In the novel, Crime and Punishment, the author, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, uses Raskolnikov’s erratic behavior and careless attitude towards others to demonstrate his isolation from society. For example, in part three, chapter two, when Razumikin goes to visit Dunya and her mother Pulcheria, he describes Raskolnikov as “a morose sort of chap- gloomy, stand-offish and proud; recently (and for all I know not so recently, as well) he’s been over-anxious, with a tendency to hypochondria. But sometimes it’s not hypochondria at all that he’s suffering from, he’s simply cold and unfeeling to the point of inhumanity, it’s really just as though there were two opposing characters alternating within him…He doesn’t listen to what people say to him. He’s never interested in what everyone else is interested in at any given moment.” (256-257). Raskolnikov, even before his crime had been a man of pride and arrogance. He saw himself as superior over others and it was this haughtiness which led him to commit murder.
After Raskolnikov thoughtless murdering of the old woman and her sister he only alienates himself more from society as he becomes delirious with guilt and the decision to turn himself in. Moreover, it is his guilty conscience and inability to relate with others which causes Raskolnikov to push away his friends and family. He is fighting a battle within himself, causing there to be a sense of two characters. There is the side that tells him he needs to confess his felony and accept his punishment and then there is the side that tells him that no one will find out, no one saw him and there is no evidence to prove him guilty. Raskolnikov’s incapability to choose which side is the right one causes him to become crazy and bipolar towards the other characters.
Through Raskolnikov’s confusion and illness, the author portrays what goes through the mind of a guilty conscience. The torment and the pain seem to be more of a punishment than the consequence of omitting the act. It is our prideful behavior and sinful actions which can cause us to pull ourselves away from society and to be alone. People must choose what is right and wrong everyday and it is our decision alone which will affect the rest of our lives. Sometimes the hardest things in life are the right things but we don’t want to face or except it and in the end we see the overall picture and how things could have been better if we had just chosen to take what looked like the hard road. Trials and tribulations are what make a man stronger. Once he gets past the bump he knows he can do it again and face the next challenge. However, if we don’t admit our pride and continue to feed sinful thoughts we will inevitably do something harmful and face the guilt with uncertainty which pulls ourselves away from the ones we love and the world itself.
