Who Is Raskolnikov A Dynamic Character

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

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.

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.

Raskolnikov’s main motive for killing Alyona Ivanovna and eventually Lizaveta was money. The novel begins already discussing the theme of poverty and the need for money. It is obvious that Rodya is in a state of poverty throughout the entirety of this novel. This is shown through the way he dresses, his eating habits, the size of his apartment, and his lack of money to afford his tuition and law studies. In order for Raskolnikov to obtain more money, his plan for murder begins. Overall, being poor defines Raskolnikov and poverty becomes the central theme in his plan for murder.

Dostoevsky, the author of Crime and Punishment, was extremely concerned with many of the social issues of his day. It his work, he addresses the rise of nihilism and disregard for moral responsibility that overtook Russia’s youth during the 1860s through Raskolnikov, who murders a pawnbroker.

Throughout history, it has been said that there are two sides to every coin. In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov is the coin. Raskol, in Russian, stands for “split.” Raskolnikov himself is an extremely split character; throughout this novel, he has two very different sides. In the beaten down, busy town of St. Petersburg, Raskolnikov is constantly ill, alienating himself from society. Once a student, Raskolnikov now lives in shambles and barely has enough money to support himself. Although Raskolnikov appears kind and gentle towards Katerina Ivanovna after her husband's sudden death, his true identity was revealed through the gruesome murder of Alyona Ivanovna and, her half-sister, Lizaveta, which shows that Raskolnikov is actually a barbaric, cold-blooded creature.

Through this “juxtaposition between life and death it because evident the prominent shift in Raskolnikov stance when it comes to confessing at the crimes he has committed. Dostoevsky used the metaphor of the man on the ledge condemned to death wanting to live despite the consequences as a representation of Raskolnikov’s internal conflict and contemplation of his life if he were to confess. Although to the reader “to live somewhere high up on a cliffside, on a ledge so narrow that there was room only for his two feet--and with the abyss, the ocean, eternal darkness, eternal solitude, eternal storm”(158) feels touchorous and appealing to the reader to Raskolnikov it is much better than living a life filled with guilt. By using the word

In Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, the character of Raskolnikov is one who may be considered evil or immoral for his actions, however his portrayal by the author is one that instills sympathy in the reader for the character due to his motives and personal, internal consequences he suffers for his crime of murder. There is considerable evidence supporting the view that Raskolnikov wants his theory surrounding the murder to be proven wrong, to get caught, and to be punished. This tells the reader that deep

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.

In Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s, Crime and Punishment, the conclusion of the novel plays an important role in resolving and reconciling a multitude of conflicts within the characters. For Dostoyevsky, the resolution of the story plays a significant purpose not only in resolving the various crimes committed, but additionally acting as a moral reassessment for the characters that helps the audience reflect upon their own morals as well. Accordingly, through Dostoyevsky’s portrayal of the troubling abuses committed by the characters due to their lack of regard for the law, a large portion of the novel emphasizes the concept of a universal morality that should be intrinsic to humanity. Through the analysis of the repercussions of Raskolnikov’s crimes, Svidrigailov’s crimes, and the juxtaposition between them,

Fyodor Dostoyevsky investigates human universals in Crime and Punishment through “Raskolnikov, a sensitive intellectual, is driven by poverty to believe that he is exempt from moral law. But when he puts this belief to the test, he suffers unbearably.”(Everbind Crime and Punishment). By exploring the mind of an individual and the consequences of their actions, Dostoyevsky is able to examine how human universals affect an individual. Dostoyevsky investigates this through his main character Raskolnikov. Raskolnikov convinces himself that he is exempt from moral law because of his poverty, and because of this he comes into conflict with many human universals. He faces poverty and class struggle, guilt, and dilemmas with family. Dostoyevsky’s

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.

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

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

Throughout the novel, Crime and Punishment by Fydor Dostoyevsky, the author uses characters who are alienated from society, to highlight values of society they are rejected from. Sonia Marmeldov, becomes alienated from society mainly for going into prostitution at a young age and then for falling in love with a murderer. The murderer, Raskolnikov, also faces rejection for his actions, and he later goes to trial where people stick up for him.