Raskolnikov- A battle between Passion and Responsibility

The motif of Rashkolnikov's faith in the "extraordinary man" is repeated throughout Crime and Punishment. Rashkolnikov believes that there are two categories of man, the ordinary and the extraordinary. He believes the ordinary man to be inferior, and can do nothing but reproduce his own kind. The ordinary man has no right to transgress the law, because he has to live in submission, and is ordinary. However, extraordinary man such as Rashkolnikov believes himself to be, has

whether or not he is an extraordinary man worthy of crime for the benefit of society.

sleeping, and refusing to do anything but reside in his own misery. The physical description that introduces Rashkolnikov in the beginning of the novel is contradicted as the narrator describes him after he commits murder: "He looked like a wounded man or one who has undergone some terrible physical suffering. His brows were knitted, his lips compressed, his eyes feverish. He spoke little and reluctantly, and there was a restlessness in his movements." (p194)

contemplates his plans to kill an old pawnbroker, he is debating

Rashkolnikov's suffering changes his character, however, his transformation is essential and significant to Crime and Punishment. The entire novel is a psychological study, "a journey into the darkest recesses of the criminal and d

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