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Mitchell Signor

Mrs.Cramer

College Comp. 1 (Pd. 5a)

18 December 2020
Loneliness and the Killing Force

Crime and Punishment is one of the top pieces of fiction ever written. It has been hailed

as a work of genius practically since its inception. The novel involves the life and torment of

Rodion Raskolnikov, a poor student living in Saint Petersburg, whose life is documented after

his act of committing a double homicide. Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment contains

themes of mental and physical solidarity that add cohesion and commentary on the human

condition.

Firstly, one of the overarching themes of the novel is isolation. Rodion is segregated from

the moment that he is introduced to the reader in the exposition. The theme of loneliness brings

cohesion to the book; it is present in the background from the start. His isolation is shown to be

both physical and mental; he has shut himself away from the world literally and figuratively. He

is introduced as living in a small, tucked away apartment as far from others as possible. He

pushes away friends, family, and anyone who tries to assist him. He is also isolated in his way of

thinking; therefore, he separates himself from others, identifying himself as better than everyone

else. The author demonstrates the protagonist’s physical loneliness throughout the book. One

example comes from the pages 9-11; Rodion's apartment is described as secluded away in an

isolated apartment building on a desolate part of Saint Petersburg. The author could have chosen
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any location for the character to live, but he chose an area as far away from others as possible.

This begins the development of the theme of isolation. It can also be speculated that this choice

was also made by Rodion himself, as he wants to be alone. Another example of Rodion’s

isolation is described on page 8 of the book. “So completely absorbed in himself and isolated

from his fellows that he dreaded meeting… anyone at all.” The author spends several pages of

the beginning of the book describing Rodion’s rampant isolation. The idea that Rodion is the

cause of his own loneliness is also developed throughout the novel. An example from later in the

book also involves Rodion’s isolation. This example is the beginning of Dostoyevsky developing

cohesion.

Secondly, Rodion only has one friend, Razumikhin, and he pushes him away the same as

he does to everyone else. Razumikhin tries his best to help Rodion and does so from a genuine

place in his heart, but Razumikhin yells at him to leave him alone at almost every turn. The best

example of this interaction can be found on page 43 of Crime and Punishment. This theme of

Rodion pushing away those who care about him continues into the latter half of the book. On

pages 156-161, amid a mental breakdown, Rodion bellows at his family members and insults

them to go away. Rodion acts like the presence of his mother and sister is physically hurting him.

This scene is eerily similar to the scene of Rodion and Razumikhin arguing from earlier in the

book, which helps the plot feel more cohesive. This reoccurring theme of physical isolation adds

to the unity of the story.

Thirdly, in addition to Rodion’s physical isolation, he is also heavily mentally secluded.

Rodion develops the idea of the “ideal man”. This is the idea that some people are born better

than others, and it occurs once in a generation of people; therefore, they are willing to sacrifice

others for progress. Rodion believes himself to be an example of this; therefore, he believes
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himself worthy to murder the pawnbroker. Through Rodion’s beliefs, Dostoyevsky creates a

commentary on the human condition. The mental isolation that Rodion goes through due to his

belief in the “ideal man” ruins his life. His initial motivation for the murder was this idea and the

novel progresses, showing the breakdown of this idea into the final acceptance that Rodion is not

better than others. Dostoevsky uses Crime and Punishment to condemn this idea that there are

two categories of people: ordinary and extraordinary. Rodion shares his idea with a police officer

in a long-winded conversation on page 230-236 of the book. In this dialogue, he reveals that

Napoleon is, in his opinion, one of these extraordinary men who have the God given right to step

on others to reach the top without fear of consequence. Only in the epilogue of the book does

Rodion himself come to realize that this theory is fallacious, but at that point it is too late.

Dosteovsky uses Rodion’s journey from initially believing himself to be an extraordinary man,

which leads him to the idea of committing murder, which is followed by his mental downfall.

Eventually the main character arrives at the realization that the idea is false, and the author uses

this as a commentary to reveal how ideas can work their way into people’s heads and cause them

to ruin their lives. These examples demonstrate the mental isolation of Rodion.

In conclusion, Dosteovsky wrote Crime and Punishment with the purpose of narrating the

story of a mentally ill man who causes his own downfall and succeeds in doing such. He used

themes of isolation and the idea of extraordinary men to increase the depth and cohesion of the

book while creating a commentary on the human condition. The first heinous act of murdering

the woman pawn broker is due to Rodion’s belief that she was lower in society, and it creates a

situation where he continues to act on impulse due to his belief that he held an elevated position

in society. The murder causes other events to occur, and they separate him from others while he

continues to solidify his thoughts that he is better than others and in need of separation. The
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author tells the story in such a manner that the reader continues to read in order to see where

Rodion’s choices lead him.

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Work Cited

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment. New York: Modern Library, 1950. Print.