Raskolnikov’s Guilt
Crime and punishment is about a man, Raskolnikov, who commits a crime and is trying to live his life with this guilt. The crime that Raskolnikov commits is murder, and he tries to justify it by telling himself that the world is better off without this wicked woman. Although, that might be true Raskolnikov did not only kill a wicked woman he killed and innocent girl, and that is what's tormenting his soul. Raskolnikov tries his best to keep his crime a secret, but he cannot hide the guilt on his face. As you continue to read you realize that the first murder in the book starts a chain reaction of death, and every other death is compared to this one. It brings out a side to Raskolnikov that is horrifying. He is selfish and …show more content…
When Marmeladov, a drunk man that had given up on life, is killed it's not an easy death. It's very gruesome and horrifying, but at the same time as the reader you understand that his death reflected his life. You start to think that every death in Crime and Punishment is a reflection of the deceased lives. Even though Raskolnikov had no right to justify killing not only the innocent and the pawnbroker, who was ultimately wicked, you must think that the deaths happened because of what they had done in their lives. No one is truly innocent, everybody has done things that they regret, and that is a part of life. So when Raskolnikov chooses to take the pawnbrokers life he makes a move of power and, "Power is given only to him who dates to stoop and take it... one must have the courage to dare" (Pg.323). An example of a man who felt little to no guilt in his life is Svidrigailov. Svidrigaliov is a Satanist who only cared about himself until a few hours before his death. He was a wicked man who did no good in his life, until his last moments, and his death was one of the most symbolic. He committed suicide because he accepted all of his evil doings at once. His death ultimately reflected his life. His suicide was how he dealt with the overwhelming …show more content…
“I couldn’t bear my burden and I have come to throw it on another: you suffer too and I shall feel better!” (Pg. 318). In this quote Raskolnikov is talking with Sonia to relieve his suffering. The tragic thing about this is that he doesn’t realize that his burden is a heavy one, and putting it on her is inconsiderate and at her expense. He hasn’t realized that Sonia has enough on her plate and she is selfless enough to do everything in her power to make him feel human again. This goes to show that Raskolnikov is incredibly selfish. He thinks about himself before he thinks about others. “I wanted to murder, for my own satisfaction ... At that moment I did not care a damn whether I would spend the rest of my life like a spider catching them all in my web and sucking the living juices out of them" (Pg.321). He makes decisions based on the present failing to see what it will do to his future.
In conclusion, Raskolnikov did feel guilt for his actions, but not in the right way. If we tried to compare Raskolnikov to Svidrigailov we should be able to agree that Svidrigailov did more evil in his life but we shouldn’t compare wicked to wicked, but good to good. No matter how wicked people live their lives we mustn’t judge or feel greater than one another. If we were to live our lives in such a way where we would only compare ourselves to ourselves, our lives and our world would be so much greater.
Crime and punishment is about a man, Raskolnikov, who commits a crime and is trying to live his life with this guilt. The crime that Raskolnikov commits is murder, and he tries to justify it by telling himself that the world is better off without this wicked woman. Although, that might be true Raskolnikov did not only kill a wicked woman he killed and innocent girl, and that is what's tormenting his soul. Raskolnikov tries his best to keep his crime a secret, but he cannot hide the guilt on his face. As you continue to read you realize that the first murder in the book starts a chain reaction of death, and every other death is compared to this one. It brings out a side to Raskolnikov that is horrifying. He is selfish and …show more content…
When Marmeladov, a drunk man that had given up on life, is killed it's not an easy death. It's very gruesome and horrifying, but at the same time as the reader you understand that his death reflected his life. You start to think that every death in Crime and Punishment is a reflection of the deceased lives. Even though Raskolnikov had no right to justify killing not only the innocent and the pawnbroker, who was ultimately wicked, you must think that the deaths happened because of what they had done in their lives. No one is truly innocent, everybody has done things that they regret, and that is a part of life. So when Raskolnikov chooses to take the pawnbrokers life he makes a move of power and, "Power is given only to him who dates to stoop and take it... one must have the courage to dare" (Pg.323). An example of a man who felt little to no guilt in his life is Svidrigailov. Svidrigaliov is a Satanist who only cared about himself until a few hours before his death. He was a wicked man who did no good in his life, until his last moments, and his death was one of the most symbolic. He committed suicide because he accepted all of his evil doings at once. His death ultimately reflected his life. His suicide was how he dealt with the overwhelming …show more content…
“I couldn’t bear my burden and I have come to throw it on another: you suffer too and I shall feel better!” (Pg. 318). In this quote Raskolnikov is talking with Sonia to relieve his suffering. The tragic thing about this is that he doesn’t realize that his burden is a heavy one, and putting it on her is inconsiderate and at her expense. He hasn’t realized that Sonia has enough on her plate and she is selfless enough to do everything in her power to make him feel human again. This goes to show that Raskolnikov is incredibly selfish. He thinks about himself before he thinks about others. “I wanted to murder, for my own satisfaction ... At that moment I did not care a damn whether I would spend the rest of my life like a spider catching them all in my web and sucking the living juices out of them" (Pg.321). He makes decisions based on the present failing to see what it will do to his future.
In conclusion, Raskolnikov did feel guilt for his actions, but not in the right way. If we tried to compare Raskolnikov to Svidrigailov we should be able to agree that Svidrigailov did more evil in his life but we shouldn’t compare wicked to wicked, but good to good. No matter how wicked people live their lives we mustn’t judge or feel greater than one another. If we were to live our lives in such a way where we would only compare ourselves to ourselves, our lives and our world would be so much greater.