Raskolnikov's Character Development in Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Raskolnikov’s brusque affectation eventually yields to his predilection for salvation and redemption. He ultimately comes to the realization that he is not worthy of being “extraordinary” because of the crippling guilt that followed his murder of the pawnbroker. Raskolnikov reflects upon the implications of his crime on his psyche, “I murdered myself, not her! I crushed myself once for all,

    The confusion in Raskolnikov’s soul is best seen when he tries to help a girl in the street who has been raped and left to the whims of whoever may

First, let me introduce you to the main character himself otherwise known as the murderer in this story. Raskolnikov is the main protagonist of the novel, making the story in his point of view. He is very alienated from society due to his

It shall not be, so long as I am alive, it shall not, it shall not! I won’t accept it!” (Part 1. 4.). Raskolnikov begins to alienate himself from his ex-colleague, Razumikhin, although at points it is Razumikhin who supports Raskolnikov the most. It forces Razumikhin to replace Raskolnikov in situations that should have been left to his authority. In a situation where Raskolnikov should have reassured Dounia and Pulcheria of their safety “he waved his hand weakly to Razumikhin to cut short the flow of warm and incoherent consolations he was addressing to his mother and sister” (Part 3. 1). As Raskolnikov began to slowly move away from any form of comfortable socialization and a growing poverty situation, his stubbornness to contain his pride and dignity eventually builds up to the brutal murder of Alyona.

Although, Raskolnikov tries to hold on to his morality, he starts to develop a concept of Ubermensch in his mind. Raskolnikov justifies his future actions by many reasonings. Not only would the death of the pawnbroker bring him wealth but everyone would benefit from her death. In this quote, Raskolnikov overhears this conversation about wanting the pawnbrokers. This further convinced Raskolnikov that everyone including him would appreciate her death. Additionally, Raskolnikov explained the theory of Ubermensch. The concept of a individual being extraordinary by having the possibility to go above the law without guilt. He wanted to test this concept to see if he is an ubermensch. Raskolnikov character shows in the novel the wrong and insufition

Dostoevsky’s believes in existentialism, and the idea that individual freedom is essential to the development of the mind (Copleston 165). He speaks through his characters by presenting them as “continually defeated as a result of their choices” ( “Existentialism”). Though Raskolnikov is allowed to make his own decisions he ended up making the wrong ones. He is forced to face his consequences of the murders he committed. Dostoevsky’s blend of philosophy with the novel allows

From declaring he wanted to become a Napoleon to wishing for financial independence to murdering for his own sake, he rattles off various motives, showing his obsessive rationalization (394-397). By presenting his conflicting intentions, Dostoevsky exhibits the chaos within Raskolnikov’s mind.

Dostoyevsky most likely modeled Crime and Punishment after his own experiences. Since the two men's lives had striking similarities, many people believed that was evidence to prove their thinking. As Raskolnikov was overcome with tremendous suffering, sent to Siberia, and fell madly in love with a beautiful woman; so did Dostoyevsky within his lifetime. "I do believe that the character (Raskolnikov) was the epitome of Dostoyevsky's life." (Timoney)

In this paper, I plan to explain Dostoevsky’s criticism of Western Individualism. Dostoevsky’s first criticism resides in the idea to “love life more than the meaning of it, “which is presented by the character Alyosha (Dostoevsky 3). Allowing this character to discuss this topic, along with the commentary of Ivan, demonstrates their mindset to solely focus on their own lives, opposed to caring for others. This leads to them living for the now, and not focusing on how their decisions will affect their future or others. Dostoevsky disapproves of this notion because living by this mentality encourages the guidance of logic, which is dangerous because it could tell you to kill yourself. From Dostoevsky’s Eastern Orthodox background, he believes that the only way from living from this situation is to deny it. By denying this way of living, the focus toward life will not be directed toward yourself, but toward the way you can impact the environment around you. Ivan clearly does not believe in these values, due to his intentions to commit suicide at the age of thirty. As said before, living by the idea to “love life more than the meaning of it” leads to death, and Ivan indulges in this to the fullest (Dostoevsky 3).

He has to decide whether he wants to be in trouble or not and this is a problem! That shows that even though, physical consequences might not come, a normal person’s conscience can and will provide a much more insufferable punishment to deal with. The punishment of knowing that you have done wrong is demanding on Raskolnikov and at the end of the book, he ends up confessing to his crimes to end the torment and clear his conscience.

If I could meet Dostoevsky I would ask him what his inspiration for Crime and Punishment was. Sometimes I wonder if the novel was written to give us insight to how Dostoevsky felt about the world. Maybe he is using the character Raskolnikov to portray a part of him who feels alienated from the world, and is torn apart

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.

Raskolnikov lives an ordinary life as an ordinary man. He is a good man and has a good heart, but he soon commits a crime that will forever change his life. Raskolnikov is a good man; I believe he is kind, generous, and selfless. Now, how are all of these positive traits found in a murderer? I think was caught in a psychotic moment, his mental state was not all there, and he had a dream, he made a plan, and he committed this terrible crime. A good example of Raskolnikov being a kind hearted person, and selfless is when he sees a young girl at the end of the street, he sees by her a rough looking man staring at her. He starts to get very worried what this man might do to this young girl. He goes down the street to get this young girl, and he pays for a taxi to get her home. This was so generous, and small yet so impactful. Raskolnikov cared about what might happen to this young girl, and did something about it. This showed how selfless Raskolnikov is, and what a kind heart he has. I think this shows Raskolnikov’s true character. From here, he makes some terrible decisions, and is engulfed by guilt, but I believe he is a generous, kindhearted person. In this book, Crime And Punishment, Raskolnikov goes from being an ordinary man with an ordinary life to a murderer, tortured by guilt, haunted by the memory of his crime, and him finding himself again in society after the murders.

Rather than benefitting society, Raskolnikov realizes that he was driven to do crazy things in his attempt to be an extraordinary man. In that realization, Raskolnikov is finally redeemed. This dream and the epilogue itself are very important because they offer final commentary on the extraordinary man theory.

We know that Raskolnikov Rodion Romanovich, the main character of the novel who cruelly killed the old pawnbroker and her sister, finally, confessed to the murder and was sentenced to nine years of obligatory work in Siberia. New environment and the love of Sonya Semyonovna helped him realize his mistakes and change his beliefs and values. He became more humane, social, and gained peace of mind. Nevertheless, the life of Raskolnikov could have ended “going to America” or, in the other words, committing suicide. He was thinking about killing himself several times: while he was walking on the bridge, after the conversation with Svidrigailov Arkady Ivanovich and Porfiry Petrovich. He knew that this action could release him from internal suffering and agony. However, if he did that, it also would have affected the lives of other people. For example, Kolya, Christian boy who took the blame for the murder he did not commit, could have spent a lot of years in prison. Sonechka could have possible become a prostitute again or followed Raskolnikov’s footsteps and kill herself as