Crime and Punishment Around about the mid 1800s Emily Dickinson hit the nail on the head with a line from a poem she wrote: Part One: Life. Emily wrote "Much madness I divinest sense/ To a discerning eye" which holds true for writers of all types in the past, present and future. The same stands for Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, where the lead character, Rodion Raskolnikov, demonstrates multiple stages of craziness but when examined …
showed first 75 words of 860 total

showed last 75 words of 860 total
…and his redemption and few connections to the readers. Raskolnikovs madness helps Dostoevsky refute the idea of the day, the ideas of Hegel and Nietzsche, the ideas of superiority and that that some how establishes a man to be higher than the law. Dosteovsky uses Raskolnikov's mental delusion and though his "discerning eye" makes Dickinson's quote apparent. Through his rationale Raskolnikov's eccentric behavior enhances the story and causes all readers to better understand Dickinson's quote.