Crime And Punishment, By Fyodor Dostoevsky
Kajal Nakodkar
Mr. Gillespie, p. 7
AP English 12
4 March 2015
Crime and Repentance Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, illustrates the series of events in protagonist Rodion Raskolnikov’s life, beginning with his act of murder and ending with his confession. While the plot of this novel serves to outline the nihilistic views that Raskolnikov uses to explain his reasoning for such criminal acts, it does little to provide a substantial closing to the storyline. For a novel that questions the importance of societal values and holds its main character as the ultimate characterization of such values, the plot does not necessarily end with a definite depiction of Raskolnikov’s understanding of his morals. This is where the epilogue comes …show more content…
Throughout the epilogue, Raskolnikov’s transformation occurs in multiple stages. When the book itself ends, Raskolnikov is surrendering himself to Ilya Petrovich. It becomes clear that simply turning himself in was not enough; in this way, the epilogue serves to prove that while one may be physically punished for crimes, their ideologies are not necessarily changed. Such is the case with Raskolnikov, who, throughout the beginning of the epilogue, still questions why his actions were even considered criminal. Though he has been imprisoned for many months by this point, he still lives by the ideologies of his Extraordinary Man theory, which states that there exist extraordinary men who may overstep societal boundaries because they have the …show more content…
While in the prison hospital, he dreams of a world in which the people of Asia and Europe are plagued with a disease that causes them to believe that they alone hold knowledge of “the truth” and that their moral convictions are “infallible” (539). Because all men seem to believe that they alone hold the power, they fight until all are destroyed. Using a plague as comparison, Dostoevsky essentially represents the nihilism and the Extraordinary Man Theory at an extreme. The nihilist believes that if there is nothing greater than the self, then selfishness is, ironically, selfless. This dream serves to represent not only the consequences of such extremes, but also the realization that Raskolnikov’s Extraordinary Man Theory may, in fact, be fallible. This dream acts as a powerful catalyst for future events unfolding that lead to the transformation of Raskolnikov. When he begins to realize how foolish his extreme views are, he is able to open his mind to new
Mr. Gillespie, p. 7
AP English 12
4 March 2015
Crime and Repentance Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, illustrates the series of events in protagonist Rodion Raskolnikov’s life, beginning with his act of murder and ending with his confession. While the plot of this novel serves to outline the nihilistic views that Raskolnikov uses to explain his reasoning for such criminal acts, it does little to provide a substantial closing to the storyline. For a novel that questions the importance of societal values and holds its main character as the ultimate characterization of such values, the plot does not necessarily end with a definite depiction of Raskolnikov’s understanding of his morals. This is where the epilogue comes …show more content…
Throughout the epilogue, Raskolnikov’s transformation occurs in multiple stages. When the book itself ends, Raskolnikov is surrendering himself to Ilya Petrovich. It becomes clear that simply turning himself in was not enough; in this way, the epilogue serves to prove that while one may be physically punished for crimes, their ideologies are not necessarily changed. Such is the case with Raskolnikov, who, throughout the beginning of the epilogue, still questions why his actions were even considered criminal. Though he has been imprisoned for many months by this point, he still lives by the ideologies of his Extraordinary Man theory, which states that there exist extraordinary men who may overstep societal boundaries because they have the …show more content…
While in the prison hospital, he dreams of a world in which the people of Asia and Europe are plagued with a disease that causes them to believe that they alone hold knowledge of “the truth” and that their moral convictions are “infallible” (539). Because all men seem to believe that they alone hold the power, they fight until all are destroyed. Using a plague as comparison, Dostoevsky essentially represents the nihilism and the Extraordinary Man Theory at an extreme. The nihilist believes that if there is nothing greater than the self, then selfishness is, ironically, selfless. This dream serves to represent not only the consequences of such extremes, but also the realization that Raskolnikov’s Extraordinary Man Theory may, in fact, be fallible. This dream acts as a powerful catalyst for future events unfolding that lead to the transformation of Raskolnikov. When he begins to realize how foolish his extreme views are, he is able to open his mind to new