Crime And Punishment Nihilism

He immediately convinced himself that it was a sign that he must commit the murder the next night. The use of coincidence and environment as self-justification shows that he feels guilty and needs validation for his crimes. He cannot turn to God like Sonia because he is a selfish man and repenting means that he must admit to himself that he had done wrong. Instead of feeling disappointment in himself he will blame his actions on the world around him. Raskolnikov askes Sonia to read him a passage out of the Bible and she reads him the story of Lazarus.

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

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

Nihilism is one of the most difficult philosophies to accurately define because of its ambiguous nature. In its simplest form, one might consider it an extremely pessimistic form of skepticism in which the individual discounts even the idea of existence. Therefore, to a nihilist, all values, relationships, authority, beliefs, and emotions are baseless and empty. First popularized in Ivan Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons in 1862, nihilism is associated with a revolutionary movement that occurred in Russia from 1814 to 1876. The principles of nihilism often can be linked with those of utilitarianism, existentialism, and anarchism. Dostoevsky demonstrates his aversion to this philosophy through

The author, Dostoevsky, uses characters in his book, Crime and Punishment, to convey important themes and motifs to the readers. The most prominent recurring theme that influences the character’s decisions is religion. [a] Dostoevsky’s uses a unique form of symbolism and character actions to cement the basis of religion. Raskolnikov, the main character, is repeatedly illustrated as being non-religious, as a consequence, constantly in a state of confliction with his inner thoughts, with no clear path to embark on in the future. However, as he grows fond of religion, his mind becomes clear as religion is able to guide him forward. The theme of religion reflects the author’s perspective, as he has been closely affiliated with Christianity

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.

Guilt is a universal emotion that many feel after crime, wrongdoing or simple acts of unkindness. This is apparent in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, where Rodion Raskolnikov’s growing remorse stems from the mediocrity he realizes in himself after he commits murder to test his Ubermensch-qualities. Rubbishing the thought of confessing and refusing to embrace his guilt, Dostoevsky uses Raskolnikov’s torn thoughts to explore the novel’s theme of revolution: he condemns nihilism as a way of coercing societal change, or for Raskolnikov, as a ploy to escape poverty, and suggests that his brisk downfall is largely a result his adherence to this radical philosophy.

Raskolnikov’s Return to Society Through Spiritual Reassessment Society has been force feeding children ideals of happy endings since the beginning of story telling through parables and fairy tales. Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment is a refreshing example of a novel that does not have a stereotypical happy ending, but simply a main character’s completed moral development and “spiritual reassessment”. After Raskolnikov is forced to reevaluate himself and his morals, he realizes that he is not one of the “supermen” he speaks of. This moral reassessment returns him to society after isolation from guilt and moral conflicts and in turn illustrates Dostoevsky’s idea of human needs regarding human interaction and connection to society and others. Without a connection to society initially, Raskolnikov, a representation of people, falls ill both mentally and physically, but after his reconciliation, he grows better once again.

Dostoevsky's 1865 novel Crime and Punishment is the story of an expelled university student's murder of an old pawnbroker and her sister. The idealistic ex-student, Raskolnikov, is ultimately unable to live up to his own nihilistic theory of what makes a "Great Man" and, overcome by fits of morality, betrays himself to the police. Exiled to Siberia, suffering redeems the unfortunate young dreamer. Crime and Punishment is similar in many ways to Balzac's Pere Goriot, especially in respect to questions of morality. In Balzac, the master-criminal Vautrin lives by an amoral code similar to Raskolnikov's theory of Great Men--unrestrained by conscience, Vautrin holds that laws are for the weak, and those clever enough to realize this may

Marxist Theory and Crime and Punishment Throughout human history countless philosophers have risen with what they thought to be the best form of government for society as a whole.  Karl Marx may be the most influential philosopher in Russian history.  According to The Free Dictionary, Marxism is the concept that “class struggle plays a central role in understanding society's allegedly inevitable development from bourgeois oppression under capitalism to a socialist and ultimately classless society”.  With this theory, Marx had a great impact on Russian literature; specifically,  Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment.  According the the Marxist theory, one would interpret Crime and Punishment as a perfect example to

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 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

There is no doubt that in the majority of films directed by the renowned Alfred Hitchcock, women play a significant role. Many of Hitchcock’s films feature a blonde, rather than brunette, as the female lead because Hitchcock considered blondes “a symbol of the heroine” and “less suspicious than a brunette”. Hitchcock’s heroines are externally immaculate, but full of deceit and weakness. They have mother-like tendencies and are often portrayed as proper and obedient towards their male counterparts, as most women were expected to be in Hitchcock’s era. It is safe to presume that Hitchcock had severe mummy issues, which many of his films make apparent by severely punishing even the slightest of deceptions. The central dynamic in the majority of

Consider the design of a puppet. When observing this structure, one will give attention to the source of the puppet’s actions being dictated by the puppeteer. These actions are able to be transmitted from the will of the puppeteer into the puppet through the strings that the puppeteer uses to control specific parts of the puppet. Furthermore, one can infer that the strings of the puppet are the motive behind the puppet’s action. If the puppet’s actions are disoriented or even disjointed, one can infer that the strings or the motives behind the puppet’s actions are conflicting. A notable literary example of this depiction can be found in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserablés. Late in Book V: Valjean, Jean Valjean describes the method of reasoning behind Javert’s suicide when he says, “To owe life to a criminal...to betray society in order to remain true...these absurdities should come about and be heaped on top of him...it was this that defeated him” (Hugo 1181). Javert’s adherence to his internal conflict imploded and eventually influenced his suicide; a reader might see Javert’s decision and confirm that an inner conflict of motives prompted his unanticipated action. Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a 19th Century existentialist Russian author, portrays a similar theme in his book Crime and Punishment which tells the story of a man named Raskolnikov, the suspect of a murder case, who appears like a puppet with actions that become increasingly

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