One of the hardest tasks for a writer is distinguishing between a character's mind and his actions. To be both fully informed and still engrossed in the plight of a character is one of the biggest accomplishments in writing. Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, is a great example of perfect execution of this task. Raskolnikov, the main character and also in many ways the narrator of the book, creates two different perspectives for the world he is experiencing and the one he creates and understands in his head. This is best expressed in his understanding of morality vs. utility. Through the diegesis we understand that he is considering the outcome of murdering and consequently robbing an old and notoriously amoral pawnbroker. We gain…show more content… Though she mentions a plethora of events that have occurred in the months that Raskolnikov has been away, one seems to catch his attention: “...a suitor has asked to marry Dunya, and that she has already had time to give her consent”(34). The marriage of his sister, though it is to a respectable and wealthy man, burdens Raskolnikov more than anyone knows. He understands that this is a strategic move on his mother and sister’s parts that is, in the long run, an attempt to bring in a large chunk of income to their familial…show more content… He goes out for a walk; pondering a proper response to such a deeply disturbing letter. He begins to advance a plan that had been, before that moment, only an idea: “Suddenly he gave a start: a certain thought, also from yesterday, raced through his head...even yesterday, it was only a dream, but in some new, menacing, and quite unfamiliar form, and he suddenly became aware of it himself…”(46).
He begins to see the horrible murder he has plotted as necessary; a piece in the puzzle that fits from every angle. This is his utilitarian perspective showing its face. He can rid good people of their unfairly high debt, keep his sister from sacrificing herself in his honor, and give himself enough capital to bring himself out of poverty and on the track to a better life. “Its simple arithmetic”(65), Raskolnikov thinks. His mind appears made up and he begins to feel the stress lifted from him. As evidence will soon prove, this is the first peak in Raskolnikov’s volatile spectrum of morality vs.