Thesis Paper 2

   In order to fully comprehend Raskolnikov’s criminal acts and how they impacted his mental state throughout the novel, it is crucial to observe who he was before taking the life of two women. Mentally, this young twenty-three year old college dropout believes he is superior and belongs to the extraordinary class. Raskolnikov has elevated himself to this upper class because he views himself as educated, intelligent, and analytical, while in reality, he shows an antisocial demeanor that “ceases to be aware of his surroundings” (5) He views himself as walking with dignity down the street, however, all passersby see a disheveled man rambling to himself erratically. Driven by “a morbid sense of fear, Raskolnikov retreated from society, isolating himself from everyone else, and increasing his state of paranoia. It is also difficult for him to meet new people due to his lack of social skills and because he had a mental disregard to everyone in the ordinary class. But due to his poverty level, he was living amongst the ordinary people who he would refer to as lice. He convinced himself that he did not identify with this group of individuals because in his mind, he was superior. This fueled his dire need to isolate himself from them. He needed to have a clear distinction between himself and “them”.  In analyzing Raskolnikov it is not only vital to understand his beliefs and actions, but to understand the meaning behind his name. This dark, twisted man “for sometime now, he had been in a tense, irritable state of mind that verged upon hypochondria” (5). The russian root, “raskol” means “split” which is clearly alluded at in the beginning of the novel because of the multiple contradictions seen: educated yet college dropout and logical and detailed thoughts yet erratic and paranoid (Shmoop, 2014).  

Criminal psychology has discovered that murders are committed due to emotional, social, religious, economic, or political motivations (Sohal). The detail oriented, mechanical, educated Raskolnikov ensured “a rehearsal of his undertaking” was outlined step by step on how to rid society of a “louse”, benefiting mankind (Dostoevsky, 8). When speaking to an officer on the street, Raskolnikov described the pawnbroker as a “horrible, stupid, consumptive old woman” whose life is worth “thousands of lives rescued from corruption and decay” (80) Angered by the pawnbroker, Alyona, Raskolnikov began to assume she was taking advantage of others and of him thus benefiting from other’s precious items when in his eyes she could easily live off her late husband’s pension. Viewing her as a waste in society, Raskolnikov took the law into his own hands, rather than going to the authorities. When he decided that the night had come to make his “rehearsal” into a reality, his erratic personality took control, when things did not go according to plan. Losing his head and almost making “a fatal blunder”, Raskolnikov was surprised when his nerves started to get the better of him while standing in Alyona’s room (93). Even though he was strongly motivated, his mental state began to impact his physical strength in the moment, but he still managed to undo his coat, release the axe from tios loop, “swung it up… barely conscious of what he was doing”, and with a strike to the back of her head, a life was ended and a murderer was born (94). Motivated out of personal revenge, he committed a murder out of emotional needs but convinced himself through his napoleon complex, that he was committing a brave act that would better society, not due to selfish, irrational emotions. He was doing it for the people and not for him. That mental state was the reason he was able to follow through his “unlawful killing” that “intentionally caused the death of another in a deliberate and willful manner” without provocation or legal justification (Cornell Law).