Crime and Punishment

Hours before Raskolnikov’s murder of the pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna, in Part I of Crime and Punishment, he dreams of a prior episode from his childhood. In this incident, a cruel man, Mikolka, brutally kills a mare (a female horse) because she won’t gallop to his liking. He beats her senseless with many objects: a crowbar, a whip, and even an axe. Young Raskolnikov is horrified at this site, sobbing out of revulsion. This dream serves a larger, symbolic purpose as a representation of Raskolnikov’s

Written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment has become one of the most distinguished novels to dissect the physiology of the criminal mind. The intricate storyline allows for the clashing of criminality and morals as main character, Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, develops the configuration of his future. Not alone, Dmitri Prokofych Razumikhin, assists in the uneasiness Raskolikov comes across throughout his mental struggle. The pair then demonstrates the idea of physiological intuition and

Raskolnikov is the character from Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment who is the most relatable to many people. Most people do not have a desire to kill someone who inconveniences them, but that does not mean they can not have similar desires and beliefs. As Raskolnikov believes for the majority of the novel, there are many people who are better than others and they have power over other people. While the novel provides an extreme example of this ideology, some aspects can be relatable to the

Nihilism ran rampant in the intelligentsia in nineteenth century Russia. Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel, Crime and Punishment, illustrates this “new philosophy” in Raskolnikov. The central conflict of the novel revolves around the question of why Raskolnikov murdered the pawnbroker and her sister, and the psychological torment he endures after committing the crime. Aspects that aid in his decision to murder the women are his unspecified belief of Nihilism and his isolation from society. These two components

In “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevsky, societal values are highlighted through the alienation of the women in the novel, and also alienation by class. Dostoevsky shows that this society that Raskolnikov lives in values only the men with money and those who are able to overpower others with their influence. Women in this novel are some of the most alienated characters in almost every way. Dostoevsky portrays the women in such a light to where they have little to no voice, literally and

Sacrifice is the act of giving up something that you want to keep especially in order to get or do something else or to help someone. The novel “Crime and Punishment” expressed the hardships of the characters to obtain money at the time. Everyone was poor and had to give up valuables in order to receive grace on their rent payments from Alyona Ivanovna, the landlady. It was a constant struggle for Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, who occupied the housing development of Alyona. Raskolnikov had difficulty

In Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky uses dreams and Porfyris image of the moth and flame in both Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov to show how it is impossible to overcome one's conscience. He uses the men that have both done evil and horrible acts, and who are trying to live with what they have done. For Raskolnikov he is unable to overcome and get past his murder against Lizaveta and Allyona. His conscience shows up in his dream of Allyona laughing at him as well as the comparison

Sigmund Freud once said: “The ego is not master in its own house”. The main character in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment, is named Rodion Raskolnikov; he struggles with the fact that he killed two women and frets over the punishment he will face if he is caught. Ironically, “raskol” literally means split which resembles Raskolnikov’s mind constantly being pulled in opposing directions. This conflict of personalities is an example of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic personality theory

In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment, great attention is paid to Raskolnikov’s inner life, yet it is equally important to attend to those outside forces that affect him. A significant but overlooked part of the novel, then, is how the city of St. Petersburg affects Raskolnikov. Through my reading, I found it interesting that Raskolnikov regularly traverses the city’s bridges and uses them as a place for reflection. Overall, there are twenty-five appearances of the word “bridge” in the

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