Crime and Punishment is a novel written by the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky and is also his masterpiece.

The novel describes Raskolnikov, a poor college student who was poisoned by anarchist ideas and believed that he was a superman and could do whatever he wanted. Forced to make a living, he killed the old loan shark Alyona and her innocent sister Lizaveta, creating a murder that shocked the whole of Russia. After experiencing a painful confession, he finally surrendered under the persuasion of the Christian girl Sonia and was sentenced to exile in Siberia. The work focuses on depicting the protagonist's psychological changes after committing a crime and reveals the miserable life of the Russian lower class people.

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, Russian writer.

Dostoyevsky was born into a small aristocratic family and spent his childhood in Moscow and the countryside. In 1846, he published his first novel "The Poor Man", which was highly praised. In 1848, he published the novella "White Night". In 1849, he was exiled to Siberia for participating in anti-serfdom activities. During this period, he published the novels "Insulted and Injured", "Crime and Punishment", "The Idiot", "Demons", and "The Brothers Karamazov" and other works.

Dostoyevsky's novels are highly dramatic and the plot develops quickly. The ensuing catastrophic events are often accompanied by complex and intense psychological struggles and painful spiritual crises, thereby exposing the bourgeoisie. The complexity, contradictions and profound tragedy of relationships.

On November 11, 1821, Dostoyevsky was born in a Russian doctor's family, which was also not a wealthy family. He ranked second among seven children. His father was a retired military doctor and a complete alcoholic who worked at the Maria Hospital in Moscow. The hospital where my father worked was located in the wilderness of St. Petersburg. The prison cemetery, mental hospital and orphanage were the only landmark buildings. These scenes left a deep impression on the young Dostoyevsky, and his compassion for the poor deeply hurt his soul. Although his parents did not allow it, the young Dostoyevsky still liked to walk in the hospital garden, see the patients basking in the sun, and listen to their stories, thus getting in touch with the real life of serfs.

It is rumored that Dostoevsky's father treated his children very roughly. For example, he required his children to take turns swatting away flies for him when he came back from work and took a nap, and they must remain absolutely quiet. However, Dostoevsky's biographer Joseph Frank believed that the father in "The Brothers Karamazov" was not the author's own father. Letters between father and son, including their own remarks, point to a good relationship between father and son.

Dostoyevsky suffered from epilepsy. He first suffered from epilepsy at the age of 9, and had epileptic seizures from time to time throughout his life. In "The Idiot", Prince Myshkin also suffers from epilepsy, and we have to think that Dostoevsky did it intentionally.

In 1834, he entered the Chermak Boarding School in Moscow. After graduation, he entered the Petersburg Military Engineering School and worked in the Drawing Bureau of the Engineering Department of the school. A year later, he voluntarily resigned and devoted himself to literary creation.

His mother died of tuberculosis in 1837, and he and his younger brother were sent to the Petersburg Military Engineering School. In 1839, his father, a doctor in Moscow, died of unknown cause. Some people say it was because he lost his temper with the serfs when he was drunk. The serfs were so angry that they subdued him and poured vodka into him until he drowned. Others believe that it was a natural death, and that the neighboring landowner made up this story to easily get the land. Perhaps this authoritarian father had a great influence on Dostoyevsky, so much so that he transferred his father's image to the "evil and emotionally fragile clown" father of the old Karamazov in "The Brothers Karamazov".

While at the Petersburg Military Engineering School, Dostoevsky studied mathematics, which he disdained. At the same time, he also dabbled in the literary works of Shakespeare, Pascal, Victor Hugo and others. With a wide range of literary interests, he received excellent examination results and was commissioned in 1841. That year, he had completed two romantic plays, "Mary Stuart" and "Boris Godunov", which were deeply influenced by the German romantic poet Schiller, but they were both lost. His brother Andrei Mikhailovich confirmed: "He read more serious historical works.

"The writer remembered an unforgettable "famous quote" from the beginning of the chapter describing the French Revolution and the emergence of Napoleon in F. Kedanov's "New History": "When the great Frederick closed his eyes forever A silence was falling over all Europe when I looked at it; but such silence never precedes such a great storm! "

The starting point of creation

In 1842, Dostoevsky was appointed as a lieutenant and graduated from the military engineering school a year later. In 1843, he wrote Balzac His novel "Eugénie Grandet" was translated into Russian, but unfortunately no one paid attention to him. So after he retired from the army in 1844, Dostoevsky began his writing career.

Dostoevsky met Nekrasov in the 1840s. With Nekrasov’s encouragement, Dostoevsky wrote his debut novel in 1845, the epistolary short story " "Poor People". "Poor People" was serialized in the journal "St. Petersburg Anthology" and received wide acclaim. It is said that Nekrasov, who was the editor-in-chief of the magazine, excitedly rushed to the Russian literary critic Belinsky after reading the novel. office, shouting: "Another Gogol appears! "Belinsky and his followers had the same feeling after reading it. Belinsky even called Dostoevsky "the genius of Russian literature."

"The Poor Man" The single volume was officially published a year later, and Dostoevsky became a celebrity in the literary world at the age of 24. However, due to literary differences soon after, Dostoevsky, Nekrasov, and Dostoevsky were separated. Linsky broke up.

Ideological transition

In 1847, Dostoevsky became interested in utopian socialism and participated in the revolutionary activities of the Petersburg Rashevsky Group. In the same year, Gogol published "Selected Letters with Friends" and Belinsky wrote "A Letter to Gogol" to refute his views. Dostoevsky liked Belinsky's article very much. He found the manuscript and read it to the group. On April 23, 1849, he was arrested for being involved in revolutionary activities against the Tsar, and his sentence was changed to exile in Siberia just before his execution on November 16. His thoughts changed dramatically, and his epileptic attacks became more frequent. In 1854, he was released from prison, but was required to serve in Siberia. The ten years he spent serving his sentence in Siberia were a major turning point in his life. It was also in Siberia that he met his future wife, Maria Dimitrievna Isaye. Baby.

Later creation

Dostoevsky in 1863

In 1860, Dostoevsky returned to St. Petersburg. Published his first novel "The Insulted and Injured". This work can be regarded as a transitional work between his earlier and later periods. It contains both the early description of the suffering people in society and the later discussion of religion and philosophy. During this period, he made some progress in literature, but his life suffered a series of blows. In 1864, his wife and brother died one after another, and he still had to take care of his brother's family, which made him on the verge of bankruptcy. He hoped to pay off his debts through gambling. , but he owed more debt and fell into depression.

In order to avoid creditors, he was forced to go to Europe to avoid debt. The publisher promised him an advance, but asked him to write it within six months. A novel. Dostoevsky was writing "Crime and Punishment" at the time and had no time to write another one, but he had to agree to publish his masterpiece "Crime and Punishment" in 1866, which won the author a lot of money.

In fact, many of Dostoevsky’s masterpieces of world literature were first published in newspaper literary supplements and were widely welcomed by Russians, and then were published by publishing houses; they were popular. To the extent that Dostoevsky narrated three different novels to three secretaries at the same time, which is a literary stunt. The other novel was not yet written after a month of submission. Next, he met Anna, a top student in the shorthand school. The two worked efficiently and completed "The Gambler" within a month, which was published in 1867. In the same year, they got married. With Anna's encouragement and help, his life improved. Start to settle down. [7]

In 1868 he completed "The Idiot". In this novel, Napoleon and the Patriotic War of 1812 are important background themes.

In a letter to Turgenev on June 17, 1863, Dostoevsky recalled 1812: "At that time, the whole of Russia, the army, society and the entire people were full of patriotism." This The idea is repeated many times in his works. In the "Series of Articles on Russian Literature" the writer pointed out that "the only thing Russia had to do in 1812 was to save the motherland." In the monthly "Writer's Diary" published in April 1876, Dostoevsky used his fictional novel Strange characters eulogized the war as a powerful phenomenon that inspired and purified people and united the whole society: "In 1812, landowners and serfs fought side by side, and they compared each other to each other in the village and on the peaceful manor. The war gave the public a reason to respect themselves, so the people also liked the war. "In 1872, "The Demons" was completed. In 1873, he founded the journal "Writer's Diary", which was very popular. In 1880 he published "The Brothers Karamazov", which was his most important later work.

"The Brothers Karamazov" (or translated as "The Brothers Karamazov") published in 1880 is a summary of the author's philosophical thinking.

Died unexpectedly

In 1881, Dostoevsky was preparing to write the second part of "The Brothers Karamazov". On February 9, his pen holder fell to the ground and rolled under the cabinet. He exerted too much force while moving the cabinet, which resulted in a ruptured blood vessel. He died that day. Before his death, his wife read the Bible to him. Buried in St. Petersburg.