Raskolnikov paper

Mirroring Raskolnikov’s psyche shift, Alyona and Lizaveta’s apartment metamorphosed. No longer was the atmosphere peaceful, the walls clean, and the floor boards polished. Blood stained floorboards lied beneath his feet. Decapitated corpses occupied the space. Walls painted with blood. Taking his time to wash off the stolen axe and his hands, Raskolnikov started to “forget himself” and focused on things that did not matter (98). No longer in touch with reality, he does not act as if he is in a crime scene and begins to obsess over little details such as the blood stains on his socks because the “simple feeling of horror and revulsion at what he had done” sent him into a dream-like state (98). The longer he waited to flee the apartment the more absent minded Raskolnikov became. In analyzing this scene further, there is no sign of forced entry, showing that the victim knew the murderer and willingly allowed them into their home. Research has shown that when a murderer uses a “weapon of opportunity” from the crime scene it signifies that a positive relationship has turned sour in the heat of the moment (Kauflin, 2011). In this instance, however, the murder weapon, the axe, was brought to the crime scene and the murder was not act of rage in the spur of the moment but was premeditated. Even though the crime scene does not suggest revenge since nothing seemed to be stolen, it truly was revenge because Raskolnikov was “pushed to the brink by the victim”, Alyona to murder Lizaveta (Kauflin). Dr. Kauflin explains that revenge is deduced from crime scene analysis when items are stolen, there is a sign of forced entry, and the victim is stabbed from behind. Raskolnikov felt threatened that his crime would not be taken as an extraordinary act if Lizaveta went to the police. He could not allow his unpunishable act to be classified as a crime due to a possible witness. His act of murdering one forced Raskolnikov to murder the other in order to protect his identity. Based on the crime on the crime scene, an investigator would never come to the conclusion that the murder was out of an Napoleon mind set, since nothing was left at the scene of the crime by Raskolnikov to give a message to the investigators. The crime scene had no meaning that matched Raskolnikov’s “logical” mindset.