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.

The extraordinary man theory that motivates Raskolnikov is derived from German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of the Übermensch. According to Nietzsche, an Übermensch (which literally means Overman when translated into English) is a human who has battled modern values and overcome the flaws and weaknesses of humanity.  This superhuman should have the ability to control and create fear amongst others, causing society to either idolize or fear them. In Friedrich Nietzsche’s 1883 book Thus Spake Zarathustra, Nietzsche (through Zarathustra) illustrates this concept when he says: 

I teach you the overman. Man is something that shall be overcome. What have you done to overcome him? All beings so far have created something beyond themselves; and do you want to be the ebb of this great flood and even go back to the beasts rather than overcome man? What is the ape to man? A laughing stock or a painful embarrassment. And man shall be just that for the overman: a laughing stock or a painful embarrassment…

When Raskolnikov was first introduced to Nietzsche’s concept of the Übermensch, he became infatuated with the idea of becoming extraordinary. Crime and Punishment alludes to several historical figures as examples of supermen. Such examples, including Napolean, serve as role models for Rodion Raskolnikov.