The Deconstruction of Raskolnikov as Übermensch Essay examples

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 first thing to address while discussing the author’s purpose is to examine the motivation of the main character, Raskolnikov. In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov becomes an ubermensch, and part of this is that he does not take into account

Raskolnikov, the main character of the novel Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoevsky, actually possesses two completely contradicting personalities. One part of him is intellectual: cold, unfeeling, inhumane, and exhibiting tremendous self-will. It is this side of him that enables him to commit the most terrible crime imaginable - taking another human life. The other part of his personality is warm and compassionate. This side of him  does charitable acts and fights against the evil in his society.

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

When Raskolnikov was a student he enjoyed the debate and human contact, but also strived for acceptance. He had a dual nature to himself, which could be characterized by his cold intelligence, which separated him from society, and his compassionate side. After Raskolnikov murdered Alyona and Lizaveta Ivanovna

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

Being the protagonist in Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov is subject to most ridicule and analysis for his moral ambiguity and outlandish views. After reading about his dreadful murder of Alyona and Lizaveta Ivanovna, many come to the conclusion that Raskolnikov is purely evil. His lack of guilt and belief of justification for his crime surely points readers in this direction. Raskolnikov remains convinced that he is superior and that it was his duty to kill such a worthless person. Although some may view this as evilness, others may perceive it as downright ignorant. His atypical way of thinking doesn’t necessarily make him evil, but that is how some comprehend it. At certain points in the story, we see Raskolnikov not as a deranged man, but instead as a compassionate human being. After the murder, we see him carrying out various charitable acts, perhaps as an attempt to atone for his unforgivable crime. For example, we see some good in him when he gives Sonya’s family twenty rubbles after Marmeladov passes on. We also see this when he attempts to rescue a drunk girl from a man by giving her money for a taxi. As much as Raskolnikov expresses that he was justified in his actions, through his mental and physical illnesses it is apparent that he feels some guilt about it. This guilt makes him seem at least a little bit more human. For these reasons, when all is said and done, it is difficult to determine

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

The protagonist, Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, a former student, decides to murder and rob an old pawn broker, Alyona Ivanovna, not due to his desperate need of money, but due to a theory he wants to test. Raskolnikov leaves no evidence which would lead the investigation to him; however, the police lieutenant in charge of the case, Porfiry Petrovich, a meticulous thinker, understands Raskolnikov’s theory and has a big role in influencing the student to confess. Between the murder and the confession, Raskolnikov undergoes a long and painful process of thought. His friend, Razumikhin Prokofych, along with a prostitute and his future significant other, Sonia Semyonovna Marmeladova, are part of the protagonist’s path. In the end, Sonia turns out to be Raskolnikov’s salvation as she helps him find redemption and start living

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 main theme of Crime and Punishment is estrangement from society. In the beginning, Raskolnikov distances himself from the people of the world. “It was not that he was a cowed or naturally timorous person, far from it; but he had been for some time in an almost morbid state of irritability and tension. He had cut himself off from everybody and withdrawn so completely into himself that he now shrank from every kind of contact.” He was poor but because of his egotistic view of his importance and his feelings of superiority to everyone else he “had ceased to concern himself with everyday

Through Raskolnikov’s exemplification of the impracticality of this principle\, Dostoevsky makes his greatest point in Crime and Punishment. His commentary on the subject seeks to discredit the theory in the circumstance of an individual “superman” by displaying Raskolnikov as a character who is difficult for readers to identify with because of his inanity. Even Raskolnikov’s name is a symbol of nihilistic ideas, the word “raskol” meaning schism in Russian, illustrating the shift from an older school of thought (social utopianism) to a darker philosophy: nihilism and utilitarianism. Raskolnikov seems to fluctuate back and forth between the two philosophies, acting on one and then mentally chastising himself for it, immediately and almost erratically changing his mind. This symbolizes the more human side of him struggling

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.

While in a conversation with Sonia, Raskolnikov says “I did not bow down to you [Sonya], I bowed down to all the suffering of humanity." (Dostoevsky, Page 350) Meaning that he went through both physical and mental suffering which contributed to the guilt that he had after the murder. But he would not have felt this guilt if he had successfully eclipsed into the Superman. But he didn’t accomplish this and still remained unaffected by his crime. Raskolnikov’s idea of the superman theory continues by a conversation he has with Porfiry Petrovitch where they talk about an essay in which Raskolnikov wrote about the superman theory with his own thoughts that got published in the newspaper, in Raskolnikov’s essay he states “In a word, you (Raskolnikov) introduce, if you remember, a hint to the effect that there are persons who are able, or rather, not who are able but who have every right, to commit any wrong or crime, and that laws, so to say, are not made for them.” (Dostoevsky, Page 220) Afterwards, Raskolnikov responds by saying “The extraordinary man has the right... I don’t mean a formal, official right, but he has the right in himself, to permit his conscience to overstep… certain obstacles, but only in the event that his ideas require it for their fulfilment.” (Dostoevsky, Page 220) Raskolnikov basically makes a distinction between the ordinary and the extraordinary. Raskolnikov’s ideology to