Crime and Punishment

I picked up Crime and Punishment sometime last week. To give a little back story, I've never read it, which is unfortunate, really. I picked it up on a whim: Borders at our mall was going out of business, and so had books on super-sale. The wife told me to pick up some classics on the way home (dumb on her part really…I am somewhat of a bibliophile, and to be give the vague command to "pick up some classics" was like giving me a blank check…). So in the midst of the said shopping spree, I checked out the back of a paperback edition of Crime and Punishment. I was intrigued by the description, and even more intrigued by the brief biography of Dostoevsky contained in the opening page. I bought it.

At first, it was slow, and I found it easy to put down and get distracted. But as the story progressed, and we actually met more characters, I found myself borderline obsessed with the story. There were several aspects that sucked me in. The first was the supposed motive for the murder, and the differentiation between "everyman" and the "superman". What sucked me in the most, however, was the cat and mouse game between the inspector and Raskolnikov. It was so masterfully done that I really couldn't tell if the inspector really knew that Raskolonikov was guilty and was trying to draw him out, or if the inspector was genuinely clueless. Further, the differing aspects of Raskolnikov's character (his genuine heartfelt generosity, his internal dialogues about his personal charity) sucked me in—although I can't say that I genuinely liked him as a person. In addition, the depth of characters line Sonia, Katerina Ivonovna, Pyotr Petrovich provided further stimulus. As the climax drew near, Dostoesky artfully maintains a shroud over the conclusion, leading one to wonder about how the conflict will be resolved, but at the same time, leaving open every possibility. In fact, when the resolution does come, it's not a surprise, but it certainly isn't a forgone conclusion.

Some different themes interested me in the work, and I'll comment on them separately:

1. The idea of love in the story
   
2. The true hero of the tale
   
3. The concept of the "superman" and the "right to crime"
   
4. Raskolnikov's motive and today's Occupy Movement (and associated incidents)