As Timon would say, "'You must leave the past behind you'" (The Lion King). These wise words spoken by an animated meerkat also ring true in Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, written nearly one hundred and thirty years before the idea of ​​small talking mammals even occurred to anyone. Dostoevsky's novel follows the trials and tribulations of a poor former student, Raskolnikov, as he struggles with an internal ethical battle. Throughout Raskolnikov's struggle, his interactions with other characters and the characters themselves show different aspects of humanity, including remorse and the desire for redemption. All characters have regrets in Dostoevsky's novel, and most seek redemption or "atonement for [their] faults or faults" (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). When people hold on to the sins of the past, they lose the possibility of redemption. Svidrigailov, holding on to his failures with Dunia, loses his chance at redemption. His first attempt to seduce Dunia fails when she writes a letter in which she "rebuked him with great heat and indignation for the baseness of his behavior towards Marfa Petrovna" (35). Even after this blatant rejection from Dunia, Svidrigailov persists in competing for her love and continues to fail. His flaw is his adulterous lifestyle, and as he continues to vie for Dunia's love, he fails to see that his ways are adulterous. He therefore loses any possibility of atoning for his adultery and renounces his redemption. Much later in the novel, Svidrigailov confesses that the thought of being with Dunia “'has tormented [his] dreams'” and to further demonstrate his incessant longing, he talks endlessly about Dunia to his brother, Raskolnikov. Only a desperate man could resist and continue to dream of a woman... middle of paper... back, they cannot see the dangers that await them. As Pumbaa, the dim-witted but warm-hearted warthog, says, "You must put your back on the past" and keep your front facing the obstacles ahead of you and let the places you stumbled remain distant memories. Works Cited Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and punishment. Trans. Constance Garnet. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2007. Print.Mecchi, Irene, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Wolverton. "The Lion King (1994) - Memorable Quotes." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Network. May 26, 2010. "Redemption: Definition and more from the free Merriam-Webster dictionary." Dictionary and Synonyms - Merriam-Webster Online. Ed. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 2010. Wed. May 26, 2010. ,http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/redeeming>