The Crime and the Punishment

As the title of the book implies, this story contained a crime and a punishment. The crime committed by Raskolnikov was the stepping stone of the story; Raskolnikov was tormented before committing the said crime (due to ambivalence) and afterwards as well. His final punishment isn't determined until the end, but the reader can easily see that his own torment after committing the crime was indeed his punishment. Upon finishing the story, there are a few things that interested me about the true motive behind the crime, the punishment, and certain changes in Raskolnikov himself.
In chapter VI of part 1, it is revealed that Raskolnikov felt loathing and a deep hatred toward the old woman (Alyona) at first sight. The words he heard from a police officer and student conversing in a bar exacerbated his desires to do away with her: "Hundred, maybe thousands of lives put right; dozens of families saved from destitution, from decay, from ruin, from depravity, from the venereal hospitals--all on her money. Kill her and take her money, so that afterwards with its help you can devote yourself to the service of all mankind and the common cause: what do you think, wouldn't thousands of good deeds make up for one tiny little crime?". From this quote, one can insinuate that this was what influenced Raskolnikov to commit his crime; he apparently wanted to take a benevolent action to help many others, as well as get rid of the "Old Crone" in the process. Unfortunately for Raskolnikov, his anxiety during the crime prevents him from robbing or accomplishing anything besides condemning himself. Later on in chapter V of part 3, it is revealed that Raskolnikov wrote an article "On Crime" which states that there are a certain class of individuals that can go over the law and thus commit a crime; this hints to the fact that Raskolnikov may have thought himself to be this kind of extraordinary individual when he committed his crime. This is later confirmed in chapter IV of part 5: "I...I wanted to dare, and I killed...I just wanted to dare, Sonya, that's the whole reason!" In the end, Raskolnikov didn't kill for a noble reason, but rather, to go over the edge and prove his superiority to other humans; a nihilist's views. He felt that he could prove what he wanted to prove and help many as a side-effect of the crime, as stated in chapter VII of part 6, when Raskolnikov speaks to Dunya. He failed in doing anything extraordinary; punishment and suffer was all he gained.
As for the punishment, Raskolnikov experienced the punishment throughout the story. Just the thought of the crime that enveloped his mind rendered him weak and tormented him from the very beginning of the story -- before even committing the crime. The prevalent fever or illness Raskolnikov experienced during the story could very well have symbolized the emotions that he felt on the inside (the torment he felt from the thought of actually being punished). In chapter VII of part 6, it is revealed that Raskolnikov was almost at the verge of committing suicide and drowning himself, but he didn't -- probably because of fear itself. In chapter VIII of part 6, Raskolnikov finally admits his crime to Ilya Petrovich -- it was probably the view of Sonya that gave him the strength to finally admit what he had done. During the epilogue, many things happen: Dunya and Razumikhin get married, Pulcheria Alexandrovna (Raskolnikov's mom) dies from the torment of not seeing her son, and Raskolnikov gets sentenced to 8 years in prison. Even in prison, Raskolnikov seems unchanged -- he still isolates himself from others (prisoners) and questions what exactly his crime was: "Now, what do they find so hideous in my action?". Sonya visits him almost everyday, and in the end, Raskolnikov finally realizes his love for her. This is finally the point in the story where Raskolnikov seems happy, and this love can very well be what resurrects our protagonist into a new person. The punishment Raskolnikov feared so much can very well be what shall cause him to change "for the better" and seek redemption in the future. In the end, Porfiry was correct when he stated -- in chapter II of part 6 -- that suffering is a great thing (for Raskolnikov). I wonder how different the epilogue of the story would have been if Raskolnikov really decided to commit suicide beforehand.
posted by Anthony M.