Crime and Punishment Summary of Key Points

Crime and Punishment is a novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It redefines the concepts of justice and punishment. Raskolnikov, a destitute and desperate former student, wanders through the slums of St. Petersburg and commits a random murder without remorse or regret. He imagines himself to be a great man, a Napoleon, acting for a higher purpose beyond conventional moral law.