Tyler Binney
English 10 Honors
11/13/14
Mrs. Chadwick – Period 1
Entering the Subconscious through Dreams
Dreams are believed to be the gateway to the subconscious. They can reveal hidden fears, desires, and also give a psychological understanding of the unconscious mind. It is because of the baffling and mysterious nature of dreams that they were the perfect fit in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. Dostoyevsky intertwined four dream sequences in this beautifully written, albeit somewhat disturbing, novel. These visions were used as a way to further develop characters and to introduce symbolism.
In Crime and Punishment dreams become an essential part of the story. Dostoyevsky uses these dreams to clearly define the main character, …show more content…
The fact that he was able to have this emotion, prevents him from being a true psychopath. Psychopaths have a complete inability to love anyone but themselves, and yet, Raskolnikov becomes devoted to Sonya, and receives her devotion in return. At the end of the story Sonya goes to meet Raskolnikov in prison. At this point, she realizes that he loves her completely. “Her eyes began to shine with infinite happiness; she had understood and now she was in no doubt that he loved her, loved her infinitely, and that at last it has arrived, that moment...” (Dostoyevsky 655). This shows that Raskolnikov has the ability to love, a trait a psychopath doesn’t have. Raskolnikov feels guilty for the murders, which he expresses through his …show more content…
He himself does not feel guilty for the murders, but his subconscious thoughts, which are represented through the dreams, and also through his “illness” are the real evidence of the guilt. Raskolnikov has three dreams that show his guilt, and his illness is essentially a physical form of his subconscious thoughts. With the illness, he just sits on his couch and tries not to think of the murders, but his subconscious thoughts keep reminding him of the murder, which actually makes him sick when he thinks of the vile, disgusting things he has done. Raskolnikov even says if someone does something very bad, they will get ill. Which shows that everyone has the subconscious thoughts telling them what they need to hear, even if they don’t want to believe it. “Not that he was completely unconscious during the whole period of his illness: it was rather a state of fever, with delirium and semi-wakefulness.” (204). This shows that Raskolnikov had an illness, and how seriously it affected him. This portrays that Raskolnikov is not a psychopath because he feels guilt for his actions, and an actual psychopath does not feel guilt. Since Raskolnikov has the ability to love and feels guilty for the murders, it proves that he is not a psychopath. He falls in love with Sonya while he was still serving his time in Siberian prison. He also experiences guilt from killing Alyona Ivanovna and Lizaveta, and shows it through an “illness”. Since a psychopath cannot love and does
English 10 Honors
11/13/14
Mrs. Chadwick – Period 1
Entering the Subconscious through Dreams
Dreams are believed to be the gateway to the subconscious. They can reveal hidden fears, desires, and also give a psychological understanding of the unconscious mind. It is because of the baffling and mysterious nature of dreams that they were the perfect fit in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. Dostoyevsky intertwined four dream sequences in this beautifully written, albeit somewhat disturbing, novel. These visions were used as a way to further develop characters and to introduce symbolism.
In Crime and Punishment dreams become an essential part of the story. Dostoyevsky uses these dreams to clearly define the main character, …show more content…
The fact that he was able to have this emotion, prevents him from being a true psychopath. Psychopaths have a complete inability to love anyone but themselves, and yet, Raskolnikov becomes devoted to Sonya, and receives her devotion in return. At the end of the story Sonya goes to meet Raskolnikov in prison. At this point, she realizes that he loves her completely. “Her eyes began to shine with infinite happiness; she had understood and now she was in no doubt that he loved her, loved her infinitely, and that at last it has arrived, that moment...” (Dostoyevsky 655). This shows that Raskolnikov has the ability to love, a trait a psychopath doesn’t have. Raskolnikov feels guilty for the murders, which he expresses through his …show more content…
He himself does not feel guilty for the murders, but his subconscious thoughts, which are represented through the dreams, and also through his “illness” are the real evidence of the guilt. Raskolnikov has three dreams that show his guilt, and his illness is essentially a physical form of his subconscious thoughts. With the illness, he just sits on his couch and tries not to think of the murders, but his subconscious thoughts keep reminding him of the murder, which actually makes him sick when he thinks of the vile, disgusting things he has done. Raskolnikov even says if someone does something very bad, they will get ill. Which shows that everyone has the subconscious thoughts telling them what they need to hear, even if they don’t want to believe it. “Not that he was completely unconscious during the whole period of his illness: it was rather a state of fever, with delirium and semi-wakefulness.” (204). This shows that Raskolnikov had an illness, and how seriously it affected him. This portrays that Raskolnikov is not a psychopath because he feels guilt for his actions, and an actual psychopath does not feel guilt. Since Raskolnikov has the ability to love and feels guilty for the murders, it proves that he is not a psychopath. He falls in love with Sonya while he was still serving his time in Siberian prison. He also experiences guilt from killing Alyona Ivanovna and Lizaveta, and shows it through an “illness”. Since a psychopath cannot love and does