central characters: Razumikhin, Duna Raskolnikova, Pulcheria Alexandrovna, Sonya Marmeladova, Svidrigailov. The character of each of them is described brightly, colorfully, the interaction of these characters perfectly complements the overall picture shown by the author. Despite the intricacies of the storylines, they are all, in one way or another, connected with Raskolnikov. It is noteworthy that many of the characters described will meet a tragic fate, and by the end of the novel only a few will survive.

Main characters

Genre

"Crime and Punishment" refers to psychological and philosophical novel. Fyodor Mikhailovich himself called his creation “a psychological report of one crime.” This is a unique literary work in which detective, criminal, social, psychological, philosophical and love components are skillfully intertwined. It harmoniously combines the frightening reality of everyday life and the fantasy represented by Raskolnikov’s dreams.

If we talk about the literary direction of the novel, then it fully corresponds to “realism”.

Work test

Rating analysis

Average rating: 4.4. Total ratings received: 4884.

The genre-compositional structure of the novel is complex. Plot-wise, it is close to the detective-adventure genre, but the detailed and thoroughly depicted background against which events unfold, the effectiveness of the very image of St. Petersburg allows us to speak about the genre of a social and everyday novel. There is also a love line in it (Dunya - Svidrigailov, Luzhin, Razumikhin; Raskolnikov - Sonya). An in-depth study of the inner world of the characters, so characteristic of Dostoevsky, makes this novel also psychological. But all these genre features, intertwined in a single artistic whole of the work, create a completely new type of novel.

“Crime and Punishment” is the first of Dostoevsky’s “great” novels, in which his artistic and philosophical system was embodied. At the center of this novel is the idea of individualism, which is contrasted with the idea of Christian humility and redemptive suffering. This determines the highly ideological nature of the text of the work, saturated with deep and complex philosophical problems. Therefore, Dostoevsky’s novel is rightfully classified as an ideological and philosophical novel. Indeed, the author’s attention, despite the adventure-detective plot, is focused not on the events rapidly unfolding before the reader’s eyes, but on the thoughts, philosophical reasoning, and ideological disputes of the characters. In essence, the writer shows the fate of the idea that pushed the hero to commit a crime, which allows him to organically include the most complex philosophical problems in the work. At the same time, the novel does not become a philosophical treatise, since it is not about an abstract idea, but about a hero who is completely embraced by it.

This is how a special type of hero arises, who began to be called the hero-idea (or hero-ideologist). This is a special type of literary hero, which first appeared in Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment”, the peculiarity of which is that it is not just a social or psychological type, a certain character or temperament, but first of all a person captured by an idea (sublime or destructive), which “turning into nature” requires “immediate application to the case” (F.M. Dostoevsky). Such heroes - carriers of ideas - in the novel are primarily Raskolnikov (the idea of individualism) and Sonya Marmeladova (the Christian idea). But in their own way, each of the characters in this novel also represents “their” idea: Marmeladov embodies the idea of a dead end in life, which he himself substantiated, investigator Porfiry Petrovich expresses a whole system of arguments in defense of the idea of Christian humility and redemptive suffering, which he, like Sonya, offers to accept Raskolnikov. Even the almost speechless Lizaveta, killed by Raskolnikov, participates in the duel of ideas waged by the main characters.

This is how a special artistic structure arises in which ideas, through their carriers, enter into a free dialogue. It is conducted not only at the level of various discussions, disputes, various statements of the heroes (aloud or to themselves), but, most importantly, it is embodied in the destinies of these heroes. The author’s position is not directly expressed; the action moves as if by itself as a result of the development of the main idea (the idea of individualism), which manifests itself in constant collision and intersection with the Christian idea that contrasts it. And only the final result of the complex movement and development of ideas allows us to talk about the author’s position in this unique ideological and philosophical dispute.

In this way, a completely new type of novel is formed, which became Dostoevsky’s artistic discovery. The theoretical justification for this new type, called the polyphonic novel, was made only in the 20th century by M.M. Bakhtin. He also suggested the name “polyphonic” (from polyphony - polyphony). The role of “voices” in it is played by heroic ideas. The peculiarity of such a novel is that the philosophical views of the writer, which are at the center of the work, are not expressed in direct statements of the author or characters (the principle of objectivity), but are revealed through the clash and struggle of different points of view embodied in the hero-ideas ( dialogue structure). Moreover, the idea itself is realized through the fate of such a hero - hence the in-depth psychological analysis that permeates all levels of the artistic structure of the work.

The psychological analysis of the state of the criminal before and after committing the murder in the novel is merged with the analysis of Raskolnikov’s “idea”. The novel is structured in such a way that the reader is constantly in the sphere of consciousness of the hero - Raskolnikov, although the narration is told from the third person. That is why his words, incomprehensible to the reader, about the “test” sound so strange when he goes to the old woman. After all, the reader is not privy to Raskolnikov’s plan and can only guess what “matter” he is talking about with himself. The specific plan of the hero is revealed only 50 pages from the beginning of the novel, immediately before the crime itself. We become aware of the existence of Raskolnikov’s complete theory and even an article outlining it only on the two hundredth page of the novel - from a conversation with Porfiry Petrovich. This method of silence is used by the writer in relation to other heroes. So only at the very end of the novel do we learn the history of Dunya’s relationship with Svidrigailov - immediately before the denouement of this relationship. Of course, this, among other things, helps to make the plot more entertaining.

All this is very unlike the psychologism traditional in Russian literature. “I am not a psychologist,” Dostoevsky said about himself, “I am only a realist in the highest sense, that is, I depict all the depths of the human soul.” The great writer was distrustful of the word “psychology” itself, calling the concept behind it a “double-edged sword.” In the novel we see not just a study, but a test of the soul and thoughts of the hero - this is the semantic and emotional core to which all the plot moves, all the events of the work, all the feelings and sensations of both the leading and episodic characters are drawn. The method of Dostoevsky the psychologist consists in the writer’s penetration into the consciousness and soul of the hero in order to reveal the idea he carries, and with it his true nature, which comes out in unexpected, extreme, provoking situations. No wonder the word “suddenly” is used 560 times in Crime and Punishment!

The originality of Dostoevsky’s psychologism also determines the specificity of his plot constructions. Believing that the true essence of a person is revealed only in moments of greatest upheaval, the writer strives to knock his characters out of their usual rut in life and into a state of crisis. The dynamics of the plot lead them from disaster to disaster, depriving them of solid ground under their feet, forcing them again and again to desperately “storm” unsolvable “damned” questions.

The compositional structure of “Crime and Punishment” can be described as a chain of catastrophes: Raskolnikov’s crime, which brought him to the threshold of life and death, then the death of Marmeladov, the madness and death of Katerina Ivanovna that soon followed, and, finally, the suicide of Svidrigailov. The prehistory to the novel’s action also tells about Sonya’s catastrophe, and the epilogue about Raskolnikov’s mother. Of all these heroes, only Sonya and Raskolnikov manage to survive and escape. The intervals between catastrophes are occupied by intense dialogues between Raskolnikov and other characters, of which two conversations with Porfiry Petrovich stand out. The second, most terrible “conversation” for Raskolnikov with the investigator, when he drives Raskolnikov almost to the point of insanity, hoping that he will give himself away, is the compositional center of the novel, and conversations with Sonya are located before and after, framing it. Material from the site

Dostoevsky believed that only in such extreme situations: in the face of death or in moments of final determination of the purpose and meaning of his existence, is a person able to renounce the vanity of life and turn to the eternal questions of existence. Subjecting his characters to merciless psychological analysis precisely in these moments, the writer comes to the conclusion that in such circumstances the fundamental difference in character disappears and becomes unimportant. After all, despite the uniqueness of individual feelings, the “eternal questions” face the same ones. This is why another phenomenon of Dostoevsky’s polyphonic novel arises - duality. We are talking not only about the specifics of the characters and the peculiarities of psychological analysis, but also about one of the most important principles of constructing Dostoevsky’s polyphonic novel - the system of doubles.

The action of Dostoevsky's polyphonic novel is based on the collision of contrasting ideological poles with complete equality of ideas, which are further revealed with the help of a system of doubles. In Crime and Punishment, the idea of individualism, the main bearer of which is Raskolnikov, is clarified in the images of Luzhin and Svidrigailov, who become his doubles, or rather, doubles of the idea inherent in him. The bearer of the Christian idea is Sonechka Marmeladova, and her doubles (doubles of the idea) are Lizaveta, Mikolka, Dunya. The inner essence of Sonechka Marmeladova, as a hero-idea, consists of the foundations of the Christian idea: doing good and taking on the suffering of the world. This is what fills Sonechka’s life with deep meaning and light, despite the surrounding dirt and darkness. Connected with the image of Sonechka is Dostoevsky’s belief that the world will be saved by fraternal unity between people in the name of Christ and that the basis of this unity must be sought not in the society of the “powerful of this world,” but in the depths of people’s Russia. The special form of the novel helps the writer to express it - polyphonic, as well as the entire system of artistic means inherent in it, first of all, the system of images of the novel.

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Genre and stylistic originality of F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment”

Dostoevsky novel crime punishment

The genre of “Crime and Punishment” (1866) is a novel in which the main place is occupied by the social and philosophical problems of contemporary Russian life for the writer. In addition, in “Crime and Punishment” one can note genre features: detective (the reader knows from the very beginning who the killer of the old pawnbroker is, but the detective intrigue remains until the end - Raskolnikov admits, will he fall into the trap of investigator Porfiry Petrovich or slip out?), everyday an essay (a detailed description of the poor quarters of St. Petersburg), a journalistic article (Raskolnikov’s article “On Crime”), spiritual writing (quotes and paraphrases from the Bible), etc.

This novel can be called social because Dostoevsky depicts the life of the inhabitants of the slums of St. Petersburg. The theme of the work is to show the inhuman conditions of existence of the poor, their hopelessness and embitterment. The idea of “Crime and Punishment” is that the writer condemns his contemporary society, which allows its citizens to live in hopeless need. Such a society is criminal: it dooms weak, defenseless people to death and at the same time gives rise to a retaliatory crime. These thoughts are expressed in Marmeladov’s confession, which he pronounces in a dirty tavern in front of Raskolnikov.

Dostoevsky shows in detail the life of poor St. Petersburg neighborhoods. He depicts Raskolnikov’s room, which looks like a closet, Sonya’s ugly apartment, and the passage room-corridor where the Marmeladov family huddles. The author describes the appearance of his poor heroes: they are dressed not just poorly, but very poorly, so that it is a shame to appear on the street. This concerns Raskolnikov when he first appears in the novel. Marmeladov, met by a beggar student in a tavern, “was dressed in a black, old, completely tattered tailcoat, with crumbling buttons.

Despite his open sympathy for these heroes, Dostoevsky does not try to embellish them. The writer shows that both Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov and Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov are largely to blame for their sad fate. Marmeladov is a sick alcoholic who is ready to rob even his small children for the sake of vodka. He does not hesitate to come to Sonya and ask her for the last thirty kopecks for a drink, although he knows how she earns this money.

Dostoevsky has an ambiguous attitude towards Raskolnikov. On the one hand, the writer sympathizes with the student who must earn his poor living with penniless lessons and translations. On the other hand, Dostoevsky portrays Raskolnikov’s friend, student Razumikhin: life is even more difficult for him than for the main character, since he does not have a loving mother who sends him money from her pension. At the same time, Razumikhin works hard and finds the strength to endure all adversity. He thinks little about himself, but is ready to help others, and not in the future, as Raskolnikov plans, but now.

In the novel, the social content is closely intertwined with the philosophical (ideological): Raskolnikov's philosophical theory is a direct consequence of his desperate life circumstances. An intelligent and determined man, he thinks about how to correct an unjust world. Maybe through violence? But is it possible to forcibly impose a fair society on people against their will? The philosophical theme of the novel is a discussion of the “right to blood,” that is, consideration of the “eternal” moral question: does a high goal justify criminal means? The philosophical idea of the novel is formulated as follows: no noble goal justifies murder, it is not a human matter to decide whether a person is worthy of living or unworthy. Alena Ivanovna is disgusting, starting with the above portrait and the despotic attitude towards her sister Lizaveta and ending with her usurious activities; she looks like a louse (5, IV), sucking human blood.

However, according to Dostoevsky, even such a nasty old woman cannot be killed: any person is sacred and inviolable, in this respect all people are equal. According to Christian philosophy, a person’s life and death are in the hands of God, and people are not allowed to decide this (therefore, murder and suicide are mortal sins).

From the very beginning, Dostoevsky aggravates the murder of the malicious pawnbroker with the murder of the meek, unrequited Lizaveta. So, wanting to test his capabilities as a superman and preparing to become a benefactor of all the poor and humiliated, Raskolnikov begins his noble activity by killing (!) the old woman and the holy fool, who looks like a big child, Lizaveta.

The writer’s attitude towards the “right to blood” is clarified, among other things, in Marmeladov’s monologue. Speaking about the Last Judgment, Marmeladov is confident that God will ultimately accept not only the righteous, but also degraded drunkards, insignificant people like Marmeladov: “And he will say to us: “You pigs! the image of the beast and its seal; but come too!” (...) And he will stretch out his hands to us, and we will fall... and cry... and we will understand everything! Then we will understand everything!..” (1, II).

“Crime and Punishment” is a psychological novel, since the main place in it is occupied by the description of the mental anguish of a person who committed a murder. In-depth psychologism is a characteristic feature of Dostoevsky's work. One part of the novel is devoted to the crime itself, and the remaining five parts are devoted to the emotional experiences of the killer. Therefore, the most important thing for the writer is to depict Raskolnikov’s torments of conscience and his decision to repent. A distinctive property of Dostoevsky’s psychologism is that it shows the inner world of a person “on the brink”, in a half-delusional, half-insane state, that is, the author tries to convey a painful mental state, even the subconscious of the heroes. This distinguishes Dostoevsky's novels, for example, from the psychological novels of Leo Tolstoy, where the harmonious, varied and balanced inner life of the characters is presented.

So, the novel “Crime and Punishment” is an extremely complex work of art, which closely combines pictures of Russian life contemporary to Dostoevsky (60s of the 19th century) and discussions about the “eternal” question of humanity - the “right to blood.” The writer sees the way out of the economic and spiritual crisis for Russian society in turning people to Christian values. He gives his solution to the posed moral question: under no circumstances does a person have the right to judge whether another person should live or die; the moral law does not allow “blood according to conscience.”

In Dostoevsky's novel “Crime is Punishment,” interiors are depicted in ugly, gloomy, oppressive colors. They emphasize the circumstances, the state of mind of the characters, and sometimes, on the contrary, they contrast with the characters. An example of this is the attractive portrait of Raskolnikov and the room in which he lives: miserable, reminiscent of a coffin or closet, with a low ceiling, with faded yellow wallpaper. The interior is complemented by tattered old chairs, a sofa and a small painted table.

Describing the main character's room, the writer emphasizes the desolation and lifelessness of the home, causing fear and oppression. The deadness of the room is complemented by a large layer of dust on the books and notebooks lying on the table. There is no life in this yellow room. Its owner voluntarily renounced action and society; he lies motionless in it and thinks about the hopelessness of his situation.

Dostoevsky is a subtle psychologist in describing the situation. Thus, the room of the old pawnbroker is very neat, the furniture and the floor in it shine, indicating the cleanliness that is characteristic of “evil and old widows.”

In almost all the homes of the characters in the novel, the interior testifies to the extreme poverty of their owners, and, in addition, to the unsettled life, lack of comfort and warmth. The heroes are not protected in their homes; they cannot hide in them from problems and misfortunes. It seems that even in relation to their residents, these little rooms reveal inhospitability and alienation, driving them out onto the street. In most rooms, yellow becomes the predominant tone. This life-affirming, sunny color turns in the novel into the color of lifelessness, lack of energy and positivity, the color of illness and disharmony. Dostoevsky replaces the bright rich color with a dull, dirty, blurry, dull yellow color, indicating the lifelessness of the heroes.

Interiors in the novel “Crime and Punishment” play an important role; they become not only the background of events, but also an element of the composition and ideological sound of the novel.

Features of the genre of the novel “Crime and Punishment”

The genre uniqueness of this novel by F.M. Dostoevsky lies in the fact that this work cannot be completely definitely attributed to genres already known and tested in Russian literature, since it contains different style features.

Detective traits

First of all, formally the novel can be classified as a detective story:

The plot is based on a crime and its solution,
there is a criminal (Raskolnikov),
there is a smart investigator who understands the criminal and leads him to exposure (Porfiry Petrovich),
there is a motive for the crime,
there are red herrings (Mikolka’s confession), evidence.

But none of the readers would even think of calling “Crime and Punishment” a simple detective story, because everyone understands that the detective basis of the novel is only an excuse for setting other tasks.

A new type of novel - psychological

This work does not fit into the framework of a traditional European novel.

Dostoevsky created a new genre - the psychological novel.

It is based on man as a great mystery into which the author looks into together with the reader. What drives a person, why is one or another capable of sinful acts, what happens to a person who crosses the line?

The atmosphere of the novel is a world of the humiliated and insulted, where there are no happy people, no unfallen ones. This world combines reality and fantasy, so a special place in the novel is occupied by characters who predict the fate of the hero differently than in a traditional novel. No, the protagonist’s dreams reflect the state of his psyche, his soul after the murder of the old woman, project reality (a dream about killing a horse), and accumulate the hero’s philosophical theory (Rodion’s last dream).

Each hero is placed in a situation of choice.

This choice puts pressure on a person, forces him to go forward, to go without thinking about the consequences, to go only in order to find out what he is capable of, in order to save another or himself, in order to destroy himself.

Polyphonic solution of the figurative system

Another genre feature of such novels is polyphony, polyphony.

In the novel, they are having conversations, pronouncing monologues, shouting something from the crowd - and each time this is not just a phrase, it is a philosophical problem, a question of life or death (dialogue between an officer and a student, Raskolnikov’s monologues, his dialogues with Sonya, with Svidrigailov, Luzhin, Dunechka, monologue of Marmeladov).

Dostoevsky's heroes carry either hell or heaven in their souls. So, despite the horrors of the profession, she carries heaven in her soul, her sacrifice, her faith and save her from the hell of life. A hero like this, according to Dostoevsky, is subordinate to the devil in his mind and chooses hell, but at the last moment, when the hero looks into the abyss, he recoils from it and goes to denounce himself. There are also heroes of hell in Dostoevsky's novels. They long ago and consciously chose hell not only with their minds, but also with their hearts. And their hearts hardened. Such is the case in Svidrigailov’s novel.

For the heroes of hell, there is only one way out - death.

Heroes like Raskolnikov are always intellectually superior to the rest: it’s not for nothing that everyone recognizes Raskolnikov’s intelligence; Svidrigailov expects some new word from him. But Raskolnikov is pure in heart, his heart is full of love and compassion (for the girl on the boulevard, for his mother and sister, for Sonechka and her family).

The human soul as the basis of psychological realism

Understanding the human soul cannot be unambiguous, which is why in Dostoevsky’s novels (in “Crime and Punishment” too) there is so much left unsaid.

Raskolnikov names the reason for the murder several times, but neither he nor the other heroes can finally decide why he killed. Of course, first of all, he is guided by a false theory, subjugating him, tempting him with verification, forcing him to lift the ax. It is also unclear whether Svidrigailov killed his wife or not.

Unlike Tolstoy, who himself explains why the hero acts this way and not otherwise, Dostoevsky forces the reader, along with the hero, to experience certain events, see dreams, and in all this everyday confusion of inconsistent actions, unclear dialogues and monologues, independently find a pattern.

A huge role in the genre of psychological novel is played by the description of the situation. It is generally accepted that it itself corresponds to the mood of the heroes. The city becomes the hero of the story. The city is dusty, dirty, a city of crimes and suicides.

The uniqueness of Dostoevsky’s artistic world is that his heroes go through a dangerous psychological experiment, allowing “demons” and dark forces into themselves. But the writer believes that in the end the hero will break through them to the light. But every time the reader is stopped before this riddle of overcoming “demons”, because there is no definite answer.

This inexplicable always remains in the structure of the writer’s novels.

Materials are published with the personal permission of the author - Ph.D. Maznevoy O.A. (see "Our Library")

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“Crime and Punishment” is the first of Dostoevsky’s five best novels. The writer himself attached great importance to this work: “The story that I am writing now is perhaps the best of all that I have written.” In his work he depicted such powerlessness and hopelessness of life, when a person has “nowhere to go.” The novel “Crime and Punishment” was conceived by Dostoevsky while still in hard labor. Then it was called “Drunk People,” but gradually the concept of the novel transformed into “a psychological report of a crime.” Dostoevsky himself, in a letter to the publisher M.I. Katkov, clearly retells the plot of the future work: “A young man, expelled from university students, who lives in extreme poverty... having been exposed to some strange unfinished ideas... decided to get out of his bad situation by killing and robbing one woman... "

At the same time, the student wants to use the money received in this way for good purposes: to complete a course at the university, help his mother and sister, go abroad and “then throughout his life be honest, firm, and unwavering in fulfilling his humane duty to humanity.” In this statement by Dostoevsky, two phrases need to be especially emphasized: a young man who lives in extreme poverty" and "exposed to some strange unfinished ideas." It is these two phrases that are key to understanding Raskolnikov’s cause-and-effect actions. What came first: the hero’s plight, which led to illness and a painful theory, or the theory, which became the cause of Raskolnikov’s terrible situation?

Dostoevsky in his novel depicts the clash of theory with the logic of life. According to the writer, the living life process, i.e. the logic of life, always refutes and makes untenable any theory - both the most advanced, revolutionary, and the most criminal. This means that it is impossible to live according to theory, and therefore the main philosophical idea of the novel is revealed not in a system of logical proofs and refutations, but as a collision of a person obsessed with an extremely criminal theory with life processes that refute this theory. Raskolnikov's theory is built on the inequality of people, on the chosenness of some and the humiliation of others. And the murder of the moneylender is intended as a vital test of this theory using a separate example.

This way of depicting the murder very clearly shows the author’s position: the crime committed by Raskolnikov is a vile deed, from the point of view of Raskolnikov himself. But he did it consciously, stepping over his human nature, through himself. With his crime, Raskolnikov excluded himself from the category of people, became destitute, an outcast. “I didn’t kill the old woman, I killed myself,” he admitted to Sonya Marmeladova. This separation from society prevents Raskolnikov from living; his human nature does not accept this. It turns out that a person cannot walk without communicating with people, even such a proud person as Raskolnikov.

Therefore, the hero’s struggle becomes more and more intense, it goes in many directions, and each of them leads to a blind corner. Raskolnikov, as before, believes in the infallibility of his idea and hates himself for his weakness, for his mediocrity, calling himself a scoundrel over and over again. But at the same time, he suffers from the inability to communicate with his mother and sister, thinking about them as painfully as he thinks about the murder of Lizaveta. He tries not to do this, since if you start thinking, you will certainly have to decide where to classify them in your theory - to what category of people. According to the logic, his theories belong to the “lowest” category, and so, the ax of another Raskolnikov may fall on their heads, and on the heads of Sonya, Polechka, Ekaterina Ivanovna. Raskolnikov must, according to his theory, give up those for whom he suffers. Must hate, kill those he loves, and he cannot survive this.

For him, the thought that his theory is similar to the theories of Luzhin and Svidrigailov is unbearable; he hates them, but has no right to this hatred. “Mother, sister, how I love them! Why do I hate them now? Here his human nature most acutely collided with his inhuman theory. But the theory won. And therefore Dostoevsky seems to come to the aid of his hero’s human nature. Immediately after this monologue, he gives Raskolnikov's third dream: he again kills the old woman, and she laughs at him. A dream in which the author brings Raskolnikov's crime to the people's court. This scene exposes the horror of Raskolnikov's actions. Dostoevsky does not show the moral rebirth of his hero, since his novel is not about that at all. The writer’s task was to show what power an idea can have over a person and how terrible and criminal this idea can be. Thus, the hero’s idea of the right of the strong to crime turned out to be absurd. Life has defeated theory.

The genre features of Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment” cannot be delineated by certain boundaries. And not only because this work is complex in its concept and large in volume. You can name several different genre definitions, and each of them will be fair in its own way. The novel is philosophical, since in it the problem of condemning militant individualism and the so-called “superpersonality” is in the center of attention. The novel is psychological, since it is, first of all, about human psychology, in its various, even painful, manifestations. And to this we can add other more specific genre features associated with the very structure of the work: internal monologues, dialogues and discussions of the characters, pictures of the future world in which the idea of individualism would reign. The novel is also polyphonic: each of the characters asserts its own idea, that is, has its own voice.

So, the diversity of “Crime and Punishment” is in this case the main condition for the successful creative implementation of the author’s large-scale plan (its didactic setting).

Genre features of the novel “Crime and Punishment”