Murder Rationale in Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment Essay -- Crime P

Murder Rationale in Dostoevskys Crime and penalisation Feodor Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment is a finish off mystery unlike most murder mysteries. In this novel the reader knows who done it the mystery lies in why the murder is committed. Throughout the story, Raskolnikov gives three main reasons why he kills Alena Ivanovna. Although these reasons seem misrelated on a superficial level, there is truth in on the whole of them. Whats more, each one builds on its predecessor. Raskolnikovs first two reasons are scrutinized by Sonya one at a time as his solitary want for murder. These reasons are then disproved on their own, leaving one ultimate creator that essentially encompasses the other two. As readers, we sometimes tend to want a direct explanation for events that have occurred. Dostoevsky gives us explanations, but they are not direct and can be confusing if we are looking for an unambiguous cause and effect relationship. Crime and Punishment imitates life in that the ha ppenings do not always fit in nice neat categories. possibly this is one of the elements that make it such an intriguing and acclaimed novel.Raskolnikovs first reason for murdering the drench broker is to help himself. He claims he wanted the money. He states in his confession to Sonya, It was to rob her (348). It is obvious that he needed money for school. Also, if he had the money to put himself through school, his mother would not have to save and borrow from others to help her son. Since the death of his father, Raskolnikovs mother and sister are greatly dependent upon him to make something of himself. His mother says in a letter to him, You are all we have, Dunya and I, you are everything to us, our only hope and trust (25). In this analogous letter, his mo... ... commoners. His last reason was accepted as his ultimate motive Sonya dumb that this gloomy creed had become his faith and his law (353).Raskolnikov himself does not real know why he is committing murder when th e murder is taking place. It is a discovery of self and of a theory that was not yet developed. He uses excuses for his reasoning in the beginning, saying that he needs the money, and, later, that he is playacting a service for the greater good. These excuses are necessary and fundamental travel of Raskolnikovs journey into self-discovery. It is human nature to rationalize, which is what he is doing. Ironically, this very need for systematization and excuse is what fails him in his quest for proof of his superiority. Work CitedDostoevsky, Feodor. Crime and Punishment. Trans. Jessie Coulson. Ed. Goerge Gibian. advanced York Norton, 1989.