How Dostoevsky portrays Rodion Raskolnikov. The image of Raskolnikov in the novel "Crime and Punishment". The theory of one's own chosenness as a defensive reaction to the injustice of the world

Dostoevsky's novel is an amazing work of Russian literature. It has been debated throughout the centuries. No one can pass by the text without leaving a piece of their soul in it.

The image and characterization of Raskolnikov in the novel “Crime and Punishment” are the main parts of the content that give an understanding of the entire plot of the book and the state of an entire era of Russian history.

Hero's appearance

To understand the character and get to the essence of the character, they start with appearance. Rodion Raskolnikov - a combination of the beauty of his face and figure with the poverty of his clothes. Little is said about appearance in the novel, but imagine young man easy:

• piercing dark eyes;
• “...the whole face is beautiful...”;
• wonderful “...good,...attractive...”;
• Dark hair;
• Slightly above average in height;
• Thin and slender figure;
• The young man's facial features are thin and expressive;

The contrast between appearance and clothing is amazing. Things are strikingly baggy, dirty and poor. An ordinary passerby would consider his clothes to be rags and would be embarrassed to go out into the street in them, but Rodion is calm and confident. How Rodion is dressed:

• “...a wide, strong summer coat made of some thick paper material...”;
• “...very wide, a real bag...” (about the coat);
• “... delivery boy, better dressed...”

Clothing becomes the reason for unsociability; you just want to move away from the young man, step aside.

Positive character traits

Poor student lawyer, 23 years old social status is a tradesman, but his character does not have typical signs of this class. The impoverished townsfolk lost touch with their situation. Mother and sister are closer in education to high circles society than Rodion.

• Intelligence and education. Rodion learns easily. He does not make friends because he is able to comprehend all sciences on his own, he does not need help and support.
• A good son and brother. Rodion loves his mother and sister more than himself. He promises to never stop loving them, but he does not have the means to support them.
• Possession of literary talent. Raskolnikov writes articles. He is not interested in their fate, like many talented people. The main thing is to create. His work is published in the newspaper, and he doesn’t even know about it.
• Courage. The entire plot of the novel speaks about this quality: a coward would not be able to decide to test the theory, that is, to commit murder. Rodion always has his own opinion and is not afraid to prove and justify it.

Negative tendencies

The first impression of the young man is gloomy and gloomy. The author immediately puts it into perspective psychological portrait- melancholic. The young man is absorbed in internal thoughts, he is quick-tempered. Every external manifestation of attention bothers him and causes negativity. Raskolnikov has a number of traits that cannot be classified as positive:

• Excessive unfounded pride. Rodion is arrogant and proud. When did such qualities appear in him? Not clear. Why did he decide that he could treat others like that? The reader looks for answers in the text. The feeling gets in the way good heart Raskolnikov, evokes in him anger, cruelty and a thirst for crime.
• Vanity. The young man does not hide the unpleasant feeling. He looks at those around him as if he constantly sees in them weaknesses. Sometimes a young man behaves with others like an “arrogant youngster,” a boy.

The most terrible quality of a young man is the desire to get rich at the expense of another. If the crime had remained unsolved, everything that the hero had planned would have been achieved, he would have become a wealthy man. His wealth is the tears of people like him. Wealth could change kind person, to make him an even more cynical Svidrigailov. One can, of course, challenge this opinion, but the fates of other characters in the novel show what money does to a person.

Before talking about the character, his characteristics and image, it is necessary to understand in which work he appears, and who actually became the author of this work.

Raskolnikov - the main thing character one of best novels Russian classic Fyodor Dostoevsky - “Crime and Punishment”, which also influenced world literature. Crime and Punishment was published in 1866.

Roman was immediately noticed in Russian Empire- it caused a wave of indignant as well as admiring reviews. Dostoevsky's work became known abroad almost immediately, and as a result, the novel was translated into many languages, including English, French and German.

The novel was filmed more than once, and the ideas that Dostoevsky laid down were later used by many world classics.

The image of Raskolnikov

Dostoevsky does not hesitate to describe the key character of his novel - Rodion Raskolnikov and describes him right from the first chapter. The author shows the main character as a young man who is far from the best physical condition- his appearance can well be called painful.

For many years, Rodion has been closed off from the rest of the world, he is gloomy and constantly flies around in his own thoughts. Previously, Raskolnikov was a student prestigious university, where he studied for a fairly respectable position - as a lawyer. But the guy abandons his studies, after which he is expelled from the educational institution.

Raskolnikov is not too picky and lives in a very meager small room, where there is absolutely not a single object that would create comfort in his home. However, the reason for this was also his poverty, which is also hinted at by his long-worn clothes. Rodion has long since run out cash in order to pay for their apartment and studies. However, with all this, Raskolnikov was handsome - quite tall and in good physical shape, had dark hair and a pleasant face.

Characteristics of Raskolnikov: his ideas, crime and punishment

The hero was very humiliated by the fact that his financial condition left much to be desired. The hero himself, being in a depressed state, plans to commit a crime - to kill the old woman and thereby test whether he can start a new life and benefit society. The hero gets the idea that some people are truly great and have the right to commit murder, because they are the engine of progress. He considers himself just such a person and he is greatly depressed by the fact that great man now lives in poverty.

Raskolnikov considered himself a person “having the right,” but all the other people around were just meat or a means to achieve goals. Murder, he believes, will allow him to reveal himself, test his theory and show whether he is capable of more - completely changing his life. Raskolnikov is even more irritated by the fact that he is far from a stupid person, but on the contrary, he is quite smart and has a number of important abilities that every successful entrepreneur possesses. And it is precisely his extremely poor condition and position in society that does not provide the opportunity to realize these abilities.

However, in reality everything turns out completely differently. In addition to the fact that Raskolnikov kills the greedy old woman, a completely innocent woman dies at his hands. Because of my mistake main character cannot accomplish his plans - he does not use the loot and completely withdraws into himself. He is very scared and disgusted by what he did. At the same time, he is not frightened by the murder itself, but only by the fact that his idea was not confirmed. He himself says that he did not kill the old woman - he killed himself.

After Raskolnikov killed a man, he considered that he no longer deserved to communicate with people. Completely withdrawing into himself, Raskolnikov is on the verge of madness and does not accept the help of his family and friends at all. The hero's friend tries to somehow cheer up the young man, but he does not make contact. Raskolnikov believes that he does not deserve the love of people and understands why they look after him. The criminal longs for no one to love him, and for him to feel no feeling in return.

After the crime, Raskolnikov changes seriously; if he avoids relationships with loved ones, then he enters into relationships with strangers without any doubts, and also helps them. For example, he helps the Marmeladov family. At this time, the investigation into the murder committed by Raskolnikov continues. The smart investigator Petrovich continues to look for the killer, and Raskolnikov extremely hopes that he will not fall under suspicion. In addition, the hero tries not only not to catch the eye of the investigator, but also in every possible way confuses the investigation with his actions.

Raskolnikov changes after he meets a young girl, Sonya Marmeladova, who, like the main character, was at that moment in an extremely poor condition. In order to help her family, Sonya works as a prostitute and has a yellow ticket - a document that allows the girl to officially earn her living. Sonya is only eighteen years old, she believes in goodness and in God. Her family doesn’t even have enough money for food; they spend all the money they earn on food, leaving practically not a penny for themselves. Raskolnikov doesn’t really like the fact that she sacrifices everything - her destiny and her body, in order to help others. At first, Sonya’s personality causes Raskolnikov’s indignation, but very soon the young hero falls in love with the girl. Raskolnikov tells her that he committed murder. Sonya asks him to repent of his crime - both before God and before the law. However, Raskolnikov does not share her beliefs too much, but, nevertheless, love for the girl forces Raskolnikov to repent to God about what he has done, after which he comes to the police and confesses.

Next comes hard labor, where he finds God. It started for him new life, in which he began to see not only the bad, but also the good. It was his love for Sonya that made him think about what his whole idea was about. different types people, one of whom is “entitled”, and the rest are just expendable, makes no sense at all. Raskolnikov’s theory was completely inhumane, because no one, under any circumstances, can control a person’s life. Such actions violate all laws of morality and Christianity.

In the end, Raskolnikov's theory fails because the hero himself begins to understand that it is devoid of any meaning. If earlier Raskolnikov believed that man is a trembling creature, then after realizing it he understands that every person deserves the right to life and the right to choose his own destiny. In the end, Raskolnikov realizes that goodness is the basis of life and doing good to people is much more pleasant than living only in one’s own interests, not caring about the fates of the people around him.

Conclusions

Raskolnikov became a hostage to his position in society. Being smart enough, capable and educated person, he did not have the opportunity and means to live normally. Greatly upset by his situation, Raskolnikov sees no other way than to earn his living at the expense of other people, whom he considers only “meat,” material that can be used to achieve his goals. The only thing that makes Raskolnikov believe in goodness again and forget about his crazy ideas is nothing more than love for a girl. It was Sonya Marmeladova who showed the hero that doing good is much better than causing pain. Under its influence, Raskolnikov begins to believe in God and repents of his sins. In addition, the hero independently surrenders to the police and starts a new life.

Raskolnikov as a hero of a new type is an artistic alternative to Dostoevsky’s image of “new people” created

The image of Raskolnikov in the novel “Crime and Punishment”

Hero's childhood

This - loving family, atmosphere of trust and friendship. The first is a reflection of his condition, the impressions of the child’s soul.

“The poor boy no longer remembers himself. With a cry, he makes his way through the crowd to the Savraska, covers her dead, bloody muzzle, kisses her on the eyes, on the lips... Then suddenly he jumps up and in a frenzy rushes with his little fists at Mikolka.”

Kindness and pity for the humiliated and insulted as characteristic feature hero. The idea of ​​protest and struggle.

The hero is a law student

This is fundamental for the writer, since it is lawyers who deal with the legality of this world. However, he is forced to earn his own food and pay for his studies (private lessons, translations, articles); he is supported financially by his family (mother and sister), i.e. The fate of the main character of the novel is typical for a commoner.

Kindness and nobility are traits that the writer especially highlights in his hero.

(Raskolnikov gives money to Marmeladov’s family, saves a drunken girl on the boulevard from persecution, one of the reasons why he kills the old money-lender is to help his mother and sister, who decides to marry Luzhin in order to financially help her brother).

Raskolnikov's theory

The main thing in the novel is the hero’s theory and his attitude towards it, as well as:

• content of the theory: the division of all people into “those who have the right” and “trembling creatures”, i.e. on strong personalities, who are allowed a lot, even to “step over blood,” and the crowd, who are not allowed anything;
• the reasons that prompted Rodion to make a “test” (according to the hero himself): to help the family, save Dunechka from a humiliating marriage with Luzhin, kill a worthless old woman and use her money to help many poor people talented people get out of poverty, test yourself;
• events that push the hero to crime: a conversation between a student and an officer, Marmeladov’s confession, the fate of a drunken girl on the boulevard, a drowned woman, his own plight (oppressed by poverty), a situation of poverty,
• a crime entailing another crime (the murder of the childishly defenseless Lizaveta after the murder of Alena Ivanovna):
• inconsistency between the theory and the hero's soul ( - most of the part is about punishment, not about crime): Raskolnikov did not use the money taken from the old woman, he is experiencing severe mental anguish

“You know, Sonya... if I had killed because I was hungry, then I would be happy now! Know this!

he feels cut off from the whole world

• The way out for a person who has plunged himself into the hell of theory, according to the writer, is in repentance, but not formal repentance (Raskolnikov’s repentance in the square, not a confession from the investigator), but internal (coming to the hero in hard labor).

The novel's image system as a reflection of Raskolnikov's theory

• images of the humiliated and insulted, confirming the injustice of this world (Marmeladov, Katerina Ivanovna);

• double images (Svidrigailov, Luzhin), people who do not declare theories, but practically live, guided by the theory “everything is permitted”;

• images refuting Raskolnikov’s theory (Dunechka, Razumikhin, Porfiry Petrovich, Marmeladova).

The meaning of Sonya Marmeladova for the hero

• the closeness of fate and Rodion (both crossed the line - a murderer and a harlot),
• the confrontation of these destinies (Raskolnikov, having killed the old woman and Lizaveta, “killed himself”, Sonya, having become a prostitute, saved her soul, the basis of her fall is sacrifice, the basis of the hero’s crime is pride);
• Sonya’s role in Rodion’s repentance (the heroine’s fate, her attitude to life, her dialogues with Raskolnikov help the hero see the world anew, understand that there is no cardinal division in it into only two categories, move the hero towards repentance and repentance).

It is determined by the attitude towards his anti-human theory. The entire structure of the novel leads the reader to the idea that a person who subordinates himself to theory is doomed to fall into hell, and the only way out of hell can be repentance.

Means of revealing characters in the novel “Crime and Punishment”

The artistic means here are:

• portrait

“He was so poorly dressed that another, even a decent person, would be ashamed to go out into the street in such rags during the day”;

• actions (helping other people, killing);
• description of the hero’s mental state (Rodion’s illness, feeling “cut off from the whole world,” illogicality of actions);
• Raskolnikov's dreams are a reflection of his inner life. The role of the last dream is the last thing that awakens the hero to life, because... allegorically shows what the theory can lead to.
• character monologues and dialogues.
• relationships with other characters.

Dostoevsky's interest in the social processes taking place in Russia. The writer's providence: the destructiveness of theory, which takes possession of a person, subjugates him, deprives him of humanity.

The image of Raskolnikov is a prototype of the “anti-heroes” of the twentieth century - terrorists, fascists, communists - people who subordinate themselves to theory and consider it possible for themselves to decide the fate of people and all humanity.

Materials are published with the personal permission of the author - Ph.D. Maznevoy O.A. (see "Our Library")

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If we talk about the polyphony of Dostoevsky’s novels, then we can highlight not only the fact that heroes with very different beliefs get the right to vote, but also that the thoughts and actions of the characters exist in close connection, mutual attraction and mutual repulsion. Crime and Punishment is no exception.

More than ninety characters pass, flicker, or actively participate in the action on the pages of the novel. Of these, about ten are primary, with sharply defined characters and views that play an important role in the development of the plot. The rest are mentioned sporadically, only in a few scenes and do not have an important impact on the course of the action. But they were not introduced into the novel by chance. Dostoevsky needs each image in his search for the only true idea; the heroes of the novel reveal the author’s train of thought in all its turns, and the author’s thought makes the world he depicts unified and highlights the main thing in the ideological and moral atmosphere of this world.

Therefore, in order to understand the character, views, motives of Raskolnikov’s behavior and actions, it is necessary to pay attention to Dostoevsky’s correlation of his image with other characters in the novel. Almost all the characters in the work, without losing their individual identity, to one degree or another explain the origin of Raskolnikov’s theory, its development, failure and ultimately its collapse. And if not all, then most of these faces attract the attention of the main character for a long time or for a moment. Their actions, speeches, gestures emerge from time to time in Raskolnikov’s memory or instantly influence his thoughts, forcing him to either contradict himself or, on the contrary, to become even more affirmed in his convictions and intentions.

Dostoevsky's characters, according to the observations of literary scholars, usually appear before the reader with already formed convictions and express not only a certain character, but also a certain idea. But it is equally obvious that none of them personifies the idea in its pure form, is not schematic, but is created from living flesh, and - moreover– the actions of the heroes often contradict the ideas that they are the bearers of and which they themselves would like to follow.

Of course, it is impossible to characterize the impact of all the characters in the novel on the main character; sometimes these are very small episodes that not every reader will remember. But some of them are key. I want to talk about such cases. Let's start with the Marmeladov family.

Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov- the only one of the main characters of the novel with whom the author brought Raskolnikov together even before the crime. The conversation between the drunken official and Raskolnikov is, in fact, a monologue by Marmeladov; Rodion Raskolnikov does not insert even three lines into it. There is no argument out loud, but Raskolnikov could not help but have a mental dialogue with Marmeladov, because both of them are painfully thinking about the possibility of getting rid of suffering. But if for Marmeladov hope remained only in the other world, then Raskolnikov had not yet lost hope of resolving the issues that tormented him here on earth.

Marmeladov firmly stands on one point, which can be called the “idea of ​​self-abasement”: beatings “not only bring pain, but also pleasure,” and he trains himself not to pay attention to the attitude of those around him like a pea buffoon, he and He’s already accustomed to spending the night wherever he has to... The reward for all this is the picture of the “Last Judgment” that arises in his imagination, when the Almighty will accept Marmeladov and similar “pigs” and “rugs” into the kingdom of heaven precisely because not a single one of them “himself considered himself worthy of this.”

So, it is not a righteous life in itself, but the absence of pride that is the key to salvation, as Marmeladov believes. Raskolnikov listens to him carefully, but he does not want to self-deprecate. Although Raskolnikov was left with a deep and definite impression from his confession: if you sacrifice yourself, lose honor, then not for thirty rubles, like Sonya, but for something more significant. Thus, despite the contrast of ideas professed by these two heroes, Marmeladov not only did not dissuade, but, on the contrary, further strengthened Raskolnikov in his intention to commit murder in the name of rising above the “trembling creature” and for the sake of saving the lives of several noble, honest people.

When Dostoevsky was thinking about the concept of the novel “The Drunken Ones,” he assigned Marmeladov the role of the main character in it. Then Semyon Zakharych entered into another novel - about Raskolnikov, receding into the background in front of this hero. But this does not make the author’s interpretation of the image any less complex. A weak-willed drunkard, he drove his wife to consumption, let his daughter go on a yellow ticket, and left his small children without a piece of bread. But at the same time, the author appeals throughout the entire narrative: oh, people, have at least a drop of pity for him, take a closer look at him, is he really that bad - he “offered his hand to the unfortunate woman with three young children, because he could not look at such suffering”; for the first time he lost his place not through his own fault, “but due to a change in the states, and then he touched”; Most of all, he suffers from the consciousness of guilt in front of his children...

What Raskolnikov learned from Marmeladov, and what he saw at his home, could not pass without a trace for Rodion Romanovich himself. Thoughts about Marmeladov’s meek daughter and his wife, who is fierce to the limit, from time to time excite the sick imagination of a young man who is painfully deciding for himself the question of the possibility of crime for the sake of protecting the unfortunate. And the dream he soon had about a nag beaten to death was to a large extent inspired by a meeting with the unfortunate, “hunted” Katerina Ivanovna.

Marmeladov's wife appears on the pages of the novel four times, and all four times Raskolnikov meets her after his own severe shocks, when he seemingly has no time for those around him. Naturally, the main character never enters into lengthy conversations with her; he only listens to her with half an ear. But still, Raskolnikov catches that in her speeches there is alternately indignation at the behavior of those around her, be it her husband or the hostess of the room, a cry of despair, the cry of a person who has been driven into a corner, who has nowhere else to go, and suddenly boiling vanity, the desire to rise in her own eyes and in the eyes of the listeners to a height unattainable for them.

And if the idea of ​​self-abasement is associated with Marmeladov, then with Katerina Ivanovna the idea - or rather not even an idea, but a painful mania - of self-affirmation. The more hopeless her situation, the more uncontrollable this mania, fantasy, or, as Razumikhin put it, “self-indulgence.” And we see that any attempt to internally withstand the conditions to which a ruthless society condemns people does not help: neither self-abasement nor self-affirmation saves us from suffering, from the destruction of personality, from physical death. At the same time, Katerina Ivanovna’s desire for self-affirmation echoes Raskolnikov’s own thoughts about the right of the chosen ones to a special position, about power “over the entire anthill.” In a reduced, parodic form, another hopeless path for a person appears before him - the path of exorbitant pride. It is no coincidence that Katerina Ivanovna’s words about the noble boarding school sunk into Raskolnikov’s consciousness. A few hours later, he reminded her of them, to which he heard in response: “Boarding house, ha ha ha! Glorious are the tambourines beyond the mountains!.. No, Rodion Romanych, the dream has passed! Everyone abandoned us." The same sobriety awaits Raskolnikov himself ahead. But even Katerina Ivanovna’s painful dreams, her pathetic “delusions of grandeur” do not reduce the tragedy of this image. Dostoevsky writes about her with bitterness and tireless pain.

And the image occupies a very special place in the novel Sonechka Marmeladova. In addition to the fact that she is the conductor of the author’s ideas in the novel, she is also the double of the main character, so the importance of her image is difficult to overestimate.

Sonya begins to play an active role at the moment of Raskolnikov’s repentance, seeing and experiencing the suffering of others. She imperceptibly appears in the novel from the arabesques of the St. Petersburg street background, first as a thought, as Marmeladov’s story in a tavern about a family, about a daughter with a “yellow ticket”, then indirectly - as a figure in Raskolnikov’s fleeting vision from “their world” on the street: some a girl, fair-haired, drunk, having just been offended by someone, then a girl in a crinoline, in a straw hat with a fiery feather, sang along with the organ grinder. All this is bit by bit Sonya’s outfit, in which she will appear, straight from the street, at the bedside of her dying father. Only everything internal in her will be a refutation of her loud and beggarly attire. In a modest dress, she will come to Raskolnikov to invite him to the wake, and in the presence of his mother and sister she will timidly sit next to him. This is symbolic: from now on they will walk the same road, until the end.

Raskolnikov was the first person who treated Sonya with sincere sympathy. It is not surprising that the passionate devotion with which Sonya responded to him. It doesn’t even occur to her that Raskolnikov sees in her almost the same criminal as himself: both of them, in his opinion, are murderers; only if he killed the worthless old woman, then she committed, perhaps, an even more terrible crime - she killed herself. And thus forever, like him, she doomed herself to loneliness among people. Both criminals should be together, Raskolnikov believes. And at the same time, he doubts his thoughts, finds out whether Sonya herself considers herself a criminal, and torments her with questions beyond her consciousness and conscience. Rodion Raskolnikov is undoubtedly drawn to Sonechka as an outcast to an outcast. In the handwritten versions of the novel there is the following entry on behalf of Raskolnikov: “How will I hug the woman I love. Is this possible? What if she knew it was her killer who was hugging her. She will know it. She should know this. She should be like me..."

But this means that she should suffer no less than he. And Raskolnikov formed an idea about the suffering of Sonya Marmeladova from the half-drunk story of Semyon Zakharych at their first meeting. Yes, Raskolnikov himself suffers, suffers deeply. But he doomed himself to suffering - Sonya suffers innocently, paying with moral torment not for her sins. This means that she is immeasurably superior to him morally. And that’s why he is especially drawn to her - he needs her support, he rushes to her “not out of love, but as providence.” That is why Raskolnikov is the first to tell her about the crime he committed. Raskolnikov’s thought horrifies Sonya: “This man is a louse!” And at the same time, she is very sorry for Raskolnikov, she already knows that nothing can be done to atone for this crime, that the most terrible punishment for sin is every minute self-condemnation, her own inability to forgive herself, to live without remorse. And Sonya herself, after Raskolnikov’s terrible confession, begins to believe that they are people of the same world, that all the barriers that separated them - social, intellectual - have collapsed.

Sonya herself brings the hero “out of the darkness of error”, grows into a huge figure of suffering and goodness, when society itself has lost its way and one of its thinking heroes is a criminal. She has no theories other than faith in God, but this is precisely faith, not ideology. Faith, like love, belongs to the realm of the irrational, incomprehensible, this cannot be explained logically. Sonya never argues with Raskolnikov; Sonechka’s path is an objective lesson for Raskolnikov, although he does not receive any instructions from her, except for advice to go to the square to repent. Sonya suffers silently, without complaints. Suicide is also impossible for her. But her kindness, meekness, and spiritual purity amaze readers. And in the novel, even the convicts, seeing her on the street, shouted: “Mother, Sofya Semyonovna, you are our tender, sick mother!” And all this is the truth of life. This type of people like Sonya is always true to themselves; in life they meet with varying degrees of brightness, but life always suggests reasons for their manifestation.

Raskolnikov correlates the fate of Sonya Marmeladova with the fate of all “humiliated and insulted.” In her he saw a symbol of universal grief and suffering, and, kissing her feet, he “bowed to all human suffering.” Raskolnikov owns the exclamation: “Sonechka, Sonechka Marmeladova, eternal Sonechka, while the world stands!” Many researchers believe that Sonya is the embodiment of the author’s ideal of Christian love, sacrificial suffering and humility. By her example, she shows Raskolnikov the way to restore lost connections with people through the acquisition of faith and love. With the power of her love, the ability to endure any torment, she helps him overcome himself and take a step towards resurrection. Although the beginning of love is painful for Sonya, for Raskolnikov it is close to sadism: suffering himself, he makes her suffer, secretly hoping that she will discover something acceptable for both, offer anything other than a confession... In vain. “Sonya represented an inexorable sentence, a decision without change. It’s either her way or his.” In the epilogue, the author shows the reader the long-awaited birth of mutual, all-redeeming love, which should support the heroes in hard labor. This feeling grows stronger and makes them happy. However, the complete restoration of Raskolnikov is not shown by Dostoevsky, it is only announced; the reader is given a lot of space to think. But this is not the main thing, and the main thing is that the author’s ideas in the novel are nevertheless embodied in reality, and precisely with the help of the image of Sonechka Marmeladova. Sonya is the embodiment good sides souls of Raskolnikov. And it is Sonya who carries within herself the truth to which Rodion Raskolnikov comes through painful searches. This illuminates the personality of the protagonist against the background of his relationship with the Marmeladovs.

On the other hand, Raskolnikov is opposed by people who were closest to him before he came to the idea of ​​allowing himself the right to kill an “insignificant creature” for the benefit of many. This is his mother, Pulcheria Alexandrovna, sister Dunya, and university friend Razumikhin. For Raskolnikov, they personify his “rejected” conscience. They have not stained themselves in any way by living in the criminal world, and therefore communication with them is almost impossible for the main character.

A noble son with the habits of a commoner, Razumikhin combines a merry fellow and a hard worker, a bully and a caring nanny, a quixote and a deep psychologist. He is full of energy and mental health, he judges the people around him comprehensively and objectively, willingly forgiving them minor weaknesses and mercilessly castigating complacency, vulgarity and selfishness; at the same time, he evaluates himself in the most sober way. This is a democrat by conviction and by way of life, who does not want and cannot flatter others, no matter how highly he places them.

Razumikhin is a person whose friend is not easy to be. But the feeling of friendship is so sacred to him that, seeing a comrade in trouble, he drops everything he is doing and rushes to help. Razumikhin himself is so honest and decent that he does not doubt his friend’s innocence for a minute. However, he is by no means inclined towards all-forgiveness towards Raskolnikov: after his dramatic farewell to his mother and sister, Razumikhin gives him a direct and sharp reprimand: “Only a monster and a scoundrel, if not a madman, could have treated them the way you did; and therefore, you are crazy...”

Razumikhin is often written about as a limited person, “smart, but ordinary.” Raskolnikov himself sometimes mentally calls him a “fool”, “a blockhead”. But I think that Razumikhin is distinguished rather not by narrow-mindedness, but by ineradicable good nature and faith in the possibility of sooner or later finding a solution to the “thorny issues” of society - you just need to tirelessly search, not give up: “... and even though we are taking time, we are taking time, may we finally get there.” to the truth." Razumikhin also wants the establishment of truth on earth, but he never once has thoughts even remotely reminiscent of Raskolnikov’s thoughts

Common sense and humanity immediately tell Razumikhin that his friend’s theory is very far from justice: “What outrages me most of all is that you allow blood out of conscience.” But when Raskolnikov’s appearance in court is already a fait accompli, he appears in court as the most ardent witness for the defense. And not only because Raskolnikov is his comrade and the brother of his future wife, but also because he understands how inhuman the system is that pushed a person to desperate rebellion.

Avdotya Romanovna Raskolnikova According to the original plan, she was supposed to become like-minded with her brother. The following note from Dostoevsky has been preserved: “He certainly speaks to his sister (when she found out) or generally about two categories of people and inflames her with this teaching.” In the final version, Dunya enters into an argument with her brother almost from the first minutes of the meeting.

The relationship between the Raskolnikov brother and sister is one of the most complex in the novel. The ardent love of a young provincial girl for her older brother, an intelligent, thinking student, is beyond doubt. He, for all his selfishness and coldness, before committing the murder, tenderly loved his sister and mother. The thought of them was one of the reasons for his decision to transgress the law and his own conscience. But this decision turned out to be such an unbearable burden for him, he cut himself off so irreparably from all honest, pure people that he no longer had the strength to love.

Razumikhin and Dunya are not Marmeladovs: they hardly mention God, their humanism is purely earthly. And, nevertheless, their attitude towards Raskolnikov’s crime and towards his very “Napoleonic” theory is just as unshakably negative as Sonya’s.

Do you have the right to kill, to kill? - Sonya exclaimed.

What outrages me most of all is that you allow blood out of conscience,” says Razumikhin.

But you shed blood! – Dunya screams in despair.

Raskolnikov strives to discard with contempt any argument of each of them against the “right to commit a crime,” but it is not so easy to dismiss all these arguments, especially since they coincide with the voice of his conscience.

If we talk about heroes who seem to have the voice of the protagonist’s conscience, one cannot help but recall the caustic, “smirking” conscience of Raskolnikov, the investigator Porfiry Petrovich.

Dostoevsky managed to develop a complex type of intelligent and well-wishing investigator for Raskolnikov, who would not only be able to expose the criminal, but also deeply delve into the essence of the protagonist’s theory, making him a worthy opponent. In the novel, he plays the role of the main ideological antagonist and “provocateur” of Raskolnikov. His psychological duels with Rodion Romanovich become the most exciting pages of the novel. But by the will of the author, it also acquires additional semantic load. Porfiry is a servant of a certain regime, he is imbued with an understanding of good and evil from the point of view of the code of prevailing morality and a set of laws, which the author himself, in principle, did not approve of. And suddenly he acts as a father-mentor in relation to Raskolnikov. When he says: “You can’t do without us,” this means something completely different than a simple consideration: there will be no criminals, and there will be no investigators. Porfiry Petrovich teaches Raskolnikov the highest meaning of life: “Suffering is also a good thing.” Porfiry Petrovich speaks not as a psychologist, but as a conductor of a certain tendency of the author. He suggests relying not on reason, but on direct feeling, trusting nature, nature. “Surrender yourself to life directly, without reasoning, don’t worry - it will take you straight to the shore and put you on your feet.”

Neither relatives nor people close to Raskolnikov share his views and cannot accept the “permission of blood according to their conscience.” Even the old lawyer Porfiry Petrovich finds many contradictions in the protagonist’s theory and tries to convey to Raskolnikov’s consciousness the idea that it is incorrect. But perhaps salvation, an outcome can be found in other people who share his views in some way? Maybe it’s worth turning to other characters in the novel to find at least some justification for the “Napoleonic” theory?

At the very beginning of the fifth part of the novel appears Lebezyatnikov. There is no doubt that his figure is largely a parody. Dostoevsky presents him as a primitive and vulgar version of a “progressive,” like Sitnikov from Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons.” Lebezyatnikov’s monologues, in which he sets out his “socialist” beliefs, are a sharp caricature of Chernyshevsky’s famous novel “What is to be done?” in those years. Lebezyatnikov’s lengthy reflections on communes, on freedom of love, on marriage, on the emancipation of women, on the future structure of society seem to the reader to be a caricature of an attempt to convey “bright socialist ideas” to the reader.

Dostoevsky portrays Lebezyatnikov exclusively through satirical means. This is an example of the author’s peculiar “dislike” for the hero. He describes those heroes whose ideology does not fit into the circle of Dostoevsky’s philosophical reflections in a destructive manner. The ideas preached by Lebezyatnikov and previously of interest to the writer himself disappoint Dostoevsky. That’s why he describes Andrei Semenovich Lebezyatnikov in such a caricatured way: “He was one of that countless and diverse legion of vulgarities, dead idiots, and half-educated tyrants who instantly pester the most fashionable current idea in order to immediately vulgarize it, in order to instantly caricature everything, which they sometimes serve in the most sincere way.” For Dostoevsky, even “sincere service” to humanistic ideals does not in the least justify a vulgar person. In the novel, Lebezyatnikov commits one noble act, but even this does not ennoble his image. Dostoevsky does not give heroes of this type a single chance to succeed as individuals. And although the rhetoric of both Raskolnikov and Lebezyatnikov is of a humanistic nature, Andrei Semenovich, who did not commit significantly bad deeds (as well as good ones), is incomparable with Raskolnikov, who is capable of significant deeds. The spiritual narrowness of the first is much more disgusting than the moral illness of the second, and no amount of “smart” and “useful” speeches raises him in the eyes of the reader.

In the first part of the novel, even before committing the crime, Raskolnikov learns from a letter to his mother that his sister Dunya is going to marry a quite wealthy and “seemingly kind man” - Peter Petrovich Luzhin. Rodion Raskolnikov begins to hate him even before he meets him personally: he understands that it is not love that pushes his sister to take this step, but a simple calculation - this way he can help his mother and brother. But subsequent meetings with Luzhin himself only strengthen this hatred - Raskolnikov simply does not accept such people.

But why is Pyotr Petrovich not a groom: everything about him is decent, like his light vest. At first glance it seems so. But Luzhin’s life is a complete calculation. Even a marriage with Dunya is not a marriage, but a purchase and sale: he summoned his bride and future mother-in-law to St. Petersburg, but did not spend a penny on them. Luzhin wants to succeed in his career, he decided to open a public law office, to serve the rule of law and justice. But in the eyes of Dostoevsky, the existing legality and that new trial, which he once hoped for as a blessing, are now a negative concept.

Luzhin represents the type of “acquirer” in the novel. His image embodies sanctimonious bourgeois morality. He takes upon himself the courage to judge life from the height of his position, setting forth cynical theories and recipes for acquisition, careerism, and opportunism. His ideas are ideas leading to complete refusal from goodness and light, to the destruction of the human soul. To Raskolnikov, such morality seems many times more misanthropic than his own. own thoughts. Yes, Luzhin is not capable of murder, but by nature he is no less inhuman than an ordinary murderer. Only he will not kill with a knife, an ax or a revolver - he will find a lot of ways to crush a person with impunity. This quality of his is manifested in its entirety in the scene at the wake. But according to the law, people like Luzhin are innocent.

The meeting with Luzhin gives another impetus to the hero’s rebellion: “Should Luzhin live and do abominations, or should Katerina Ivanovna die?” But no matter how much Raskolnikov hates Luzhin, he himself is somewhat similar to him: “what I want, that’s what I do.” With his theory, he appears in many ways as an arrogant creature of an age of competition and ruthlessness. After all, for the calculating and selfish Luzhin human life in itself has no value. Therefore, by committing a murder, Rodion Raskolnikov seems to be approaching such people, putting himself on the same level as them. And very close fate brings the main character together with another character - the landowner Svidrigailov.

Raskolnikov hates the ancient lordly debauchery of people like the Svidrigailovs, the masters of life. These are people of unbridled passions, cynicism, and abuse. And if changes are needed in life, then also because to put an end to their revelry. But no matter how surprising it may be, it is Svidrigailov who is the plot double of the main character.

The world of Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov is depicted by Dostoevsky using a number of similar motifs. The most important of them is that both allow themselves to “transcend”. After all, Svidrigailov is not at all surprised that Raskolnikov committed a crime. For him, crime is something that has entered into life and is already normal. He himself is accused of many crimes, and he does not directly deny them.

Svidrigailov preaches extreme individualism. He says that man is naturally cruel and predisposed to commit violence against others to satisfy his desires. Svidrigailov tells Rodion Raskolnikov that they are “birds of a feather.” These words frighten Raskolnikov: it turns out that Svidrigailov’s gloomy philosophy is his own theory, taken to its logical limit and devoid of humanistic rhetoric. And if Raskolnikov’s idea arises from a desire to help a person, then Svidrigailov believes that a person does not deserve anything more than a “stuffy bath with spiders.” This is Svidrigailov's idea of ​​eternity.

Like all Dostoevsky's doubles, Svidrigailov and Raskolnikov think a lot about each other, due to which the effect of a common consciousness of the two heroes is created. In fact, Svidrigailov is the embodiment of the dark sides of Raskolnikov’s soul. Thus, the poet and philosopher Vyacheslav Ivanov writes that these two heroes are related like two evil spirits - Lucifer and Ahriman. Ivanov identifies Raskolnikov’s rebellion with the “Luciferic” principle, sees in Raskolnikov’s theory a rebellion against God, and in the hero himself an exalted and in his own way noble mind. He compares Svidrigailov’s position with “Arimanism”; there is nothing here except the absence of vital and creative forces, spiritual death and decay.

As a result, Svidrigailov commits suicide. His death coincides with the beginning spiritual rebirth main character. But along with relief after the news of Svidrigailov’s death, Raskolnikov comes to a vague anxiety. After all, we should not forget that Svidrigailov’s crimes are reported only in the form of rumors. The reader does not know for sure whether he committed them. This remains a mystery; Dostoevsky himself does not give a clear answer about Svidrigailov’s guilt. In addition, throughout the entire action of the novel, Svidrigailov performs almost more “good deeds” than the other heroes. He himself tells Raskolnikov that he did not take upon himself the “privilege” of doing “only evil.” Thus, the author shows another facet of Svidrigailov’s character, once again confirming the Christian idea that in any person there is both good and evil, and freedom of choice between them.

Raskolnikov, Svidrigailov, Luzhin and Lebezyatnikov form ideologically significant pairs with each other. On the one hand, the extremely individualistic rhetoric of Svidrigailov and Luzhin is contrasted with the humanistically colored rhetoric of Raskolnikov and Lebezyatnikov. On the other hand, the deep characters of Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov are contrasted with the petty and vulgar characters of Lebezyatnikov and Luzhin. The status of the hero in Dostoevsky’s novel is determined primarily by the criterion of depth of character and the presence of spiritual experience, as the author understands it, therefore Svidrigailov, “the most cynical despair,” is placed in the novel much higher than not only the primitive egoist Luzhin, but also Lebezyatnikov, despite his certain altruism .

In interaction with the other characters of the novel, the image of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov is fully revealed. In comparison with the smart but ordinary Razumikhin, Raskolnikov’s extraordinary personality is visible. A businesslike, soulless man, Luzhin is potentially a greater criminal than Raskolnikov, who committed murder. Svidrigailov, a dark personality with immoral ideas about life, seems to warn the main character against the final moral fall. Next to Lebezyatnikov, who always sided with the “walking idea,” Raskolnikov’s nihilism seems high in its naturalness.

From this interaction it also becomes clear that none of the ideologies of the above heroes represents a reliable and convincing alternative to Raskolnikov’s theory, deeply suffered and honest in its own way. Apparently, the author wanted to say that any abstract theory addressed to humanity is in fact inhumane, because there is no place in it for a specific person, his living nature. It is no coincidence that in the epilogue, speaking about Raskolnikov’s enlightenment, Dostoevsky contrasts “dialectics” and “life”: “Instead of dialectics, life came, and something completely different had to be developed in consciousness.”

(408 words) In his novel “Crime and Punishment” F.M. Dostoevsky talks about the fate of a simple St. Petersburg student Rodion Raskolnikov. Through this hero, the author reflected the destructive state of the intelligentsia and youth of his time.

Rodion is young, attractive, smart, but has limited funds: he is forced to live in a squalid room and cannot continue his studies. At some point, due to the despair generated by the horrors happening around the main character, the idea of ​​dividing people into higher and lower is born in Raskolnikov’s head. Rodion’s pride forces him to consider himself one of those “who have the right.” Wanting to bring his theory to life, first of all, for the sake of self-affirmation, he decides to kill a greedy old woman who is profiting from the misfortunes of others. Raskolnikov wants to help many people who are dependent on Alena Ivanovna, and use the money received for the benefit of others. The hero enters into a battle with himself, he constantly doubts, experiencing horror at the need to kill a person, but cannot discard this thought. A series of dreams filled with symbolism either strengthens or weakens his confidence in his own great destiny. And only an accidentally heard phrase that the old woman will be at home pushes Rodion to a fatal act. From the very beginning, Raskolnikov's plan fails, and the main character flees the crime scene in horror, taking only a few jewelry. So Dostoevsky showed that the character’s idea was doomed from the very beginning. The criminal is not an evil genius, but just an unfortunate man driven to despair.

After committing a crime internal struggle The hero’s stress not only does not weaken, but even intensifies, chaining him to bed. Raskolnikov's life turns into a cycle of fear and torment. Paranoia and pangs of conscience gradually drive the main character crazy. But even more than the horror of retribution, he is oppressed by loneliness. Rodion realizes that, having stepped over the law and morality, he separated from society and family. At this moment, Raskolnikov begins to become interested in the prostitute Sonya Marmeladova, who, in his opinion, also transgressed the law and morality. Hoping for an acquittal on her part and wanting to get rid of the feeling of guilt, Rodion confesses to his interlocutor of his crime. However, the exemplary Christian Sonya, pitying Raskolnikov, at the same time calls on him to repent and accept punishment. Under her influence, he breaks down and surrenders to justice.

However, disappointed in himself, Rodion does not give up on his theory. In Siberia, he falls into embitterment, despising not only other convicts, but also Sophia, who loves him. However, through a dream, he realizes all the errors, and, renouncing his past views, the hero is reborn and takes a new path.

It is with the help of the image of Raskolnikov that Dostoevsky exposes the problems Russian society. But at the same time, it shows how they can be solved, overthrowing egocentrism and elitism and elevating Christianity and philanthropy.

A short essay from the Many-wise Litrekon is written on all school canons, but perhaps you know how to improve it. If so, write about it in the comments.