Poverty In Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime And Punishment

Troubled and suffering from poverty, a man struggles with the chance at great wealth and proving his extraordinary place in the world. In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov is depicted enduring the struggle of frustration with his immoral actions, and subsequent mental deterioration following the murder of a pawnbroker. What most don’t look at, is the numerous instances in which Raskolnikov’s psyche can be used for an in-depth analysis of the work as a whole. By analyzing specific instances in the novel, the mental stability of Raskolnikov is revealed, and his true motivation and his inability to see the true cruelty of his crimes can be explained. By analyzing Raskolnikov’s irrational actions and arrogant personality,

Raskolnikov expresses clear remorse for his actions, and any other person would regret the decision of taking another person’s life- but instead, Raskolnikov shows his internal struggle with his identity and sense of self. He says that he spent nights on end trying to work things out within himself- so much that he wanted to be able to start over again like it had never happened. He then goes on to explain his thought processes before he committed the crime at all. He desperately claims that he was well aware of what he was doing- and if he hadn’t, it would be much simpler for him to explain or even try to excuse. He committed this crime knowing full well what he was doing, and rather, questioned himself in other ways that do not include morale. He explains that he was very clearly fighting with himself. He struggled to determine the real reason he decided to commit murder. Raskolnikov simply wanted to know if he was extraordinary. He expresses an uncertainty on the person he was and wanted to know if he was truly deserving of taking the life of someone else. He wanted to know if he was “...a louse like all the rest…” and thus the true reasoning behind his crimes is revealed (Dostoevsky 419). Raskolnikov did not murder the pawnbroker for money or to be just. He simply wanted to kill for himself. His unstable understanding

Raskolnikov is expressing remorse for his actions, and confessing his true desire to Sonya. Looking closer, it is very easy to see his Id, Superego, and Ego. At the beginning of the novel, Raskolnikov gives many reasons as to why the pawnbroker deserved to be killed. He seemed to think that the pawnbroker was a terrible human being, who had more money than anyone in their poverty-ridden town. Because of this, Raskolnikov planned to murder her for those two very simple reasons. At the time, not even Raskolnikov could truly understand his own Id- or rather- his true desires. Raskolnikov’s only desire at the time was to simply attain money. Within Raskolnikov’s confession, we find that this isn’t the reason he killed at all, as he proclaims: “And it was not money above all else that I wanted when I killed, Sonya…” (Dostoevsky 419). Raskolnikov’s true desire was hidden amongst these other illusions that he set up for himself, acting as an excuse for going through with the crime. Raskolnikov truly wanted to determine whether or not he was worthy of taking the life of another human being. Was he a “louse like the rest” or was he an extraordinary human being that he so desperately wished to be (Dostoevsky