Moral Conflicts in Crime and Punishment

1262 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Crime and punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky history

Moral Conflicts in Fydor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment

Crime and Punishment by Fydor Dostoyevsky has been hailed as the greatest literary work in the Western hemisphere. Crime and Punishment was written in pre-Communist Russia under the Tsar. Dostoyevsky's writing shows insight into the human mind that is at once frightening and frighteningly real. His main character, around who all other characters are introduced, is Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov.

Raskolnikov murders an old pawnbroker woman for seemingly no reason at all. His sister and mother move to St. Petersburg following his sister's engagement to a man whom Raskolnikov was extremely displeased. Raskolnikov undergoes severe mental trauma, and falls ill after the killing. The reader isn't sure why Raskolnikov killed the woman, indeed it appears that Raskolnikov didn't know himself. He is surrounded by friends and his family and draws in other characters to him during his illness. He befriends a woman, Sofya Seymonavitch, who prostitutes herself to support her mother and her drunken father. As the police come closer onto his trail Raskolnikov faces serious threats to his sister from her two suitors, one of which tries to rape her and kills himself after he finds that he can't bring himself to. At the end Raskolnikov gives himself up, and gives his family into the care of his friend Rauzumihin, who marries Raskolnikov's sister Douina. Dostoyevsky exposes the darkest sides of human nature in with characters that are completely human. The tale Dostoyevsky weaves is a murder mystery, with the murderer and all the facts of the murder known in the very first pages of the book.

How then can it be a murder mystery? The mystery is finding out why Raskolnikov comm...

... middle of paper ...

...and then gives all of his money in the world to Marmeledov's family after his death? Who befriends and supports Sofya? Who time and time again defends his sisters honor and safety? Can the reader call this man murderer, shun him, and cast him out, make him the bad guy? Or must the reader be forced to see the suffering Raskolnikov is inflicting upon himself, the acceptance that what he did was evil, his urge to confess to the world what he had done. Must the reader in the end admit that this horrible criminal is human? That Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov was neither brute nor hero, but one of us? Dostoyevsky leaves the reader who was looking to divide the characters with the sword of moral right and wrong with the sword pointing directly at himself.

Works Cited:

Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment. Trans. Constance Garnett. New York: Modern Library, 1950.

Show More
Related

  • The Moral Ambivalence Of Crime In An Unjust Society Summary

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “The Moral Ambivalence of Crime in an Unjust Society” by Jeffrey Reiman he offers a detailed explanation of many different ways to define justice and allows the reader to fully comprehend the meaning of it. Before he even began explaining justice he gave his own experience with crime as way to convey to the reader how his rights had been violated and he had been filled with anger at the criminals instead of the justice that failed him. This first hand encounter with crime allowed Reiman to prove to readers that justice is what is what protects us and it is the criminals who are the problem. To see that even a man who had thought and written about nothing but crime for thirty-five years could still become

    Read More

  • Comparison of Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov in Crime and Punishment

    574 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his book Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky explores the paths of two men, Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov. These two men encompass many similar problems and obstacles throughout their lives. Both commit murders and are faced with the long and mentally excruciating journey of seeking redemption. They also share many characteristics of their personalities. The reason that the outcomes of their lives are so drastically different is due to the fact that they have completely different perspectives on life.

    Read More

  • Literary Techniques Used by Fyodor Dostoyevsky in Crime and Punishment

    2235 Words  | 5 Pages

    Dostoyevsky's writing in this book is such that the characters and setting around the main subject, Raskolnikov, are used with powerful consequences. The setting is both symbolic and has a power that affects all whom reside there, most notably Raskolnikov. An effective Structure is also used to show changes to the plot's direction and Raskolnikov's character. To add to this, the author's word choice and imagery are often extremely descriptive, and enhance the impact at every stage of Raskolnikov's changing fortunes and character. All of these features aid in the portrayal of Raskolnikov's downfall and subsequent rise.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Holy Bible and Crime and Punishment

    445 Words  | 1 Pages

    Although the novel begins by focusing on the crime itself, the majority of the book discusses Raskolnikov's struggle through denial and redemption after the murder has been committed. His own "greatness" leads to his denial of God, and his attempt to suppress his conscience causes insanity and sickness. However these negative consequences force him to acknowledge his rectitude and realize his need for confession.

    Read More

  • Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment

    1270 Words  | 3 Pages

    First, Dostoevsky gives the reader the character, Raskolnokov. He is the main character, whom Fyodor uses to show two sides of people their admirable side and their disgusting side. He loves Raskolnokov, which is why Fyodor uses Raskolnokov’s point of view throughout the whole novel. Personally, Fyodor dislikes some of his qualities but understands that all people are plagued with some bad traits, and that Raskolnokv is trying to make emends for some of his wrong doings, i.e. the murder of the pawnbroker and her sister. He knows that what he did was wrong and is willing to suffer for his crime, and he does throughout the whole book with his constant depression. Dostoesky believes in punishment for your crimes, this is why he shows Raskolnokov suffering through most of the novel, to show his great love for penance. Dostoevsky likes the kind giving nature of people; this is why he portrays the main character as a kind, gentle, and giving, person. Often, Raskolnokov thinks only of others benefits such as when he helped Katerina by giving her all his money for Marmelodov, as well as his caring about what happens to his sister with her marriage to Luzhin. Raskolnokov hates Luzhin’s arrogant and pompous attitude, which reflects Dostoevsky’s animosity of the same qualities in people in the real world.

    Read More

  • Resurrection of Lazarus in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment

    452 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Utilitarianism in Crime and Punishment

    1878 Words  | 4 Pages

    would reject even the notion of deliberating about the act of murder in such a

    Read More

  • Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment

    2299 Words  | 5 Pages

    Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment begins with Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov living in poverty and isolation in St. Petersburg. The reader soon learns that he was, until somewhat recently, a successful student at the local university. His character at that point was not uncommon. However, the environment of the grim and individualistic city eventually encourages Raskolnikov’s undeveloped detachment and sense of superiority to its current state of desperation. This state is worsening when Raskolnikov visits an old pawnbroker to sell a watch. During the visit, the reader slowly realizes that Raskolnikov plans to murder the woman with his superiority as a justification. After the Raskolnikov commits the murder, the novel deeply explores his psychology, yet it also touches on countless other topics including nihilism, the idea of a “superman,” and the value of human life. In this way, the greatness of Crime and Punishment comes not just from its examination of the main topic of the psychology of isolation and murder, but the variety topics which naturally arise in the discussion.

    Read More

  • A Nihilistic Analysis of Crime and Punishment

    4904 Words  | 10 Pages

    Dostoevsky, Feodor. Crime and Punishment. Trans. Jessie Coulson. Ed. George Gibian. New York: Norton, 1989.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

    1488 Words  | 3 Pages

    This shows that an idea like Raskolnikov's ordinary and extraordinary people can lead to horrible things like his murder of the two women but also hints at the fact it in the future may lead to a "great future deed". It is especially interesting to see that the idea put forth by Dostoevsky in the end is one of love being a transformative force. That this love comes from the severely religious Sonya, mirrors the idea of Christ's "new word" being love. Through careful examination of Raskolnikov's idea and its use as a metric for looking at the character one is better able to understand the novel, the character, and the possible larger implications of that message.

    Read More

  • Crime and Punishment: Raskolnikov's Room

    2951 Words  | 6 Pages

    Dostoevsky's 1865 novel Crime and Punishment is the story of an expelled university student's murder of an old pawnbroker and her sister. The idealistic ex-student, Raskolnikov, is ultimately unable to live up to his own nihilistic theory of what makes a "Great Man" and, overcome by fits of morality, betrays himself to the police. Exiled to Siberia, suffering redeems the unfortunate young dreamer. Crime and Punishment is similar in many ways to Balzac's Pere Goriot, especially in respect to questions of morality. In Balzac, the master-criminal Vautrin lives by an amoral code similar to Raskolnikov's theory of Great Men.

    Read More

  • Character Development in Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

    1278 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the most profound and obvious changes in Raskolnikov’s character can be seen in the newfound appreciation for other people and human relationships he discovers at the end of the novel. When the reader is first introduced to Raskolnikov, Dostoevsky quickly makes it apparent that he has little to no regard for others, writing on the very first page that Raskolnikov was “so completely absorbed in himself, and isolated from his fellows that he dreaded meeting, not only his landlady, but anyone at all” (1). Indeed, in Raskolnikov’s mind, “to be forced to listen to [the landlady’s] trivial, irrelevant gossip […] and to rack his brains for excuses, to prevaricate, to lie” is the most loathsome thing imaginable (1). His disdain toward other people is so great that the mere thought of interacting with anyone for any length of time repulses him. On some occasions...

    Read More

  • Prince Myshkin In The Idiot

    713 Words  | 2 Pages

    Torn between his sense of morality and his belief in nihilism, Raskolnikov becomes estranged from society. Nihilism is the rejection of all moral and religious principles and even that life is meaningless. Throughout the novel, Raskolnikov is trying to relieve the tensions between these two extremes. In the beginning, Raskolnikov has hit a low point within his life. He feels helpless because his sister is marrying for money to help his family, he is beyond poverty and cannot even afford to pay rent, and he has no job. Raskolnikov feels at the mercy of the world and completely and utterly helpless. He hates having to rely upon the Pawnbroker for help and even money. When the idea first pops into his head to murder the pawnbroker, it starts to become a potential reality. The ideology of murder is masked behind Raskolnikov’s belief that it would be for the greater good to eliminate the pawnbroker because of her mean spirited nature. Driven mad by the possibility of a choice, which Raskolnikov convinces himself exists because of nihilism. Raskolnikov because of his torn morality goes between extreme submissiveness to over powering those around him. Overall, Raskolnikov decides to commit the murder in an attempt to see if he can transcend his morality. This is what Terras refers to in the context of The Brothers Karamazov, where tensions between Raskolnikov’s façade and his true self are creating an external and internal struggle that causes him to have a

    Read More

  • Egoism in Crime and Punishment

    423 Words  | 1 Pages

    After the botched crime Raskolnikov is plagued his failures.  "He was conscious at the time that he had forgotten something that he ought not forget, and he tortured himself." (107)  After he carelessly kills both women, and allows for the evidence to be found, Raskolnikov realizes he did not commit the perfect crime.  This devastates his ego, so he tries to cling to his previous self perception.  He is also plagued with feelings of guilt.  His guilt, combined with the mistakes he made during the crime, shatter his self perception of perfection.

    Read More

  • Raskolnikov’s Theory of Extraordinary Men

    1286 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, Jessie Senior Coulson, and Richard Arthur. Peace. Crime and Punishment. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.

    Read More

More about Moral Conflicts in Crime and Punishment

Open Document