Nihilism in Crime and Punishment Essay Example

he were to kill Alyona, the pawnbroker, this would resolve many issues that plague society. He argues that her single death will lead to “thousands saved from corruption and decay,” which will benefit the “common good” (56).

His sister would no longer be compelled to marry rich to save her family from poverty, he would be able to use her money to return to law school, and Alyona’s sister, Lizaveta, would be set free from Alyona’s abuse. Using nihilism to reason, discarding emotion and morality, Raskolnikov is able to conclude that no disadvantages result from murdering Alyona, only various benefits. Raskolnikov believes that God is dead, therefore the only thing that drives people to act morally is their weakness and inability to rise above the norm and act in an unconventional manner.

Raskolnikov believes he is superior to most other people, as he is able to rise above and do what must be done and kill the pawnbroker, without fear of the psychological consequences. He is proud to declare that his “casuistry had the cutting edge of a razor,” which will allow him to use reasoning and discard emotion when carrying out the murder (60).

Raskolnikov’s nihilistic ideology is also demonstrated by the way in which he treats people, often his family members, as burdens, isolating himself emotionally as much as possible. When his mother writes him a letter, telling him of the engagement between his sister and Luzhin, he is overcome with wrath. Instead of considering his sister’s altruistic motivation for marrying Luzhin-- to help Raskolnikov-- he quickly declares his hatred for Luzhin and decides that the marriage will not take place.

After reading the letter, he wonders

why they decided to “come to their conclusion without [Raskolnikov],” and whispers to himself, that his mother and Dunya “cannot deceive [him]” by not asking his permission (34). After Raskolnikov commits the crime, it leaves him in a bad mental state, causing his mother and sister to worry. When his mother offers to spend the night beside him, he angrily responds, “I can’t stand this… Don’t torture me! Enough! Please go away!” (166). Although he claims that he loves his family, he tends to isolate himself, rejecting their company and their feelings.

Finally, Raskolnikov appears to reject religion and faith, adopting nihilistic ways of thinking, after trauma during his childhood. It is clear from his mother’s letter that he was raised in a Christian household. His mother asks if he still has faith, saying, “Do you pray to God, Rodya, as you used to do… Remember, my dear, how, when you were a child and your father was still alive, you lisped your prayers at my knee, and remember how happy we all were then!” (33).

His mother appears to be aware of the “fashionable modern unbelief” that struck during the time, perhaps referring not just to the rejection of faith but the adoption of nihilism altogether: the shunning of traditional value systems, including family, religion, and society. It is clear that the death of his father, poverty, and his mental illness all played a role in influencing Raskolnikov’s change in belief.

His mother recognizes this and attempts to restore his faith, but he is clearly resentful of her for trying to alter his beliefs, as, after reading the letter, his face was “pale and convulsively distorted and

a bitter angry smile played over his lips” (33).

At the very end of the story, however, Raskolnikov if finally able to break away from his nihilistic ideology and embrace love and religion because of the compassion that Sonya shows him. Dostoevsky highlights that normally, when Sonya would put out her hand, Raskolnikov “grasped it reluctantly” and “greeted her with a kind of irritation” (463). However, when she comes to visit Raskolnikov in jail, their “hands remain joined” and he then falls to her feet, “clasp[s] her knees and we[eps]” (463).

Both were initially confused by his actions, but then Sonya suddenly understood, and she “no longer doubted that he loved her” (463). When Dostoevsky writes that “life had taken the place of logic,” it becomes clear that this small yet significant action symbolizes that Raskolnikov finally breaks free of his nihilistic isolation from others, and that he discovers love. It can be argued that this emerges due to Sonya’s continuous demonstration of compassion and sympathy. Sonya also causes him to embrace religion.

Dostoevsky explains how it came as a surprise to Raskolnikov that Sonya did not attempt to “pester him with religion, talk about the gospels and press books on him,” but instead, he found himself becoming interested all on his own (464). He even found himself asking her for a New Testament, which he took to prison with him. He takes out the book and thinks to himself, “Could not her beliefs become by beliefs?” (464). This establishes that he is no longer quick to reject the idea of religion, and he considers believing as Sonya does.

It can be argued that this novel also represents Dostoevsky’s

developing beliefs over time. When he was young, he was incarcerated for his nihilist, leftist beliefs. He was pardoned from a death sentence and exiled Siberia, where he would serve four years in a prison labor camp. Throughout his time in Siberia, his ideology shifted from radically liberal to conservative, and he began to accept the Christian ideas of suffering and submission. When he returned, it was apparent in his novels that he began to criticize the nihilist views of the Russians.

Overall, Doestoevsky presents Crime and Punishment as the psychological exploration of Raskolnikov’s changing philosophical beliefs. Dostoevsky uses Raskolnikov’s inner struggles to reflect his own experience with the rejection of the idea of moral nihilism and the meaninglessness of life, and embracing hope and human attachment. After grappling with the psychological consequences of carrying out the murder, Raskolnikov is eventually able to find redemption, emerging from Sonya’s love and influence on him. This novel reveals that compassion and emotion are much more potent and valuable than intellect and ideology.

After listening to the interactive oral I am beginning to look at the author and his use of Nihilism, the Ubermensch, and Hegel’s philosophy. Before the interactive oral, I did not know anything about these philosophies, but now I am able to see how the author uses them in Crime and Punishment. I think it is interesting how these philosophies were not known to me before, especially because they are so unique and intriguing. It is interesting to look at the differences between different people’s views of the “ Ubermensch.”

Both Niesche’s and Hegel’s Ubermensch are described as a “superhuman,” or an extraordinary human that is above all

other humans in some way, but their views slightly vary. The main difference is that Hegel’s view of the Ubermensch exists mostly for the benefit of society, and Niestche’s view of the Ubermensch exists mostly exists to benefit themselves. These philosophies can be related to characters in the novel. Luzhin, for example, can be said to represent the let Hegelian view, as he is described as a more progressive character.

Luzhin is depicted as a very unlikeable character, which can show the author’s negative view of the Hegelian Ubermensche and/or the philosophy of progressivism. Dostoevsky also may be depicting that Helegians are hypocrites, as he depicts Luzhin as Hegelian, as he is supposedly a progressive character (liberal), yet he wants to marry a girl who has been struck by poverty so that she is dependant on him for the rest of her life. This can be said to be very conventional, therefore Dostoevsky may be depicting progressives or Hegelians as hypocrites.