Theme of Children in Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, The Devils, The Brothers KaramazovAs an adult, Dostoevsky was fascinated by children, but was extremely struck by the suffering they were often forced to endure. As a result, the theme of children became "one of the most important in his portrait of society" and he became obsessed with the theme of "children on the road to destruction" (p.572, Grossman). The charming children in her novels possess a simple, vulnerable and innocent nature that highlights the contrasting and cruel society. In facing these cruelties, children must gain strength and learn to sacrifice themselves to bear these burdens; if their purity and fragile innocence are damaged, however, they often choose to end their hardships and commit suicide. The poverty and fast-paced environments in which children must live force them to take on certain adult responsibilities and watch in helpless silence as their children and families struggle to survive. In the Marmeladov house, Polenka, a ten-year-old girl, has to take care of her younger siblings and help her mother with daily chores. Although she does not fully understand what is happening around her, she senses that her mother needs support and therefore "always followed her with big wise eyes and tried to pretend that she understood everything" (p. 151). She is too young and innocent to understand, but she instinctively sacrifices herself and adopts the role of second mother to care for her younger siblings. However, it is not difficult to take care of these brothers. Their calmness and patience are remarkable considering their age. The little boy often watches silently from his chair, "straight and still with...... middle of paper ... their life is that it is precisely their charming and innocent characteristics that attract corrupt beings, and that in the end it upsets or even destroys their pure and angelic characters. It has been said, however, that it is "through the attention to children that the author indulges his sense of hope" (p.182, de Jonge). Works cited1) Dostoevsky , Fyodor. The Oxford Idiot: Oxford University Press, 1992.2) Dostoevsky, Fyodor Crime and Punishment, New York: WW Norton and Company, 1989.3) Dostoevsky, Fyodor Devils, Oxford University Press, 1992.4) Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, New York Company, 1976.5) Grossman, Leonid: his life and work New York: the Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1975.6) by Jonge, Alex Dostoevsky and the Age of Intensity London: Secker & Warburg, 1975.