Term Paper

Soon after Raskolnikov comes to the realization that the guilt is taking over his life in a way that he can no longer function properly, he tries to rid himself of the guilt in several ways. The first of these manners in which Raskolnikov tries to make himself feel less culpable of a clearly cold-blooded murder, is justification of this act. Still not able to admit to anybody else what he has done, a clear indicator that he knows what he has done is not culturally nor morally acceptable, Raskolnikov begins to explain why he committed the crime in the first place. He almost tries to portray himself as a Robin Hood-like character riding the world of one less greedy individual. This brings up a question that readers begin to contemplate throughout the rest of the book, was what Raskolnikov did so wrong? He claims that the old woman was greedy and the money that she made could have fed at least “one hundred hungry families”. On one hand, Raskolnikov is right that that the woman was a greedy individual, but was it his choice to decide how she spent or didn’t spend her money? And if he did not like how she chose to live her life, dis she deserve to die? He clearly knows that what he did was wrong, despite the fact that he tries again and again to justify it. If he didn’t think that there was anything wrong with what he had done, he wouldn’t run from the police, he would be proud of leaving the world with one less curmudgeon, and he without question would not be in the mental state of delusion that he is in for nearly the entire novel. Raskolnikov tries time and time again to prove to himself that what he did was justifiable, but any attempts at convincing himself of this belief appear to be ineffective as he continues throughout the book with delusions of which are seemingly brought on by the heavy burden that guilt brings when it sets itself within a person’s mind. As he begins to come to the realization that what he did was actually wrong, he stops fighting his delusional state. Instead, he almost seems to embrace the fact that he has become psychotic. From what readers can gather when Raskolnikov talks to himself, out loud and in his mind, he seems to be getting worse and worse in terms of mental status. Comparing him with Razumikhin, nearly the exact opposite of Raskolnikov, allows readers to show ow fully this guilt has taken hold of Raskolnikov’s mind. It seems that Razumihkin is a representation of what Raskolnikov once was, and one bad decision has driven him to a point where it is imaginable to think he could have ever been different. 

Comment on Mikaela

I like how you did not just stick to facts about the book but also brought in present day information that helps add to your topic. Your opening on how everyone either consciously or unconsciously judges everyone and everything is a great start because not only is it true but it relates to Raskolnikov perfectly. He openly judges everyone he sees and he does not care who knows what he thinks while other characters do not judge other people so openly, like Raskolnikov's mother. I also liked your idea that everyone wants to believe what they want even if it is not the truth. Overall I thought your paragraph was informative and well written. :)

comment on sophia

Wendell Pfeffer

Comment on Sophia

           

           

Sophia I have got to say that I really did like the second part of your term paper. I think that you really thought out all the occurrences that had to do with your topic. The connection religion has with the story is really difficult to discuss but you are doing it rather well!

term paper 2

Wendell Pfeffer

4/13/14

Term paper – part 2

           

            After Raskolnikov committed the murders his character completely changes as he thinks over the consequences to his actions. He recounts over the whole process from the beginning to the end of the murder and even obsesses over the incredibly small details. This is to make sure that he didn’t leave a trace of evidence that can directly be brought back to him. Still though even after making sure that everything was okay he enters a state of paranoia as he makes up wrong occurrences in his head that never even happened. This is when Raskolnikov really begins to fear for his freedom as an individual. He does not want to spend the rest of his life in a Siberian prison and thus out becomes delirious, sick and mentally ill. This forces him to spend the next few days in bed. At the time when I was reading Crime and Punishment I was a little bit perplexed to find out how people were not realizing that Raskolnikov was the one responsible for committing the murders. I mean two people are killed and on the same day a well-known client of the victim becomes sick and lies on a bed incapable of functioning, it’s evident that there was something wrong here. People simply were just helping him and hoping that he would get better. I mean I understand the people’s point of view and how they must of thought that Raskolnikov would never do such a thing, but it’s obvious! Instead of realizing and putting Raskolnikov under bars they blamed the entirety of the crime on the painter. Porfiry on the other hand in my opinion did become suspicious of Raskolnikov. While he was sleeping he searched his whole apartment for clues or anything that might lead to the crime. Unfortunately he found nothing, but the main point here is that out of everyone he was the only one that was able to determine who was the actual person responsible for the crime. 

            The internal remorse and fear of being punished is really taking a toll on Raskolnikov. His character, physical appearance, and state of mind have all degraded immensely. Every time he hears information about the murder his face turns pale and becomes extremely insecure. He also begins to act in a strange manner making it seem really obvious that he did something wrong. His mind and body cannot seem to rest until he truly believes that he is safe from prosecution.

Comment on Jessica

     I strongly agree with your first couple of sentences. Raskolnikov was a completely different man prior to the murders her committed. Although he was a college dropout and had no money, Raskolnikov was always a prideful man. He always viewed himself as superior to anyone else around him. After the murder was committed his attitude shifted to a different extreme. His guilt caused his mental instability and physical health to decline, making him weaker and more vulnerable. At times his pride returns and he wants others to know what he is capable, but then we later see him begging Sonya for help and a way to return to a normal life.

Body Paragraph 1

       Raskolnikov's judgement is clouded by fury and determination as he storms off to the pawnbrokers home. He carelessly enters the home and kills the old lady along with Lizaveta without a second thought. It was not until the apartment floor was covered with blood that Raskolnikov realized the severity of his actions. Before leaving, Raskolnikov takes off his cross and throws it onto the dead corpse, making it clear that he is willing to live a life separated from God. At this moment Raskolnikov was overcome by panic and rushed out of the apparment hiding the minimal evidence that remained on his body. Raskolnikov's first concern was that others would soon figure out about his monstrous actions and rumors along with judgement would spread quickly. Although Raskolnikov did an outstanding job at keeping his murder a secret, it seemed as if he was trying to reveal his secret to anyone around him. He constantly contradicted himself; while spending so much time hiding all evidence and avoiding being anywhere related to the crime, Raskolnikov also tried to expose the truth about the crime. The guilt kept increasing and eventually became too much to bear. Raskolnikov self-consciously tried to expose himself by writing articles related to the crime and openly admitting his hate and desire to murder the pawnbroker to others around him. Raskolnikov wanted others to know what he was capable of, but most importantly, Raskolnikov was desperate for help. He was too prideful to admit his sins in the first place,  so turing back to God at this moment would be too shameful. This increasing guilt caused Raskolnikov's metal insanity. His "sickness" drew attention to himself and friends and family became concerned. Not knowing where to turn, Raskolnikov pushed all of them away knowing that they would be in disbelief if they ever discovered that he was a murderer. As Raskolnikov lost touch with everyone who ever cared about him, including God, he decided to run away. He believed that running away from his problems would ultimately make the pain and guilt go away as well. Raskolnikov went out to seek the only person who remained in his life at the moment, Sonya. He confessed to the crime and later begged her to run away with him. When he realized that she was hesitant to leave, he picked up a Bible and asked her to read the Biblical passage of Lazarus to him. Shocked by his demands, Sonya picked up the book and read the passage to Raskolnikov. After she finishes the reading Raskolnikov left immediately. Although he never mentions anything about the passage it is implied that Raskolnikov clearly sees a connection between himself and Lazarus. In this passage, Lazarus is a dead man who is miraculously raised from the dead by Jesus himself. Raskolnikov relates this passage to his relationship with Sonya. Sonya acts like a Christ figure towards Raskolnikov. She begins to fill his life with love and humility once again and prays for Raskolnikov's resurrection from a life full of sin.

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).