Psychological and philosophical aspect of crime in Dostoevsky novel “Crime and punishment”
статья по английскому языку (9 класс) на тему

Psychological and philosophical aspect of crime in Dostoevsky’s novel

“Crime and punishment”

1. How the idea appeared and was realized.

The idea of the novel “Crime and punishment “came to Dostoevsky at the beginning of the 1850s. The writer has matured the idea for about 15years. On the 19th of October 1895 Dostoevsky wrote to his brother:

  “In December I’ll begin a novel… all my heart and soul will be put in the novel. The idea stroke me when I was at penal colony (serving a penal sentence), lying on the plank bed, sad and in a hard minute of self-demoralization… Confession will firmly establish my name”.

         When at penal colony among outcasts he came to understanding a new concept of a  person’s character. He was astonished by the inner world and powerful will of murders surrounding him. “It was clear that this man-said Dostoevsky-describing a convict Orlov,-could completely and entirely control himself , despised all tortures, doubts, punishments, he wasn’t afraid of anything in the world. We see only his endless energy”. It was the first time when the acute problem of the right to commit a crime was announced to be philosophical and ethical. The image of character-individualist appeared, he allowed himself to kill according to his conscience. The plot was firmly developing, it would be written later: “His image reflects the idea of excessive pride, arrogance, he despises society… get power as fast as possible, become rich. He needs to kill, the idea has been already formed in his mind.”

The concept of the novel as it is usual for Dostoevsky finds its explanation in one of the main Pushkin’s characters. In his rough notebook Dostoevsky wrote:

“Aleco killed. The idea that he isn’t worth his ideal tortures his soul. This is the crime and the punishment.”

 During the following years the initial concept of the novel was being enriched with new impressions.

 At the end of 1860 preparing the material for the first books of the magazine “Vremya (Time)”, Dostoevsky was looking through the volumes of French criminal cases. His attention was drawn by the article “Laserner’s case”.

The second book of the “Time” presented the thorough narration of this notorious criminal drama in 1861.Let’s stop at it : it is tightly connected with the philosophy of crime in Dostoevsky’s novel. Piere-Fransua Lasener was a merchant’s son from Lion. In 1826 he killed the nephew of the famous politician-orator Benjamim Konstant in a duel. This duel was the first occasion for him to feel himself extraordinary, uncommon. Having been released from  prison he decided to take literature up. He wrote songs and poems. But literature didn’t bring him satisfaction.

He committed a new, big crime- a murder in order to rob. When in prison, he published a volume of his poems. He presented his ideas on moral values, politics, religion, literature to writers, lawyers, doctors. His keen and quick wit, clever judgments, extensive memory, erudition astonished the listeners. This type of criminal-philosopher or murder-theoretic interested Dostoevsky. It had psychological contrasts and seemed to be greatly beneficial material to be used in the novel. In the magazine “Time” the writer gave the following description of his character: “We are speaking about the person’s character, which turns out to be extraordinary, mysterious, fearful and interesting. Low instincts and cowardice to need made him a criminal, but he considers himself to be a victim of his century. His conceit is endless.” According to critics Raskolnikov  was one of the last heroes  who were extraordinary, mysterious personalities, the heroes of romanticism.”

Trying to find the circumstances of the crime according to the époque, when a man’s heart grew dim, the writer was making a thorough plan. Everything was tragic and catastrophic. Here are some items of the plan: “Despite the fact that such crimes are committed terribly hard. He managed, by accident to commit it quickly and successfully.

He managed to survive the whole month till the final catastrophy. He remained above suspicion, it couldn’t be otherwise. That is the very time to introduce the   psychological process of the crime. The questions, which were impossible to decide rose before the murderer, unexpected feelings tortured his heart. God’s truth, law won over him, the only way he saw was to inform on himself. The feeling that he is separated from the mankind, he doesn’t belong to it anymore, kills him.

2. Genre and compositional role of crime.

“Crime and punishment” firmly establishes the characteristic form of  Dostoevsky’s works. It is his first philosophical novel on criminal basis. On the one hand it is a typical psychological novel with evident features of police novel-satire, combining features of “black”, gloomy risky English school novel .This novel is also social. Such complicated genre nature needed a new form.

          The idea how to organize “the report of one crime” was not formulated  at once. Dostoevsky outlined 3 main forms of his novel: 1) the 1st person narration or the character’s confession, 2) the usual author’s narration; 3) mixed form: beginning with the3r person narration following by the character’s diary.

          Later the author chose the 3rd person narration; the author didn’t leave the character, knew his every step, every thought.

This extensive novel is concentrated on one main theme. Everything is connected with the center is the crime. From the 1st paragraphs the reader knows that the crime is being prepared. During 6 chapters he is captured by ideological crime motives and material devices preparing for it. At once after the murder we see the most complicated by its psychological tension of Raskolnikov’s inner struggle between his idea(intention) his theory and his conscience and outer struggle with authorities in the person of the most powerful opponent (antagonist), Porfirij Petrovich.

3. Philosophical aspect of crime.

          As it has been mentioned Raskolnikov is the crime ideologist. The initial cause to kill Alena Ivanovna was his theory about the right of a strong personality. It is necessary to tell, that such theories aren’t only literary fiction.

They were declared by Napoleon the III, Max Shtirner, de Quensy, long before the St.Petersburg student.

            Dostoevsky’s character is captured by the idea of his might. Having divided people into “human material” and “those who have power and right”, he had to find the answer which of the 2 groups he belonged to. The aim of the murder was self examination. The terrible experiment was supported by ideological suppositions.

          But Raskolnikov’s theory isn’t only immoral, but it is weak as far as logic is concerned. For example the character named as superpeople not only Napoleon, Magomet, but also Newton, Kepler who didn’t kill but didn’t even claim to be sovereigns (mighty people).

          The destruction of Raskolnikov’s theory begins at the very moment of murder, when the criminal kills not only the old woman but her sister, meek (gentle) Liza. The character’s outlooks are refuted many times by the system of images, person’s nature, life, love.

4. Psychological aspect of crime.

Thinking the crime over, Raskolnikov comes to the conclusion that every criminal is pathologically ill at the moment of committing a crime. He mentions weak will, mind disorder. They are impossible to avoid. He hopes to escape from such psychological destruction. But he fails.

At the moment of the murder human nature rebelled against killing the human beings. Raskolnikov was frightened, but he wasn’t afraid of being caught it was irrational fear. Strange absent-mindedness, pensiveness, thought about being insane paralysed his will.

The author used different devices of psychoanalysis in the episode “The murder of the old woman”. He characterized by means of behaviour, gesture. It helps to note haste, disorderliness of the character’s actions. He used the verbs to run, to throw, to rush, to seize. Dostoevsky applied the device which is known in literature as the stream of consciousness. He created the character’s inner world by means of peculiar mixing of impressions, thoughts, associations, feelings, sensations. Such complicated inner monologue shows the turmoil of his soul.

Artistic details submerge the criminal in the world of trifles, petty details of life, and these enemy things torture his soul. The tin sound of the bell, the keys, the casket, the bloody clothes. Besides many of them have the symbolic meaning: the loop for the axe, the door hook, 2 crosses, the broken saucer.

Depicting the crime Dostoevsky proves that this theory is false, monstrous inhumanity of murder in general. However the character himself has to go through the tortures of punishment, in order to renounce this cursed idea not only in his mind but with all his human soul.