Nihilism In Crime And Punishment

Authors often will write works based on their own experiences. After his time in prison, Fyodor Dostoyevsky returned to Russia and witnessed the disarray. To reflect the problems that he saw with society, he implemented them into the setting of his novel Crime and Punishment. In his work, the plot revolves around the effects of the crime committed by Rodion Raskolnikov-- a common man-- in the impoverished streets of St. Petersburg during the late 19th century. However, Rodion sees himself not as the common man he is in reality, but rather as a superior man who is not subject to moral rules, as described in Friedrich Nietzsche's Übermensch theory. Rodion suffers with the rest of the city from lack of money leaving the people depressed, diseased,

Petersburg to express the idea of Nihilism as a result of the conditions of the city in order to address its importance during the time period. With the poor economic and social conditions of the characters, many begin to lose hope and purpose in life. Rodion drops out of the university and spends all day in his room “feeling tense and irritable, in a state resembling acute depression”(1). This suggests that Rodion along with the rest of the city has lost a feeling of purpose due to their unfortunate conditions. Following Rodion’s sense of depression, he commits an act of sin as he is willing to suffer “if only he could find faith or a god” (437). This suggests that Rodion is desperate to find a renewed sense of purpose to live. Even after his crime, he believes his actions are justified because they benefit him: his only concern. He believes that moral rules do not apply to him as he is a superior man who can act in his own best interest regardless of the effect on others depicting Nietzsche's Übermensch theory. However, throughout the course of the novel, Rodion is plagued by the guilt of murder and comes to realize that regardless of his justification of the crime, some acts are still wrong and immoral disproving his perception of being an übermensch . Rodion’s nihilist views reflect the views of the city due to the lack of resources they have. And while Rodion comes to reject nihilism, others do not have as much hope in the face of the destitute city. Some characters, when faced with the overwhelming challenge of life, give up. Marmeladov, after shaming his daughter, losing his job, and stealing from his family to satisfy his drinking problem gives up. While he was drunk, he “goes and falls under the [the horses] feet! Maybe he done it on purpose”(170). Many commit suicide to end their suffering without any consequence. The common mentality is that it is easier to die, than to suffer in the world. Svidrigailov after