Crime and Punishment

Crime and punishment was our best example yet of conflict between the group dynamic and the individual ego. Raskolnikov, himself the individual ego, was at odd with society's aversion to murder. He takes the Darwinian belief that certain members of society can be murdered without moral consequence if they do not contribute to society or their absence actually makes a positive impact on the remaining, more fit societal members. Of course, this is a dissident belief to most of society, who believe that certain crimes, such as murder, are always evil and worthy of punishment. Raskolnikov spends the remainder of the book battling the group dynamic and trying to reconicle his morality with that of broader society.

This book compares well with George Orwell's 1984. In that book, the protagonist, Winston Smith, is also at odds with his society's beliefs, constantly trying to convince himself that, "sanity is not statistical." However, there is a key juxtaposition-- in 1984, Winston is at odds with his society, but in is line with the reader's western democratic society. In contrast, Raskolnikov is not only at odds with his society, but also with the reader. This may be why Winston's punishment by his society is perceived as martyrdom, designed to evoke outrage from the reader, whereas Raskolnikov's "crime" is given a "punishment" in order for "justice" to prevail.