The importance of Raskolnikov's dreams in crime and punishmentThe function of dreams has been theorized and debated by scientists, but there is no no consensus yet on why people dream (Payne and Nadel). Some dream theorists believe that dream studies have not conclusively demonstrated that dreams have any real purpose or meaning. On the other end of the spectrum, some dream experts believe that dreaming is essential to our mental, emotional, and physical health. In Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the dreams presented in the novel are essential to the moral growth of the protagonist, Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, and to the reader's understanding of the character. Henry David Thoreau believed that “[d]reams are the touchstones of our character” and that our true, naked self appears in our dreams (313). The protagonist reveals his "true, naked self" in four major dream sequences that unfold throughout the novel. The four dreams allow the reader a more intimate look into the character's unconscious, showing a vulnerable side of Raskolnikov that could not have been reached through narrative alone. In the world of dreams, the events that take place are not linked to time or space. Freedom from time and space allows Dostoyevsky to introduce information in combinations that would not make sense if presented in the real world of the novel. A character can be resurrected from the dead or transported to the past or future. Dreams also allow for unfiltered content. When a person sleeps, their mind is not controlled by their consciousness; and unpleasant thoughts that a person may successfully suppress while awake can appear freely in the dream world. Analyzing the middle of the paper ......tes of the block » in the stairwell (120). If his neighbors are prisoners, then the stairwell must be part of the prison. His mind is the stairwell and for him it has become a prison. As the novel progresses, Raskolnikov's mind continues to be a symbolic prison and he continues to be tormented and made physically ill by his thoughts. Works Cited Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. Crime and punishment. Trans. Constance Garnett. New York: Macmillan, 1929. Print. Ser.Payne, Jessica D. and Lynn Nadel of Modern Readers. “Sleep, dreams and memory consolidation: the role of cortisol, the stress hormone.” Sleep, dreams and memory consolidation: the role of cortisol, the stress hormone. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2004. Web. April 30, 2014. Thoreau, Henry David. “One week: Wednesday.” A week on the Concord and Merrimack rivers. Boston: James R. Osgood, 1873. 313. Print