Throughout Crime and Punishment (CP), the protagonist Raskolnikov battles with a variety of different philosophical beliefs and follows a somewhat unanticipated mental and emotional arc. Such beliefs that he embodies, like the coldness of Utilitarianism and the positivity of Christian faith, mirror the common beliefs of nineteenth century Russia and his reactions mirror how citizens of the time responded to the changes in societal beliefs. More specifically, the author of Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, develops the character Raskolnikov in order to display the hardships and conflicting emotions of his own life and to criticize the common ideas of the time.
In the beginning of Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov thoroughly embraces the …show more content…
He views himself as an Ubermensch, believing that he is one of the extremely rare individuals in society …show more content…
During the time, Utilitarian rebels were resisting the Russian government and the teaching of religion, and were pushing for a social change. Dostoevsky was himself a part of this rebel movement, pushing to end the practice of serfdom, but found that such reckless and selfish behavior did not bring him happiness in life. After spending time in high security prison where he himself found refuge in the bible and various spiritual books, Dostoevsky realized the destructiveness of his previous path and turned to religion for guidance. Ultimately, as seen in Raskolnikov’s dream about an infectious virus in the the novel’s epilogue, both Dostoevsky and Raskolnikov realize that domination over others is meaningless if one does not have inner peace and that the belief that oneself is the sole possessor of truth infects everyone, therefore dragging Dostoevsky and Raskolnikov back into the quagmire of banal
In the beginning of Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov thoroughly embraces the …show more content…
He views himself as an Ubermensch, believing that he is one of the extremely rare individuals in society …show more content…
During the time, Utilitarian rebels were resisting the Russian government and the teaching of religion, and were pushing for a social change. Dostoevsky was himself a part of this rebel movement, pushing to end the practice of serfdom, but found that such reckless and selfish behavior did not bring him happiness in life. After spending time in high security prison where he himself found refuge in the bible and various spiritual books, Dostoevsky realized the destructiveness of his previous path and turned to religion for guidance. Ultimately, as seen in Raskolnikov’s dream about an infectious virus in the the novel’s epilogue, both Dostoevsky and Raskolnikov realize that domination over others is meaningless if one does not have inner peace and that the belief that oneself is the sole possessor of truth infects everyone, therefore dragging Dostoevsky and Raskolnikov back into the quagmire of banal