Alex's Term paper part 1

In Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s world-renowned novel Crime and Punishment, Dostoyevsky explores the inner thoughts of a criminal by providing insight into the mind of the novel’s protagonist, Raskolnikov, after committing the most horrendous crime- murder. Dostoyevsky addresses the idea of redemption through both physical and (especially) mental suffering. Throughout the course of the novel, Raskolnikov’s overbearing amount of guilt is extremely evident. This is most likely due to the fact that Dostoyevsky primarily focuses on the way the murders force Raskolnikov to deal with his tormenting sense of guilt, rather than focusing on the actual consequences of committing murder. By elaborating on Raskolnikov’s self-inflicted punishment rather than his imprisonment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky suggests the idea that one’s true punishment serves as the psychological downfall that results from battling his or her guilty conscience, and this itself is significantly worse than trial and imprisonment.

In order to cope with his extreme amount of guilt, Raskolnikov attempts to justify his vicious acts with the belief that it was what the extraordinary man would do. The theory of the "extraordinary man" plays a vital role in Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. At the beginning of the novel, a demoralized and psychologically battered Raskolnikov, classifies himself as a “superhuman” and therefore, believes himself to be exempt from the laws of ordinary men. It is this ideology that makes Raskolnikov believe he has the right to murder Alyona Ivanova and her innocent sister, Lizaveta. Raskolnikov’s point of view on the idea of the “superhuman” is shown through the article he wrote and titled “On Crime.” This article, which was published in a magazine, argues Raskolnikov’s opinion that some extraordinary people are better than the others, and this superiority gives them the right to commit murder in addition other crimes. The article displayed the immoral and corrupt side of Raskolnikov’s personality, which made it relatively easy for others to point fingers when hypothesizing whom the true killer is. However, over the course of this 19^th century Russian novel, Raskolnikov develops conflicting thoughts on whether or not he truly qualifies as one of the proclaimed “super humans.” Raskolnikov’s inability to rid himself of the guilt he feels over murdering the Ivanova sisters is enough to prove to him that he is not a superhuman, but nonetheless, Raskolnikov remains unwilling to accept the idea that he is just as average as the rest of society.