UNIVERSIDAD AUSTRAL DE CHILE FACULTAD DE FILOSOFA Y HUMANIDADES INSTITUTO DE LINGSTICA Y LITERATURA ILIN 121 Readings in Literature Prof.

. Miss Katherina Walper G. Stud. Jorge Astorga, Fernando Chacn December, 29th, 2011.

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT SYMBOLISM AND THEME In the play Crime and Punishment, oppression, tyranny and abuse are always present. There is a country been occupied by another country through armed intervention. There has been bombings and death. In this interpretative essay, theme and symbolism will be analyzed. Being tyranny, abuse and oppression the themes of this play, the abusive soldier is a symbol of the United States behaviour in relation to less powerful countries. The woman is being held captive against her will by a soldier. This reflects the oppression by the United States of America, when they enter countries, taking them over, dominating them militarily and economically, and stepping over human rights. A good example of this is the Iraq war. In 2003, after approximately three weeks of fighting, President Saddam Hussein was forcibly removed, followed by nine years of military occupation by the United States (U. S. Army Center of Military History, n.d.). This country was occupied using war against terrorism as an excuse. In the text, the woman realizes that international agreements are not being respected, in terms of prisoners interrogations. Having a tense conversation with the soldier, the woman said In war you will do anything (Ravenhill, 2009, l. 97). In one moment, the soldier starts to show tyranny. The use of his power and authority is cruel and unfair. This is related to the United States imperialism. They dont respect international organizations, such as United Nations. They act like they own the world, the war in Afghanistan is a good example. According to Chossudovsky (2005) this war was done against the United Nations will. It was considered an illegal war, perpetrated by the Bush administration, using the argument that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction. However, this weapons were never found. In this piece of work, the soldier incarnates the

United States imperialism through the following sentence: Im bigger than mountains and rivers and seas (Ravenhill, 2009, l. 133). What started as a simple interrogation, turned into a very abusive situation. The soldier hurts the woman. If one thinks of the United States, to them human rights are flexible, Guantanamo for instance. They only respect human rights when it is convenient for them. Torture is permitted under certain circumstances. It can take place in order to prevent terrorist attacks (Chossudovsky, 2005). Near the end, the soldier says, rape and torture are only appropriate when dealing with terror suspects, and only with proper medical and legal supervision (Ravenhill, 2009, l. 159). In conclusion, the three elements of the theme commented above, tyranny, abuse and oppression have a complex meaning in addition to its literal meaning. The soldiers arrogant attitude symbolizes the United States imperialism, which reflects its tyranny, in the war of Afghanistan for example. Also, the abusive soldier represents United States legalization of torture, like the case of Guantanamo. Finally, the kidnapping situation symbolizes the oppression by the United States of America over other countries, like Iraq war and occupation, for example.

REFERENCES Chossudovsky, M. (2005). Americas war on terrorism (2nd ed.). Canada: Global research Kirszner L. G., & Mandell S. R. (2001). Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. US: Harcourt Publishers. Ravenhill, M. (2009). Crime and Punishment. In Shoot/get treasure/repeat (play seven, pp. 83-94). London: Methuen drama. United States Army Center of Military History. (n.d.). Global War on Terrorism. Retrieved December 27, 2011 from the United States Army Center of Military History web site: http://www.history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/GWOT/index.html