One of the main themes of this book, as I see it, is the conflict between two approaches to living a life.<br>One is when you constantly compete with others. You have to be strong, insincere and arrogant. This is the psychology of a politician or, often, a sportsman. You have to win because you are convinced that others are worse and you are special. And if you cannot, you become angry and try harder and possibly break down at some point. Even if you win in something, you have to maintain your position and that means a high level of stress every day.<br>The other approach is of people who love and value their families, friends, and communities and do not see their lives without them. Since there is not as much competition going on, these people live longer and happier than the first group, though are very unlikely to become champions or earn a lot of money.<br>Rodya clearly belongs to the second group (does everybody?): he loves his family and would give everything he has to help those in need. But his life was hard: he could not make enough money, and his constant worries made him a loner. So his thoughts turned in the wrong direction: he began to think of others as of enemies and think that he was special.<br>The main conflict, as I see it, is between his inner sane personality and this desire to fight with the world because the world was so harsh to him. Throughout the whole book Rodion felt this tension and tried to find a solution.<br>But only after going through the whole cycle of crime and punishment and experiencing Sonya's true love, could he, like the prodigal son, come to terms with his nature.