Crime and Punishment: Avoiding Punishment is Futile

1259 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Character vs destiny

Avoiding punishment is futile. Whether in the form of proper trials or through guilt, every person will come face to face with the consequences of their actions. Avoiding suffering only causes it to intensify. This is mainly demonstrated through Svidrigailov and Raskolnikov in the end of Crime and Punishment. Both men had been eluding their various torments and they realize the vanity of their avoidance after receiving crushing mental blows. Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov realize that the time has come to recognize suffering and responsibility for previous actions.

Raskolnikov’s inability to hide his guilt shines through in his actions. When trying to defend his innocence against Porfiry he utters childish defenses. His suffering has consumed him and “he ran out of breath, nearly choking” (541) as the conversation traversed into uncomfortable matters. The connotation here of “choking” reveals how deeply Raskolnikov’s inner pain has bore into him and the effect of it weighing down his lungs. Furthermore, his refusal of this opportunity given by Porfiry to take his punishment clearly demonstrates how Raskolnikov’s every action is now affected directly by his airflow. Logically he should realize his game is up, yet his pride and brain’s suffocation are so high he cannot comprehend sensibly. He sputters out his sentences, pausing, and gasping. On a deeper level his brain function is also affected by the oxygen flow. This is clearly conveyed by his callous behavior and lack of thought to his future endeavors. His desire to avoid discipline is dimming as he realizes his time to receive punishment is approaching.

Preceding his nerve-rattling last conversation with Porfiry, Raskolnikov seems to be lost and disoriented. Ter...

... middle of paper ...

...s well. However this journey does not involve physical death. It involves going to the police bureau he once feared and confessing his crime. Although he lacks breath and feels faint he is at last able to recount the details in entirety and his self-inflicted suffering ends to be followed by formal punishment, or “a clearly defined air”.

Coming to terms with past mistakes and accepting their consequences is an agonizing process. Admitting fault for former missteps can seem titanic. Prideful characters such as Svidrigailov or Raskolnikov find this burdensome. However, in the end, choosing to embark on the journey of acceptance becomes necessary if one chooses to commit wickedness, an act that man must succumb to at some point. In Crime and Punishment this journey also allows the character’s suffocating mask to fall allowing them to breathe once more.

Show More
Related

  • The Assault by Harry Mulisch

    1203 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Harry Mulisch’s novel The Assault, the author not only informs society of the variance in perception of good and evil, but also provides evidence on how important it is for an innocent person experiencing guilt to come to terms with their personal past. First, Mulisch uses the characters Takes, Coster, and Ploeg to express the differences in perspective on the night of the assault. Then he uses Anton to express how one cannot hide from the past because of their guilt. Both of these lessons are important to Mulisch and worth sharing with his readers.

    Read More

  • Literary Techniques Used by Fyodor Dostoyevsky in Crime and Punishment

    2235 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Theories of Porfiry in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment

    447 Words  | 1 Pages

    Raskolnikov commits a murder. He has a theory. Porfiry is an investigator. He too has a theory. Porfiry's is getting closer and closer to winning. Porfiry Petrovich believes many things about criminal nature--and therefore he believes these things will happen to Raskolnikov, the man that he has pinned as the perpetrator or the murder. He uses the comparison of a butterfly moving closer to a candle, the fact that if he lets the criminal wallow in mixed freedom and terror he will be able to complete a mathematical proof of the crime, and that the criminal's best move is to tell the truth, during which endeavor he will ultimately lie and fumble his plan. Perhaps Porfiry Petrovich is an excellent wax maker. He also has some very powerful and resilient matches. He uses these skills to light and let burn a candle that keeps Raskolnikov coming to him, so far twice, on the naive pretense of seeing about his father's watch. We know that Raskolnikov no longer has any care for things in the material world. He deposits all that he stole under a rock. He gave Katerina's family 25 roubles. Money and goods are not a concern for Raskolnikov. He is there because of the undeniable force of the light which Porfiry is relentlessly shining on him. Raskolnikov fits this aspect of Porfiry's theory expertly. Unlike Porfiry did to Raskolnikov's theory, Raskolnikov can find no holes to pick in Porfiry's.

    Read More

  • Yellow In Crime And Punishment

    1341 Words  | 3 Pages

    Raskolnikov struggle with guilt specifically is evidenced both in his external surroundings and actions as well as his internal thoughts and commentary. His room is described as having a “poverty-stricken appearance with its dusty yellow paper peeling off the walls, and it was so low pitched that a man of more than average height was ill at case and felt every moment that he would knock his head against the ceiling” (22). Raskolnikov’s setting directly reflects his thoughts and feelings as well as his external circumstances. His room is small, cramped, and confining, representative of the oppression Raskolnikov associates with society and with his own poverty. His yellow wallpaper is significant, as it represents the literal filth and squalor in which he lives, a constant reminder of his poverty and the limitations it places upon him. Raskolnikov’s evident surroundings contrast the pawnbroker’s environment, which indicated cleanliness but was a façade. His now dusty, decayed yellow wallpaper, likely once white, is significant on another level as well as it figuratively represents the uncleanliness that he feels internally as a result of his actions. This uncleanliness that overtakes Raskolnikov becomes guilt and anxiety over the murder. This guilt is then further manifested physically as he becomes ill due to the unease and anxiety. He feels trapped not only by the external conditions of poverty and society, but also by the inevitable consequences and unrelenting guilt that are the result of his sins. He is not only surrounded by filth, but has become filthy

    Read More

  • Crime And Punishment Essay: Raskolnikov's Crime

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    Readers are given full access into his psychological state and we are able to to see his personal thoughts and dreams throughout the murder case. Although at the end of the chapter Raskolnikov becomes at peace with what he does and the paranoia and guilt go away, he is still rationalizes his crime, as though he had valid reasons to commit the murder. As readers, we can see Raskolnikov's crime as an act of evil because we know it is detrimental to society to have people that come up with their own rationale to justify murder, but Raskolnikov saw it as a way to confirm to himself his power in society, to better society, and that he was just disposing of a bad person. Raskolnikov's actions left him in jail, however it is here where Raskolnikov finally realizes and comes to peace with what he

    Read More

  • Raskolnikov's View Of Crime And Punishment

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    If one takes the concept of him as two people, the entire novel/the reader’s understanding of it relies on these relationships and his own with his other half of self. The journey of Raskolnikov throughout Crime and Punishment gives forth Dostoyevsky’s ultimate plan for this piece as he intended to get across the internal chaos of men and power and their desires to seek it out. There is consistent questioning on Raskolnikov’s part- ever questioning whether or not to confess to the murders to the police or go on living and separate himself from what he had done. He was deciding whether or not to consider what he had done a crime. In the thought of his Napoleonic principles- it wasn’t. The pawnbroker did nobody good but herself- she was a parasite sucking the blood/life from the community she commanded. In the thought of his untainted self, it was murder. Plain and simple. His punishment for pursuing the idea of having an upper hand on others is to deal with the internal repercussions that cannot possibly handle the mental tug of

    Read More

  • Comparing Crime and Punishment and Notes from the Underground

    490 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Crime and Punishment, we see Raskolnikov caught between reason and will, the human needs for personal freedom and the need to submit to authority.  He spends most of the first two parts stuck between wanting to act and  wanting to observe.  After he acts and murders the old woman, he spends much time contemplating confession. Raskolnikov seems trapped in his world although there is really nothing holding him back; he chooses not to flee and not to confess, but still acts as though he's suffocation (perhaps guilt?)In both novels defeat seems inevitable. Both characters believe that normal man is stupid, unsatisfied and confused.  Perhaps they are right, but both characters fail to see the positive aspects of humans; the closest was the scene between the narrator of Notes from the Underground and Liza.  In this scene he almost lets the human side show, rather than the insecure, closed off person he normally is.

    Read More

  • Crime and Punishment

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main character of the novel Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoevsky, Raskolnikov, is in reality two totally contradicting personalities. One part of him is the intellectual. This part is cold and inhumane. It is this side that enables him to commit the most terrible crime imaginable - taking another human life. The other part of his personality is warm and compassionate. This is the side of him that does charitable acts and fights out against the evil in his society. This dichotomy of Raskolnikov’s personality can be clearly seen through the dream about the mare, as well as through other characters in the novel.

    Read More

  • Fate in Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout history, people have relied on fate as the reason for their misfortune. Whether they let it decide their actions or run their life, fate has been the excuse for many to make bad decisions. In Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Raskolnikov blames the majority of his crime on the instances of fate leading up to the murder of Alyona Ivanovna. Through Raskolnikov’s reliance on fate, readers are able to see Dostoyevsky’s negative stance on the concept of fate. Dostoyevsky does not approve of the use of fate as the determining factor for any logical decision. Dostoyevsky makes it clear that Raskolnikov’s use of fate to justify his actions can only result in a negative outcome.

    Read More

  • Crime And Punishment Analysis

    1471 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before Raskolnikov confessed at the police station, Nikolai interrupted and took the blame. After Nikolai confessed Raskolnikov realized that he could not, so he took the roll of the onlooker pretending he did not know about Alyona. The officers believed Nikolia but Porfiry thought otherwise after Raskolnikov accidently nicknamed Nikolai after his dream character, Mikolka. Porfiry noted that Nikolai is “still a child and not exactly a coward, but something by way of an artist. He is innocent and responsive to influence. He has a heart, and is a fantastic fellow. He sings and dances, he tells stories,... people come from other villages to hear him. He attends school too, and laughs till he cries if you hold up a finger to him; he will drink himself senseless--not as a regular vice, but at times, when people treat him, like a child”(Dostoevsky 391) and found it strange that a man like him would commit such a crime. His reason to turn himself in was believed to be fear which “overcomes Mikolka when he learns about the murder of the old lady and feels guilty because he had picked up the earrings dropped by [ Raskolnikov in attempt of his escape]; his fear of being accused became unbearable and he wants to hang himself.” (Bem) but Porfiry hinted that it was in fact Nikolai’s religious upbringing and his moral experiences that prompted him to turn himself in to the police. Raskolnikov’s guilt is

    Read More

  • Social Boundaries In Dostoevsky's Crime And Puni

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    Legal boundaries are put in place to protect people from harm. When these boundaries are broken the consequences are harmful. In Crime and Punishment Raskolnikov breaks legal boundaries and reap the consequences. Raskolnikov believes that in order to shape his identity and be the extra ordinary man that he must save others from hurt by killing the land lady. “A hundred, a thousand, good actions and promising beginnings

    Read More

  • Crime and Punishment Quotes

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through speaking with Marmeladov’s daughter, Polenka, Raskolnikov realizes that life is worth living, and that it can still hold an important meaning. This sheds light on the fact that Raskolnikov realizes that even if a person is not capable of doing good, their life should not be ended.

    Read More

  • The Role of Marmelodov in Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment

    973 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel, Crime and Punishment, Marmeladov is a minor character whose story is told in only a few short chapters of the first two books, and yet, Marmeladov plays an important role in the novel. Both Marmeladov and Raskolnikov are desperate men trying to function in a bleak world. Both men feel alienated in a world which has no meaning. Despite his miserable existence, Marmeladov hopes to find salvation through his anguish. Marmeladov reflects the themes of guilt and suffering that Raskolnikov later shares. Dostoevsky suggests that suffering is the only path to redemption.

    Read More

  • The Theme of Duality in Crime and Punishment

    1308 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, the theme of duality is present throughout much of the novel.  There are dual conflicts: one external between a disillusioned individual and his world, and the other internal between an isolated soul and his conscience (Walsh).  It is the internal conflict in the main character, Raskolnikov, that is the focuses of much of the novel.  The dual personalities of Raskolnikov are constantly at battle with one another, causing the inner conflict he experiences and thus creating his own personal punishment.

    Read More

  • Confronting Guilt In Franz Kafka’s The Trial

    1287 Words  | 3 Pages

    If Kafka thought he had confronted and dealt with his faults, then there was no reason the engagement should not have worked out happily when resumed. But, like K., though he thought he was aware of and owned up to his own faults, he was still convicted for his denial and the engagement was again broken off. The Trial is Kafka’s exploration of the extreme consequences of denying one’s own guilt and thus one’s own humanity. In some senses, it serves as a warning, or a sort of parable of its own, and in others it is simply an expression of anguish. The story serves to warn against thinking so highly of oneself that we only interpret infractions of the outright law as guilt.

    Read More

More about Crime and Punishment: Avoiding Punishment is Futile

Open Document