Will the Real Ubermensch Please Stand Up!

Jeremy Walker

AP Literature 4 Rough Draft

Deconstruction Theory Focus: Dostoyevsky

Will the real Ubermensch please stand up!

Throughout the many works of Dostoyevsky themes of Deconstruction are prevalently centered. The main focuses seem to be questioning the human consciousness, moral contradictions, and the what if’s about society and its status quo. In my most recent depth reading of Crime and Punishment the main character, Raskolnikov, finds himself deep within social alienation, delusions of grandeur and extreme nihilistic perception. Raskolnikov seemed to have reached the brink that Dostoevsky is conveying to be total abandonment of “righteous” thinking. The point where a person has either exhausted all options and is left with nowhere to go and does the unthinkable either, in this case, tangents of poverty, curiosity, and impulses. Raskolnikov as described was a profound thinking man with wasted potential due to his over analysis of minor things and his dreary thoughts of what separates right and wrong. Anti-Deconstructionists would say any thinking being would easily be able to separate moral rights and wrongs and act accordingly from these perceptions. While Deconstruction comes in and says that everything we understand to be right is nothing but a direct contradiction to what is the established wrong. Since as humans we subconsciously think of what is wrong to know what is right would that mean a criminals mind subconsciously thinks of what is right, so does this mean they are truly “bad” individuals?

All men are divided into two categories: Ordinary and extraordinary. While the “extraordinary” man has the right to commit any crime and to transgress the law in any way, the “ordinary” man has to live in submission and has no right to transgress the law. –Raskolnikov {?}

There is the condensed version of Raskolnikov’s greatest contradiction the Extraordinary Man Theory.This comes from his labeling of himself to be the “ubermensch” which in his case is used simply as an overall justification for both Aliona and LizavettaIvanova’smurders. As examined in his theory it is accepted that an individual who is held to a greater principle than all others is permitted to execute the most necessary of actions to eliminate any threat to the majority beneath him. But Raskolnikov battled with this decision oscillating it in his mind for quite a while until he overheard others talking about how they despised the pawnbroker and wished she would meet an end. Raskolnikov took this on as his first justification and proceeded. From there he struggles with inner turmoil thinking back on if what he had done was truly the right thing to do because there was one more murder than he intended to do. When the guilt outweighed the original reasoning for the murders that’s when we as readers are informed of the Extraordinary Man Theory the coping device Raskolnikov’s cowardice escapes to. By definition why would an “ubermensch” question his righteous act if they were absolutely sure of who they are and what they were beckoned to accomplish? Unless be that as it may Raskolnikov is just a truly arrogant and self-appeasing individual who committed the murder solely because he did not like the pawnbroker, how she treated poor people and her sister Lizavetta. As the guilt begins to peak we see a swaying of emotions diluting from Raskolnikov.

“Crime? What Crime?” he cried in sudden fury. “ That I killed a vile noxious insect, an old pawnbroker woman, of use to no one!... Killing her was atonement for forty sins. She was sucking the life out of poor people. Was that a crime? I am thinking of it and I am not thinking of expiating it, and why are you all rubbing it in on all sides? ‘A crime!A crime!’ Only now I see clearly the imbecility of my cowardice, now that I have decided to face this superfluous disgrace. It’s simply because I am contemptible and have nothing in me that I have decided to, perhaps too for my advantage, as that… Porfiry…suggested!” –Raskolnikov {407, CP}

In this quote Raskolnikov is obnoxiously ranting to Dounia that he sees nothing wrong with the crime he has committed and has no intent of repentance in the least bit. He is also advocating that the only remorse he can truly hold is that he was unsuccessful in fully completing his criminal act because he was interrupted by Lizavetta he could not profit from it. Frankly this is the exact opposite of an Ubermensch. The acts of an extraordinary being are described to be selfless or benefactors of a greater good. Now Raskolnikov may have thought at the time what he was doing would have a positive effect , but this is not the case it actually brought along more harm mainly toward his sanity and stressing loved onesaround him that were worried for his health. It is evident that Raskolnikov has a profoundly understanding mind, but is either caught in fantasy or misguided in his perception of being what he calls an extraordinary man. At this point he is beginning to believe the lie he told himself to deal with the crime he committed. He wants so desperately to be this characterized super-being and this thirst is ripping his conscious into two pieces one of fantasy and the other of reality.

Throughout the majority of the novel Raskolnikov spends a lot of the time trying to hide what he had done. The guilt he is harboring weakens his body ever so slightly as the story progresses and it is picked up quaintly. Enough to where IIya and his brother Porfiry Petrovich suspects him of being either an accomplice to or murderer of the sisters.

The day after visiting Sonia and letting her know that the killer of Lizavetta would be revealed soon, he visits the police station. Perhaps having decided to confess to it, his intentions are not clear because of how the visit ends. Porfiry does not show it but he is excited to see Raskolnikov because he intends to get either a confession or enough reason to question him properly. As Porfiry is speaking casually he is making brief inferences to Raskolnikov. Being the intelligent man he is he’s able to catch what is being thrown his way and takes quick offense and inclination that he has fallen into a trap. This is made an even worse situation when Porfiry explains how he intends to identify the criminal by psychological methods and what he has already observed about the “youth” and the “intelligence level”. At this point Raskolnikov is done being lamb and is agitated to the highest extreme. He goes off and asserts that the officer not beat around the bush with him and come out with his accusations of him. Just as Porfiry was close to a break prisoner Nikolay is brought to his office and is yelling out consciously that he is the murderer setting everyone in the room back. Having now to deal with this the officer has no choice but to let Raskolnikov out, after escorting him to the door, exchanging parting words and agreeing that they really must finish what had been started another time. Raskolnikov walks with much weighing on his mind.

Raskolnikov walked straight home. He was so muddled and bewildered that on getting home he sat for a quarter of an hour on the sofa, trying to collect his thoughts. He did not attempt to think about Nikolay; he was stupefied; he felt that his confession was something inexplicable, amazing- something beyond his understanding. But Nikolay’s confession was an actual fact. The consequences of this fact were clear to him at once, its falsehood could not fail to be discovered, and then they would be after him again. Til then, at least, he was free and must do something for himself, for the danger was imminent.----Raskolnikov {280, CP}

I know the Ubermensch did not just let an innocent man take his place for the time being. That is the worst trait of a full blown coward or even worse a petty two bit criminal. Raskolnikov is fully aware of what Nikolay will be going through as Porfiry attempts to validate his false confession and persecute him. Now he is faced with the burden of an innocent poor man’s life could be on the line and was not his purpose in killing the pawnbroker to help the poor men and women. And yet he has just let this man cover for him. Evidently Raskolnikov is nowhere near his fantasy of being anextraordinary man but it takes a sort of extraordinary man to possess moral gall to let another man take his punishment in place of him. This I can say since Raskolnikov has at this point done everything but good he knows clearly what a right should be, it is sad that an enlightened man had to go through all this just to fully understand the boundaries between right and wrong. But I guess the more intelligent the being the more evidence is necessary to convince them of anything.