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Crime and Punishment Character Analysis

 

            
             Evil is manifested in Raskolnikov's name; the Russian word "raskol" means "schism" or "divided." He is both cold hearted and warm hearted, aggressive and submissive. An example of this is when he commits the murders. When Raskolnikov kills Alyona, he uses the blunt side of the axe and hits her twice on the top of her skull, displaying his vicious side. However, when he kills Lizaveta, he does so in one swift hit of the sharp end of the axe. This shows his caring side. It can also be speculated that Raskolnikov worries mostly about the brutal murder of Alyona, not the swift killing of Lizaveta, showing that he worries mostly about the negative, rather than positive, side of his dual personality.
             Raskolnikov is also a very intellectual man, which can be seen from the murders as well. However, he doesn't always use his intellect. He carefully planned out the murder of Alyona, and even counted the number of steps to her apartment, but didn't execute it very well. He sewed the loop for the axe into his jacket and left for her apartment at the last minute, and arrived almost half an hour late. He left the door open, allowing Lizaveta to enter freely when she returned from her appointment. Later, he takes the small amount of things he stole and hides them, without counting or examination. This clearly shows his inability to use his smartness when he is pressed for time or in a stressed situation.
             Dounia Raskolnikov.
             Dounia is Rodion's sister. She was accused of illicit behavior towards Svidrigailov, the owner of the house she became a governess for. Svidrigailov, however, was at fault and Dounia was later relived of her accusations. Rodion is afraid for her because she is going to marry Luzhin, he feels, for the wrong reasons. He becomes worried about her. She has been giving the money to their mother, who sends it to Rodion, because he is impoverished. She feels obligated to help him and devotes herself to doing so.


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