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Reasons as to why people commit crimes
Reasons as to why people commit crimes
Reasons as to why people commit crimes
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The Murderer's Motives in Dostoevsky's Crime & Punishment The beauty of Crime and Punishment is that there are no absolutes. It is a 19th century murder mystery, with the identity of the murderer clear, but the murderer's reasons far from being so. Although each chapter was replete with uncertainty, no other facet of the novel caused greater vexation both during the reading and even after its conclusion than what drove Raskol'nikov to commit the murder. That is not to say that he committed murder without purpose or reason, that he was just a cookie cutter villain with no purpose; instead, he is a multi-faceted character that is both likable and a scoundrel at once. The protagonist himself is unsure why he plans and carries out what he does. As he went to bury what he had stolen, he asked himself: "If it all has really been done deliberately and not idiotically, if I really had a certain and definite object, how is it I did not even glance into the purse and don't know what I had there, for what I have undergone these agonies and have deliberately undertaken this base, filthy, degrading business?" (Part II, Ch. 2, pgs. 92-93). The reader is not left completely in the dark, however, as motives were established. The caveat being that motive is plural, and motive is usually a mutually exclusive term. The first motive to be presented, and the strongest in the novel during Raskol'nikov's planning stages, was the issue of poverty. He was destitute, living in squalor, and in need of money to crawl out of his grave-like flat. After the murder was committed and Raskol'nikov came under suspicion, he came face to face with the inspector general, Porfiry Petrovich. Their discussion made the cut-and-dried appearance of the motive tu... ... middle of paper ... ...orce behind his confession and struggle with his conscience. Does this lessen its impact as a motive? Of course not, due to the Russian psyche. Raskol'nikov may not have explicitly mentioned a "will to suffer" in his thoughts prior to the murder, but as a Russian who professed to believe in God and the Eastern Orthodox Church (although it was not always apparent, he was at least raised in such an environment), he sought suffering. It may not have been an active goal, but it was there, hiding in his subconscious. Such a complex motive is worthy of such a complex subject. Works Cited Beebe, Maurice. "The Three Motives of Raskol'nikov." As printed in Crime and Punishment. Ed. By George Gibian. W. W. Norton & Company. 3rd Edition. New York, 1989. Dostoevsky, Feodor. Crime and Punishment. Ed. By George Gibian. W. W. Norton & Company. 3rd Edition. New York, 1989.
As Rodya analyzes Luzhin’s character, he realizes that intellect unrestrained by moral purpose is dangerous due to the fact that many shrewd people can look right through that false façade. Luzhin’s false façade of intellect does not fool Rodya or Razumikhin, and although they try to convince Dunya into not marrying Luzhin, she does not listen. Rodya believes that Luzhin’s “moral purpose” is to “marry an honest girl…who has experienced hardship” (36). The only way he is able to get Dunya to agree to marry him, is by acting as if he is a very intellectual person, who is actually not as educated as he says he is. This illustrates the fact that Rodya knows that it is really dangerous because he knows that people can ruin their lives by acting to be someone they are not. Rodya also knows that people will isolate themselves from others just so that no one will find out their true personality. This is illustrated in through the fact that Luzhin tries to avoid Dunya and her mother as much as possible. The way he writes his letter, exemplifies his isolation, for Luzhin does not know how to interact with society. He has no idea how to write letters to his fiancée and his future mother in law. This reflects on Rodya’s second dream because he is unable to get Dunya married off to a nice person. He feels isolated from everyone else because his intellect caused him to sense that Luzhin is not telling the truth about his personality. However, it was due to his lack of moral purpose that Rodya berates his sister’s fiancé. He is unable to control himself, and due to his immoral act of getting drunk, Rodya loses all judgment and therefore goes and belittles Luzhin. Although Rodya’s intellectual mind had taken over and showed him that Luzhin wa...
It was both this interesting plot and the philosophical nature of Dostoyevsky's writing, which initially attracted me to this book. It also features many themes and characters, as well as an effective setting. As a result, I will examine the literary techniques used in "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky to convey the downfall and subsequent rise of the main character, Raskolnikov. I will begin by looking at how the setting formed Raskolnikov's character, and then discuss the structure and other characters of the novel. The setting plays a primary role in forming Raskolnikov's character.
In every age we live, there is a constant struggle between finding a cure to our neurosis with the advent of urbanization and finding qualities in nature that supersede our abilities in enhancing modern man. With that kind of chaos come various forms of behaviors and actions, most of which stem to arguments of good versus evil. Dostoevsky insists that men have the choice between good and evil every moment of their lives; no matter the circumstance, they have the choice between moral and immoral. Crime and Punishment is a story of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov’s struggle with the ideologies of his time. The young and impoverished law student is torn between unifying and nihilistic cultures afflicting nineteenth-century tsarist Russia. Through a journey of crime, it becomes clear to Raskolnikov that his ultimate failure was caused by his transgression in murdering cold-heartedly, attempting to prove his self-worth by crossing the law. As Raskolnikov’s guilt overwhelms him and becomes unbearable, his only solace is confession to the crime. Serving his prison term in Siberia, Raskolnikov comes to the realization that reason cannot beat the human conscience.
Throughout America’s history, capital punishment, or the death penalty, has been used to punish criminals for murder and other capital crimes. In the early 20th century, numerous people would gather for public executions. The media described these events gruesome and barbaric (“Infobase Learning”). People began to wonder if the capital punishment was really constitutional.
Raskolnikov commits his initial crime out of arrogance. "The old hag is nothing.... I killed not a human being," he says. (245) Raskolnikov feels that he has justification for killing the pawn broker. He thinks that the woman has no reason to live. He believes that the woman is less than a human, and that he is a superior being. Raskolnikov thinks that he has a right to kill.
Hypertension increases the risk of heart failure 2 to 3 fold. (He, et al, 2001) The American College of Cardiology (ACC) has identified 4 stages of heart failure. (Hunt, Abraham, Chin et al, 2009). Screening patients for heart failure is sometimes controversial. Health care administrators...
In my view, it is possible to recognise the introduction, is somewhat tentative, of five major themes in the first chapter of this novel. The first is the persisting and amaranthine struggle between good and evil. One demonstration of this conflict can be viewed through the instability of society in Russia at that time. The need for a moral force in an irrational universe is the theme which drives Raskolnikov to committing his crime. He feels so strongly that the world is ravaged by worthless creatures that he feels it is his job as a citizen of the world to do what he finally does. His frustration is what prevents him from going completely insane as it manages to suppress the outward anger that he is holding inside of him. The supreme value of an individual is obviously the reason for Raskolnikov's seemingly proud and self-righteous ment...
Dostoevsky, Feodor. Crime and Punishment. Trans. Jessie Coulson. Ed. George Gibian. New York: Norton, 1989.
The main character in Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov, has nihilistic ideas, which ultimately lead to his own suffering. Raskolnikov, an impoverished student, conceives of himself as being an extraordinary man who has the right to commit any crime. He believes that as an extraordinary man that he is beyond good and evil. Since he does not believe in God, he cannot accept any moral laws. To prove his theory, he murders an old pawnbroker and her step sister. Besides, he rationalizes that he has done society a favor by getting rid of the evil pawnbroker who would cheat people. Immediately after the murders, he begins to suffer emotionally. Raskolnikiv “[feels] a terrible disorder within himself. He [is] afraid of losing his control…” (Dostoevsky 95). He becomes ill and lies in his room in a semi-conscious state. As soon as he is well and can walk again, he goes out and reads about the crime in all the newspapers of the last few days. The sheer mention of the murder...
The moral side of Raskolnikov's mind requires absolution in a Christian manner. This need obliviates his claim to be a Nietzchean superman, and illustrates that all humans have a desire for morality. Throughout the book, he constantly desires to confess, even when visiting the police station. "I'll go in, fall on my knees, and confess everything" (p.84), he thought; later, he considered if it was "better to cast off the burd...
paragraph only more intensified and there are several factors in a prison setting that would result in the ...
In Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Raskalnikov undergoes a period of extreme psychological upheaval. By comparing this death and rebirth of Raskalnikov's psyche to the story of the resurrection of Lazarus, Dostoevsky emphasizes not only the gravity of his crimes, but also the importance of acceptance of guilt.
In his novel Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky uses Raskolnikov as a vessel for several different philosophies that were particularly prominent at the time in order to obliquely express his opinions concerning those schools of thought. Raskolnikov begins his journey in Crime and Punishment with a nihilistic worldview and eventually transitions to a more optimistic one strongly resembling Christian existentialism, the philosophy Dostoevsky preferred, although it could be argued that it is not a complete conversion. Nonetheless, by the end of his journey Raskolnikov has undergone a fundamental shift in character. This transformation is due in large part to the influence other characters have on him, particularly Sonia. Raskolnikov’s relationship with Sonia plays a significant role in furthering his character development and shaping the philosophical themes of the novel.
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, Jessie Senior Coulson, and Richard Arthur. Peace. Crime and Punishment. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.
The central theme of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky deals with conformity’s role in society. Dostoyevsky uses conformity to make Raskolnikov mentally ill and eventually turn himself in to face the punishment for his crimes. Religion influences every character in the book, but none more ardently than Raskolnikov. Understanding religion’s role as a force for conformity in Crime and Punishment provides a powerful insight into character motives and, furthermore, philosophical influences.