Pause & Post #2: Point of View

Crime and Punishment is unlike any book I've ever read before. I can honestly say, if it weren't for this assignment, I probably wouldn't have even known the book existed, let alone read it. As I was reading I couldn't help but wonder what point of view the book was written from... After thinking about it I came to the conclusion Crime and Punishment is written from a third person omniscient point of view. "Why am I to be pitied, you say? Yes! There's nothing to pity me for! I ought to be crucified, crucified on a cross, not pitied! Crucify me, oh judge, crucify me but pity me?" Third person omniscient point of view means the narrator does not participate as one of the characters, but as the reader, we know exactly how the characters are feeling. 
As  a reader, I'm finding this very effective to tell the Raskolnikov's story. This way of writing allows for the story to be told in full, and also, get Raskolnikov's very important thoughts in to further the story. "Oh, God, how loathsome this all is? And can it be, can it be that I...no, it's nonsense, it's it's absurd! Could such horror really come into my head? But then, what filth my heart is capable of!...Above all, filthy, nasty, vile, vile!"  
If the story was not written from this point of view, I do not think the book would be as good of a read. This point of view reveals so much both about the story and itself, and it's characters, it's a crucial part to the story. If the point of view changed at all, I think the story would lose what makes the story so good (in the places where the point of view is changed) and the reader would lose or not pick up important points the author is trying to get across. For example, when Rasckolnikov finds out his sister is getting married, he is furious because neither his mother or his sister consulted him first. If I would have read this from (for example) Raskolnikov's mother, when she was writing this letter to him, telling him these things, I wouldn't have even know how he was going to act, except possibly the reaction his mother thought he might have. This would be a very important  point to miss because it adds to Raskolnikov's character. 
In my opinion, the point of view aids the story in a great way, and really opens the book to its readers.