A Nihilistic Analysis of Crime and PunishmentThis article provides an exhaustive analysis, from a nihilistic perspective, of the novel Crime and Punishment. The document is divided into several sections, each with a self-explanatory title in capital letters, like the section immediately following this sentence. . Marmeladov recounts their suffering by first describing his job loss. He claims that "... through no fault of my own but because of changes in the office [I lost my position], and then I dabbled in it [alcohol]!" He tried to educate his daughter, but the little knowledge she has is of no use since she cannot even collect money from Ivan Ivanitch Klopstock, a man for whom she sewed six shirts . Katerina, tired of her whole situation, yells at Marmeladov and is eventually pushed into introducing her daughter to prostitution. At the urging of Darya Frantsovna, Sonia enters her first night of prostitution only to return home and collapse on her bed. Marmeladov recounts his drunken state as he watched Katerina kneel in front of her daughter's bed and kiss her feet. Not only does Sonia's activity force her to sacrifice her own morality, but she is also forced to leave the family apartment by Mr. Lebeziatnikov. Sonia must then continue her life of prostitution by living in the Kapernaumovs' apartment. The Kapernaumovs are described as “very poor people, all with cleft palates.” Marmeladov continually insists that they all have cleft palates when describing his daughters. This motif is used by Dostoyevsky in order to bring out the theme of Sonia's own defamation...... middle of paper ...... murders? Raskolnikov denies these accusations because admitting them would be a show of submission to Porfiry. Dostoyevsky wants Raskolnikov to be seen as a respectable man who must decide his own path and be led to confession by his own suffering. Raskolnikov approaches his confession alone. Arriving at the crossroads, "He knelt in the middle of the square, bowed to the ground and kissed that dirty earth with happiness and rapture. He rose and bowed a second time. " (Page 453, paragraph 2, line 1). Raskolnikov, bowing and kissing the earth, feels a wild surge of pleasure, symbolic of religious punishment. Works Cited Dostoyevsky, Feodor. Crime and punishment. Trans. Jessie Coulson. Ed. Georges Gibian. New York: Norton, 1989. Frank, Joseph. Dostoyevsky: The Miraculous Years, 1865-1871. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995.