Crime And Punishment Psychological Analysis

The main character in the movie Crime and Punishment, Rodya Romanovich Raskolnikov, is a normal-looking person. What grabbed my attention, is that his normalcy does not last long. After his hideous crime, Rodya undergoes many changes in his behavior, thoughts, and his physical appearance. Someone might wonder if he may become mentally ill, because mental illness does refer to alterations in someone’s mood, thinking and behavior, as a result of a range of mental health conditions or disorders. There are several psychological and social environmental factors that have been linked to mental illness (Sage, Doug). And In my own perspective the psychological, and sociological factors Rodya faces make him enter an episode of a brief psychotic disorder, …show more content…
Rodya is a dropout student, hence he is educated. His loss of his students, after being suspended from school puts him in a very bad financial condition. And unemployment can be great contributing factor in making someone go mad, or mentally ill (What causes mental illness?). On top of that, his sister attempts to marry someone she despises, just for the sake of his wealth, so that she can save the family, that in its turn put more stress on Rodya who wants to stop that marriage, but he has no money, or power to do so. This can be counted as a sociological factor that works against Rodya’s mental health. Rodya’s need of money is the major changing point. The need of money, and the incapability of providing it, is very stressful and can lead to many critical consequences. That need makes him emotionally on edge. Under pressure, he decides to kill the pawnbroker (Aliona) and rob her. The pawnbroker is an old lady whom he hates, and believes to be a parasite that makes the community a worse place. Rodya goes to achieve his plan, but Elisabieta (Aliona’s younger sister) shows up, after he murders Aliona, So Rodya is forced unwillingly to kill her. As Rodya does not care about the pawnbroker, but Elisabieta is a good lady who he respects. Later Rodya says that Aliona is his crime, and Elisabieta is his …show more content…
Stress is indeed a psychological factor that may lead into many mental disorders. His guilt and fear, makes him think that he is being watched, and that everyone knows that he is the murderer, but they don’t have any tangible evidence to prove it. Those feelings aren’t normal, as not every common man would have such delusions. Rodya’s thinking appears to still be logical to an extent, but he loses the ability to follow a coherent and well organized plan, as he will interrupt himself in the middle of a thought. He even starts neglecting his hygiene, and not getting enough sleep, especially due to nightmares about the murders, which makes him get black circles under his eyes. His face takes on a haunted expression. He sees flashbacks from the murder that terrifies him. Hallucinations occur from time to time. All these are symptoms of someone obsessed to a point that he probably is mentally