The realist movement in literaturefirst developed in France in the mid-nineteenth century, and soon spread to England, Russia, and the United States.Realist writers sought to narrate their novels from an objective, unbiased perspective that simply and clearly represented the factual elements of the story. They became masters of psychological characterization, detailed descriptions of everyday life in realistic settings, and dialogue that captures the idioms of natural human speech. The realists endeavored to accurately represent contemporary culture and people from all walks of life. Thus, realist writers often addressed themes of socioeconomic conflict by contrasting the living conditions of the poor with those of the upper classes in urban as well as rural societies.In Russia, one major contributor to realist literature was Fyodor Dostoevsky, whose novel, Crime and Punishment, illustrates the core principles of realism.
Written in the early 1860's and published in 1866, Crime and Punishment replaced the elegant style of Romanticism with fictional realism, depicting individual behavior and human development.Dostoevsky depicts a world full of segregation and division between social classes.He writes that two groups of people exist in society.Thefirst group of people is conservative conformists who thrive on obedience during their lives.Raskolnikov states, "in my opinion they ought to obey because that is their destiny, and there is nothing at all degrading to them in it." (Fiero p. 763)The second group of people is law breakers and transgressors, who necessitate "the destruction of what already exists in the name of better things." (Fiero p. 763)In stark contrast to the previous Romantic writings of William Wordsworth, Mary Shelley and John Keats, Dostoevsky portrays a division of classes which is cut and dry; these two groups leave little room for variation.
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Crime And Punishment
A desperate young man plans the perfect crime — the murder of a despicable pawnbroker, an old women no one loves and no one will mourn. Is it not just, he reasons, for a man of genius to commit such a crime, to transgress moral law — if it will ultimately benefit humanity? So begins one of the greatest novels ever written: a powerful psychological study, a terrifying murder mystery, a fascinating detective thriller infused with philosophical, religious and social commentary. Raskolnikov, an impoverished student living in a garret in the gloomy slums of St. Petersburg, carries out his grotesque scheme and plunges into a hell of persecution, madness and terror. Crime And Punishment takes the reader on a journey into the darkest recesses of the criminal and depraved mind, and exposes the soul of a man possessed by both good and evil … a man who cannot escape his own conscience.
Mired in poverty, the student Raskolnikov nevertheless thinks well of himself. Of his pawnbroker he takes a different view, and in deciding to do away with her he sets in motion his own tragic downfall. Dostoyevsky’s penetrating novel of an intellectual whose moral compass goes haywire, and the detective who hunts him down for his terrible crime, is a stunning psychological portrait, a thriller and a profound meditation on guilt and retribution.
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