"Crime & Punishment" is probably my favorite novel of all time. Raskolnikov is a university dropout who stumbles upon the idea that he and larger-than-life historical figures (like Napoleon) are "overmen," people who are remarkable and thus above the moral scrutiny and justice that govern the rest of humanity. He believes that the fruits of his labors will be so completely worth any "sins" he may commit to achieve them that those sins will be pardonable. To prove this theory, Raskolnikov decides to murder his pawnbroker.
The sickness John describes in the song is pivotal to the book. Raskolnikov follows through with the murder, but the guilt and disgust it brings him drive him to confess, thereby undoing him and his theory. Had Raskolnikov murdered the woman for money, he wouldn't have been tortured as he was, as he'd have achieved his goal of robbing the pawnbroker. Similarly, if he'd killed her for fun, he'd have satiated his bloodlust.
Instead, he killed the woman out of love: love for his own idea.
@Sussex Hey man I made an account just to reply despite being 12 years late but and I love your input but I wanted to add something about Crime and Punishment and how it relates to the song.
@Sussex Hey man I made an account just to reply despite being 12 years late but and I love your input but I wanted to add something about Crime and Punishment and how it relates to the song.
In the novel, Raskolnikov is affected by an overestimation of his psychological abilites and general importance as a human being- this is one face of the arrogance of the intellect- but besides this grandiose aspect of his personality, he has a very compassionate nature which expresses itself at multiple instances- he gives what little money he has to a suffering family despite hardly being able to afford food, he saves a young girl from being raped, among other things. [SPOILER ALERT] When, near the end of the novel he is convicted for the crime of murder, the people of the community come to his defense and he gets a significantly reduced sentence in Siberian prison on account of all the things he had done out of love for other people. He still had to suffer punishment for his crime, but inasmuch as his life was governed by love, he was redeemed.
At the very end of the book this point is driven home- he struggles deeply to learn the humility to forget his grandiose self-image, but in doing so he comes "down to earth," as it were, and is ultimately redeemed when he finds he is finally able accept his humanity enough to love Sonya, an impulse he had always viewed as beneath him.
"Crime & Punishment" is probably my favorite novel of all time. Raskolnikov is a university dropout who stumbles upon the idea that he and larger-than-life historical figures (like Napoleon) are "overmen," people who are remarkable and thus above the moral scrutiny and justice that govern the rest of humanity. He believes that the fruits of his labors will be so completely worth any "sins" he may commit to achieve them that those sins will be pardonable. To prove this theory, Raskolnikov decides to murder his pawnbroker.
The sickness John describes in the song is pivotal to the book. Raskolnikov follows through with the murder, but the guilt and disgust it brings him drive him to confess, thereby undoing him and his theory. Had Raskolnikov murdered the woman for money, he wouldn't have been tortured as he was, as he'd have achieved his goal of robbing the pawnbroker. Similarly, if he'd killed her for fun, he'd have satiated his bloodlust.
Instead, he killed the woman out of love: love for his own idea.
@Sussex Hey man I made an account just to reply despite being 12 years late but and I love your input but I wanted to add something about Crime and Punishment and how it relates to the song.
@Sussex Hey man I made an account just to reply despite being 12 years late but and I love your input but I wanted to add something about Crime and Punishment and how it relates to the song.
In the novel, Raskolnikov is affected by an overestimation of his psychological abilites and general importance as a human being- this is one face of the arrogance of the intellect- but besides this grandiose aspect of his personality, he has a very compassionate nature which expresses itself at multiple instances- he gives what little money he has to a suffering family despite hardly being able to afford food, he saves a young girl from being raped, among other things. [SPOILER ALERT] When, near the end of the novel he is convicted for the crime of murder, the people of the community come to his defense and he gets a significantly reduced sentence in Siberian prison on account of all the things he had done out of love for other people. He still had to suffer punishment for his crime, but inasmuch as his life was governed by love, he was redeemed.
At the very end of the book this point is driven home- he struggles deeply to learn the humility to forget his grandiose self-image, but in doing so he comes "down to earth," as it were, and is ultimately redeemed when he finds he is finally able accept his humanity enough to love Sonya, an impulse he had always viewed as beneath him.