Crime And Punishment

4 Pages 1041 Words

Sacrifice is important to an individual’s well being. It is intertwined with ones sense of right and wrong, as sacrifice is usually letting go of something important in order to do what is right. Sacrifice literally means to sell or give away at a loss. In Crime and Punishment, many characters gave something away that left them at a loss but also may have helped them in the long run. Sacrifice is shown as a necessity through the characters of Raskolnikov, Sonia, and Svidrigailov.
Raskolnikov sacrificed many parts of his life in order to be rehabilitated. As a test to his extraordinary man theory, in the beginning of the novel Raskolnikov murdered the pawnbroker as a sacrifice to improve society because the world would be better without the “old hag” (pg. 407). As he explained to Sonia, he believed that he killed himself and the devil killed the old hag, as she had deserved. This shows that he sacrificed his own life to murder the pawnbroker, which at the time he felt was the right thing to do. As his condition worsened Raskolnikov felt that it was suitable to disconnect himself with his mother who loved him so dearly, in order to give her peace of mind. This sacrifice helped Pulcheria because she would have worried far too much if she had known what was happening to Raskolnikov and the crime that he commited. Lastly at the end of the novel, Raskolnikov was forced to sacrifice his freedom in order to rehabilitate himself in Siberia and have a chance to live without suffering when he gets out. The only way for this rehabilitation was confession as Porfiry had explained to him; therefore his confession was imminent and provided Raskolnikov with the only possible solution rather than killing himself. Without the help of Sonia, Raskolnikov may not have confessed and sacrificed his freedom, but he also may not have survived.
Sonia is a very sacrificial character as she represents many things to Raskolnikov and to her family. T...