Much like King Lear in lack of happy moments, Crime and Punishment is yet another literary ray of sunshine. It is not a feel-good book, but it does provoke thought far beyond the realm of commonplace. The element of happiness is very much alive in Crime and Punishment even though the plot is not sculpted around sanctioning within the reader the sense of it. I believe Dostoevsky's purpose in writing Crime and Punishment is to explore the discrepancies between the inner and outer self and to draw parallels between the things we protect ourselves from and the things our characters lack. Raskolnikov is a character blinded by pride and a sense of entitlement to the world and all it has to offer, regardless of what he offers in return. By succumbing to pride's grip and suffocating under its weight, at the beginning, Raskolnikov seems to be protecting himself from the other vices of his hostile world. But, by protecting himself from the society he loathes so greatly, Raskolnikov reveals a lapse in moral direction and a lack of a strong sense of self-conviction. He is, in essence, weak, highly contrary to the great man he believes himself to be. He protects himself from the dejected nature of society, from sadness. In doing so, however, Raskolnikov, also removes himself from the possibility of feeling happiness. Although Raskolnikov's world seems to be severely devoid of the natural elements of what we consider congenial, his world is also real. Only when Raskolnikov confesses does he truly return to reality. Perhaps it is only in touching reality that we truly understand where our happiness lies.

After Raskolnikov commits the murders, he is initially removed from society, still emotionally detached. However, as the book progresses and Raskolnikov begins to question his motive and his inner conscience. He begins the shift from pragmatic thought to thought grounded in emotion, that questions the unseen. Pride clouded Raskolnikov's mind, protecting him from falling victim to his abject surroundings. Pride simultaneously prevented Raskolnikov from seeing reality, from understanding the divergence of his feelings from his actions at times. Toward the end of the book, two tears fall from Raskolnikov's eye, indicating the presence of truth. Since the shift of the book is from logic to emotion, perhaps Dostoevsky is asserting that truth is unseen and in intangible. So, then, is the unseen entity, God, the only source of reality? Thus is faith the only route to true happiness?