The desolate and chaotic conditions of society can have a significant influence on the development of a certain character in a novel. For example, at the time Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment was written, the conditions of the setting were very chaotic and in turmoil. Crime and Punishment took place in Russia, where at the time Crime and Punishment was written Russia was suffering from economic collapse and the failure of Tsar Alexander II's poor reforms; ultimately transforming Russia into a poverty-stricken country. The failure of Alexander's reforms influenced much of the setting in which Crime and Punishment was written, which ultimately contributed to the development of Raskolinokov's character. This is evident through the use of metaphor, which Dostoevsky uses to compare the state of the country to Raskolinkov's apartment. The social failures during the time the book was written had a huge effect on the character development in the novel Crime and Punishment. At the time Crime and Punishment was written, in the mid-1860s, Siberia, Russia, was in poverty. Under the rule of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, many shameful reforms were enacted. Alexander launched a reform with the hope of emancipating millions of Russian peasants who were owned by the landowners. However, what should have benefited the peasants, rather constituted a major restructuring of Russian society, thus causing great chaos and turmoil. Through Raskolinokov's perspective, we are able to see how poor and desolate the conditions are. Especially in the Capitol of Russia, where Raskolinokov lives, there are many people living on the streets, and it seems that poverty is inevitably unavo... middle of paper... a principle. His confidence in the book further emphasizes and highlights his true characteristics, in the sense that through his insecurity and guilt one could evidently witness that he is actually not extraordinary. The poverty-stricken conditions of Russia during the time Crime and Punishment was written was a vital factor in bringing out the novel's main protagonists and revealing the protagonist's true nature. Furthermore, his apartment and its desolate conditions serve as a metaphor for the poor conditions of Russia. Raskolinokov's transformation from his false sense of thought as a superior being or urbermensch of society was highlighted by the desolate conditions in which the book is set, demonstrating that such background knowledge of the poor conditions is an essential contribution to character development in the novel.