Comparing Dostoyevsky's Crime And Punishment

Crime and Punishment Essay Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment is a tale of one man’s struggle to find meaning in the world and the consequences his drastic actions have on those around him. Raskolnikov, the protagonist, commits murder and spends the rest of the novel battling himself and society in debating whether his deed constitutes a crime. Although his storyline spans a time period of less than one month, Dostoyevsky takes over 600 pages to chronicle Raskolnikov’s extensive introspection, as well as the lengthy discussions on morality and social norms that he has with his family, friends, and the authorities, both of which are contingent on his having committed the aforementioned violent crime and on the theory that led him to do so. The author uses the example of a young, poor man who nearly drives himself insane

In the end, he is unable to hold onto this belief because the guilt and fear he feels following the murders convinces Roskolnikov that he is not, in fact, an extraordinary man, and that he was not destined to kill Alyona Ivanovna and her sister in order to later bring good to the world. In the end, neither reducing himself to the equivalent of filth nor flying too close to the sun in his attempt to soar above all of humanity served Raskolnikov well. In his delirium he fluctuated between the two extremes quite often, but was unable to come to terms with either, or to use these gross oversimplifications of his character to his advantage in attempting to alienate himself. Unsurprisingly, Raskolnikov is forced to abandon this failed pursuit and face reality as he approaches the day when his terrible deed will be known to all and he will be punished accordingly. Once it is obvious to him that he is neither a complete villain who feels no remorse for his actions, nor a Napoleon who is forgiven them, but somewhere in between, he also realizes that he is incapable of pushing himself to the extreme of total