Of Crime and Punishment and Raskolnikov’s Mental Decline
In the novel Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Raskolnikov suffers a gradual mental breakdown from his guilt of murdering the pawnbroker Alyona Ivanovna and her sister Lizaveta Ivanovna. This is evident through Raskolnikov’s actions, such as avoiding his family, and friend, as well as his both his inner monologue and outer dialogue that exhibits his torn nature between good and evil. Dostoevsky characterizes Raskolnikov negatively through actions and uses dialogues and monologues that showcase Raskolnikov’s mental decline in order to condemn Raskolnikov’s crime.
Dostoevsky characterizes Raskolnikov through his actions throughout the novel. Raskolnikov murders Alyona Ivanovna …show more content…
Raskolnikov is best characterized as two in one. One side of him is cold and uncaring, the other, warm and self-sacrificing. Raskolnikov’s immediate response to most situations is the warm side, which is followed by the cold side. The reader can see this in many scenes throughout the novel. One scene is after Marmeladov been found out about wasting money to drink. “As he went out, Raskolnikov had time to put his hand into his pocket, to snatch up the coppers he had received in exchange for his rouble in the tavern and to lay them unnoticed on the window.” This shows his caring, and self-sacrificing nature as it is his first reaction to the scenario. However, the reader sees Raskolnikov’s other personality immediately after this action.”’What a stupid thing I’ve done,” he thought to himself, “they have Sonia and I want it myself. ‘“ This shows Raskolnikov’s cold and selfish nature, the same nature that led him to kill Alyona Ivanovna. A reader can infer that this dual personality was an influential cog that made Raskolnikov breakdown. The caring side felt an immense guilt, as a result, Raskolnikov avoided his family, “I can’t bear them near me... I went up to my mother and kissed her, I remember... To embrace her and think if she only knew…” However, his selfish side, in an attempt at self-preservation, placed the blame on Alyona, “‘Ah, how I hate the …show more content…
For Raskolnikov’s mechanical murdering of the pawnbroker and Lizaveta, Dostoevsky dealt out guilt and self-loath using Raskolnikov's’ dual personality. For Raskolnikov’s attempt on becoming an ubermensch, Dostoevsky dealt out a rude awakening that made Raskolnikov see just how powerless, and how “superior” he truly is, in a conversation between him and Sonia, where he admits ”because I am just such a louse as all the rest.” However, it seems Sonia was able to heal Raskolnikov’s mental decline, adding to her saintly image, and Dostoevsky finally let Raskolnikov change for the better as said in the Epilogue, ”But that is the beginning of a new story—the story of the gradual renewal of a man, the story of his gradual regeneration, of his passing from one world into another, of his initiation into a new unknown life. That might be the subject of a new story, but our present story is
In the novel Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Raskolnikov suffers a gradual mental breakdown from his guilt of murdering the pawnbroker Alyona Ivanovna and her sister Lizaveta Ivanovna. This is evident through Raskolnikov’s actions, such as avoiding his family, and friend, as well as his both his inner monologue and outer dialogue that exhibits his torn nature between good and evil. Dostoevsky characterizes Raskolnikov negatively through actions and uses dialogues and monologues that showcase Raskolnikov’s mental decline in order to condemn Raskolnikov’s crime.
Dostoevsky characterizes Raskolnikov through his actions throughout the novel. Raskolnikov murders Alyona Ivanovna …show more content…
Raskolnikov is best characterized as two in one. One side of him is cold and uncaring, the other, warm and self-sacrificing. Raskolnikov’s immediate response to most situations is the warm side, which is followed by the cold side. The reader can see this in many scenes throughout the novel. One scene is after Marmeladov been found out about wasting money to drink. “As he went out, Raskolnikov had time to put his hand into his pocket, to snatch up the coppers he had received in exchange for his rouble in the tavern and to lay them unnoticed on the window.” This shows his caring, and self-sacrificing nature as it is his first reaction to the scenario. However, the reader sees Raskolnikov’s other personality immediately after this action.”’What a stupid thing I’ve done,” he thought to himself, “they have Sonia and I want it myself. ‘“ This shows Raskolnikov’s cold and selfish nature, the same nature that led him to kill Alyona Ivanovna. A reader can infer that this dual personality was an influential cog that made Raskolnikov breakdown. The caring side felt an immense guilt, as a result, Raskolnikov avoided his family, “I can’t bear them near me... I went up to my mother and kissed her, I remember... To embrace her and think if she only knew…” However, his selfish side, in an attempt at self-preservation, placed the blame on Alyona, “‘Ah, how I hate the …show more content…
For Raskolnikov’s mechanical murdering of the pawnbroker and Lizaveta, Dostoevsky dealt out guilt and self-loath using Raskolnikov's’ dual personality. For Raskolnikov’s attempt on becoming an ubermensch, Dostoevsky dealt out a rude awakening that made Raskolnikov see just how powerless, and how “superior” he truly is, in a conversation between him and Sonia, where he admits ”because I am just such a louse as all the rest.” However, it seems Sonia was able to heal Raskolnikov’s mental decline, adding to her saintly image, and Dostoevsky finally let Raskolnikov change for the better as said in the Epilogue, ”But that is the beginning of a new story—the story of the gradual renewal of a man, the story of his gradual regeneration, of his passing from one world into another, of his initiation into a new unknown life. That might be the subject of a new story, but our present story is