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Raskolnikov Murder

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Raskolnikov’s Self Finding Through Murder
Crime and Punishment, a Russian novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, is an engrossing story about an ex-student, Raskolnikov, who plans a murder against an innocent pawnbroker. Raskolnikov the main character and narrator of the story, is a very poor young man who lives on the top floor of a dilapidated apartment in St. Petersburg. Although his plan to kill the pawnbroker Alyona Ivanovna is obvious early on in Crime and Punishment, his reasoning behind committing the murder is a mystery. Through out the novel, Raskolnikov surfaces many different reasons as to why he killed Alyona, but all the reasons are proven false except for the last one he gives. Raskolnikov’s need for money to support his family, and his …show more content…

Shortly before Raskolnikov kills Alyona, he wanders into a bar and overhears two men talking. The two men agree back and forth and one says, “Wouldn’t thousands of good deeds make up for one tiny little crime? For one life, thousands of lives saved from decay and corruption.” (65) Although Raskolnikov already witnesses Alyona’s sister, Lizaveta, being bossed around cruelly as a servant for Alyona, overhearing these two men talk about how cruel Alyona is, allows Raskolnikov to come to contentment with his idea of murdering her. The influence this conversation had on Raskolnikov is shown in a quote, shortly after he hears the men speak. “This negligible tavern conversation had an extreme influence on him in the further development of the affair; as though there were indeed some predestination, some indication in it…” (66) Raskolnikov uses this conversation as an excuse to wrap his mind around his desire to kill Alyona. He believes that because others want her dead, that fate is pushing him in the direction of murdering her. This excuse is demonstrated falsely when he feels remorseful after the murder. Aylona’s life was indeed not meaningfulness, and Raskolnikov realizes that his motive was not because she was an awful

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