Raskolnikov's Dream In Crime And Punishment

News headlines of the “Murderer ruled mentally incompetent” and “Criminal in murder case found insane” are etched throughout Sunday morning papers every week. The American public has become accustomed to seeing these heinous crimes happen everyday. Likewise, the Russian city of St. Petersburg was abounding with crime during the time of Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The streets were dirty, musty, and full of drunkards and criminals (Dostoyevsky 2). Murder was a commonplace during the time. Dostoyevsky took advantage of this capital of murder and crime and used it for the setting of his well known novel, Crime and Punishment, which is based upon a murderer and the theories that motivate him. Dostoyevsky uses this murderer, Raskolnikov, who is a serious
Raskolnikov’s "dreams frequently are distinguished by an unusual vividness and an exceptional resemblance to reality” and therefore often get lost in the comprehension of the story (Hart 248). The reader is unable to tell whether what Raskolnikov experiences is a dream of his own twisted reality. By executing the dreams this way, Dostoyevsky is able to distort the reader’s perception of the story’s events and meaning. The “setting and the whole picture are so truthlike and filled with details so delicate...that the dreamer, were he an artist like Pushkin or Turgenev even, could never have invented them in the waking state” (Dostoyevsky 45). Dostoyevsky makes the transition between dreams and the waking state seamless. This flawless change contributes to the effectiveness of the book by demonstrating the confusion constantly going through Raskolnikov’s mind. During dreams, it seems to the reader that Raskolnikov has been awake the entire time (Shaw 265). The dreams show that Raskolnikov is very uncertain of his plan and what he will do in the future. He is not able to comprehend what he does and hence the dreams are set in place to show the utter confusion that Raskolnikov experiences with his own inner
He is a crazy, unreasonable murderer portrayed as a man that demands sympathy. Dostoyevsky is very effective in distorting Raskolnikov in the interest of coaxing the reader to come to certain conclusions. These distortions are best seen throughout the book in the form of repetitive dreams, the overriding voice of the narrator, the unstable setting of St. Petersburg, contradicting thoughts, and unclear realities. Dostoyevsky’s writing proves effective through each and every one of these techniques. His words are persuasive and his style is intriguing. The distortions as seen through Raskolnikov are effective in showing the truly twisted society and values that he was living through at the