Raskolnikov Suffering

Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment is a psychologically charged novel in which the primary element that plagues the protagonist, Rodion Raskolnikov, is not a person but rather an idea; his own idea. Raskolnikov has an unhealthy obsession with rendering himself into what he perceives as the ideal, supreme human being, an übermensch. Raskolnikov forms for himself a theory in which he will live purely according to his own will and transcend the social norms and moralities that dominate society. Raskolnikov suggests that acts commonly regarded as immoral are to be reserved for a certain rank of “extraordinary” men. Raskolnikov’s faith

The central theme of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky deals with conformity’s role in society. Dostoyevsky uses conformity to make Raskolnikov mentally ill and eventually turn himself in to face the punishment for his crimes. Religion influences every character in the book, but none more ardently than Raskolnikov. Understanding religion’s role as a force for conformity in Crime and Punishment provides a powerful insight into character motives and, furthermore, philosophical influences.

In the novel “Crime and Punishment”, the author, Fyodor Dostoevsky gives the reader a glimpse into the mind of a tormented criminal, by his guilt of a murder. Dostoevsky’s main focal point of the novel doesn’t lie within the crime nor the punishment but within the self-conflicting battle of a man and his guilty conscience. The author portrays tone by mood manipulation and with the use of descriptive diction to better express his perspective in the story, bringing the reader into the mind of the murderer.

In Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment Raskolnikov comes from a poor family and went to Petersburg in order to study. After a while Raskolnikov becomes destitute, living miserably. Raskolnikov is prideful, stubborn, and charismatic,which makes him an interesting character. Raskolnikov’s deep pride is one reason for him killing Alyona the old pawnbroker. Yet, Raskolnikov believed that killing Alyona would help humanity and take away evil from society. Such sentiments are spoken by a man he overhears, “"Kill her, take her money and with the help of it devote oneself to the service of humanity and the good of all. What do you think, would not one tiny crime be wiped out by thousands of good deeds?" With strong intentions on helping others, he is

Although the cross was initially supposed to show Raskolnikov's self-sacrifice, it began to show that he started down the path of recognizing the wrongs that he committed. Before he confessed his crime to Sonia he felt isolated from her as well. Since he fell in love with her, it was his biggest pain being cut off from her. When he finally trusted Sonia with the knowledge of his crime, she accepts him because he finally starts his reconciliation. He gathers strength from Sonia's acceptance of him, and that is what pushes him into confessing to society. His compassionate nature is what also pushes his actions once again. Since he felt disconnected from Sonia, his compassion is what pushed him into confining in her his secret to become closer to her. With Raskolnikov gaining spiritual reassessment at the end shows the special significance of Sonia as well through the novel. She gave herself (her love) to bring him back to society, like Jesus, and by doing so he would ultimatly save himself and recognize his sins, as he did. The strength from which Raskolnikov gained from Sonia influenced his reconciliation, reassessment, and stability to which then lead to the major importance of the

Often times in literature, we are presented with quintessential characters that are all placed into the conventional categories of either good or bad. In these pieces, we are usually able to differentiate the characters and discover their true intentions from reading only a few chapters. However, in some remarkable pieces of work, authors create characters that are so realistic and so complex that we are unable to distinguish them as purely good or evil. In the novel Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky develops the morally ambiguous characters of Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov to provide us with an interesting read and to give us a chance to evaluate each character.

A shy and timid seventeen year old girl, Sonia is wary of Raskolnikov when she first meets him. Her tenacious religious faith is a vital part of her character; she is shy and timid, but also truly compassionate and altruistic (especially towards Raskolnikov). In this sense, Raskolnikov is quite different from Sonia; where he is uncaring and ignorant, she is warm-hearted and thoughtful. Sonia helps to bring back the humane aspects of Raskolnikov’s personality. “There, not far from the entrance, stood Sonia, pale and horror-stricken. She looked wildly at him… There was a look of poignant agony, of despair in her face...His lips worked in an ugly, meaningless smile. He stood still a minute, grinned, and went back into the police office” (Dostoevsky 447). At this moment in time, Raskolnikov had gone into the police station to confess his crime, but in a lack of better judgement, he returns back to Sonia without telling about his crime. Had Raskolnikov not been motivated by the repugnant look on Sonia’s face, it is unlikely that he would have gone back into the police station. This is perhaps the prime example of how Sonia brings out the best in Raskolnikov. Sonia’s sympathetic and doting personality is polar to Raskolnikov’s selfish beliefs and his “extraordinary man theory”. However, when all is said and done, Sonia guides Raskolnikov to face the punishment of his wrong doing. Had Raskolnikov not had a tenacious relationship with Sonia, it likely would have taken him a much

Crime and Punishment, written by Fyodor Dostoevsky, is the story of Raskolnikov a young man who decides to commit multiple murders. In turn he is eventually found guilty and punished for his actions. Dostoevsky uses the immensity of Raskolnikov’s guilt to show the inevitability of morality.

Raskolnikov finally accepts he committed murder, not for some great moral or ethical purpose, but to try to prove to himself he was greater or better than the average man, and as he does so, he shows great anxiety and doubt in his words. Raskolnikov “simply murdered,” he “murdered for

In Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky discusses justice, questioning who or what determines this ideal. Primarily, he focuses on a man named Raskolnikov, who murders two women and then wrestles with his motives. As Raskolnikov’s hopeless outlook drives him to madness, his friend Sonia reveals an alternative view of justice, which allows for redemption. Through analyzing his character’s viewpoints, Dostoevsky never explicitly defines justice; instead, he exposes his audience to different interpretations to form their own conclusions. However, by depicting Raskolnikov spiraling into madness, Dostoevsky guides his reader to reject justice as determined by man in favor of it established by a higher power.

Even when Raskolnikov was asleep he received painful messages of others who were suffering, just as he was. In one particular instance, before the double-murder, Raskolnikov is brought back to the poverty he suffered throughout his childhood. He once again feels a great empathy toward the suffered, but this time

The title of Feodor Dostoevsky’s work, Crime and Punishment, leads the mind to think that the book will focus on a great punishment set by enforcers of the law that a criminal will have to endure, but the book does not really focus on any physical repercussions of the crimes of the main character, Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov.

We, as human beings, have an instinctive necessity to follow some code of morality. There is and always will be a threshold for how many sins, carnage, and moral misdeeds a human will commit before entering a state of remorse and wanting to atone for his, or her actions. Raskolnikov, the protagonist of Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, was at constant battle with himself and the spirit of perverseness. Initially, Rodya’s actions are almost cyclical in nature: doing one compassionate act then regretting said action and later proclaiming disparagement in the most prideful way possible. He was arrogant and fostered haughty distain towards the world. This grating outlook contributed to his belief in fatalism and rationalization of his poor actions. Although he defended his actions in the sanctuary of his rather unstable mind, Rodya was unable to escape from the past and echoes of the murders followed him wherever he went.

Crime and Punishment, written by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky; is a philosophical crime fiction novel. The story is very powerful in that it goes beyond the book and into the lives of the audience; making the audience feel some type of relation between themselves and the story. Dostoevsky was brilliant in creating a fictional world where the characters seem to be found within the audience, transitioning from a fictional story to a self-help book. He employes many life lessons in the story, which give the audience a new perspective on themselves.

In Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, the murder of the pawnbroker bears little significance when compared to the 'punishment' that Raskolnikov endures. The murder is the direct result of Raskolnikov's Ubermensch theory. Though it takes a while for Raskolnikov to realize the profound mistake in his theory and in his logic, his tedious yet prolific journey eventually leads him to redemption. Suffering, guilt and societal alienation prompt Raskolnikov to reject his Ubermensch theory and ultimately achieve redemption. Through Raskolnikov's character, Dostoevsky reveals that the psychological punishment inflicted by an unethical action is more effective in leading to self-realization than any physical punishment.