Raskolnikov (Final)
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Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov
From Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment
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| One Song, Glory- Jonathan Larson One Song, Glory One Song Before The Sun Sets Glory - On Another Empty Life Time Flies - Time Dies Glory - One Blaze Of Glory One Blaze Of Glory – Glory At times throughout Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov seems to be searching for one blaze of glory. Although we see flashes of Raskolnikov’s humanity and charity throughout the book, many of the times he’s obsessed with himself and his “genius” (which it is implied throughout the book, which he is not) and the fact that he thinks himself as an “ubermensch” or “superman”. Also the opening guitar riffs of the song have a very distinct “echo-like” quality, implying that the writer feels very lonely and isolated, much like Raskolnikov feels much of the time. The setting of the song (isolated on the roof of a building at night), also speaks to Raskolnikov's character, as he is seen frequently staring off of a bridge in St. Petersburg into space. |
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We are the Champions-Queen This famous song by Queen states “We are the champions, we are the champions, No time for losers, ‘cause we are the champions-of the world.” Many times, Raskolnikov certainly feels this way, that he is superior to others and doesn’t have time for them. He tries to test this theory by killing a pawnbroker, whom he deems as “inferior” to himself due to the fact that she lives off the failures of other people instead of creating her own success. The murder, which occurs at the beginning of the book, sets off most of the events that occur later in the book. In addition, Raskolnikov uses this justification that he is somehow “higher” than others to rationalize the murder of the pawnbroker. This causes a highly emotionally erratic Raskolnikov to emerge throughout the rest of the novel, as he naturally feels guilty about killing the pawnbroker, but keeps trying to justify the murder to himself. |
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Lay All your Love On Me- ABBA These lyrics express Raskolnikov’s feelings about his relationship with his sister, Dunya. Raskolnikov hates Dunya’s fiancé, Luzhin, and wishes that his sister would listen to him and not marry Luzhin (which he eventually convinces her to do). This highly irrational hate of Luzhin and brotherly love for Dunya causes Raskolnikov to do several highly irrational actions throughout the book, and also contributes to Raskolnikov’s highly erratic personality throughout the course of the book. |
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Paranoid- Black Sabbath “People think I'm insane because I am frowning all the time All day long I think of things but nothing seems to satisfy Think I'll lose my mind if I don't find something to pacify  Can you help me occupy my brain?...…Make a joke and I will sigh and you will laugh and I will cry Happiness I cannot feel and love to me is so unreal”  |
This song reflects the level of neuroticism that Raskolnikov is shown to have throughout the course of the novel. “Think I’ll lose my mind if I don’t find something to pacify” perfectly reflects the general ideas that are going through Raskolnikov’s head throughout the book after he kills the pawnbroker in the first part. Throughout the book, his mind goes through many abstract “What if?” scenarios causing him to go crazy throughout the course of the book. Throughout the book, he performs actions such as burying the money he stole from the murdered pawnbroker so that the police can’t track it, and whenever he saw a police officer or went into the police station, Raskolnikov would become ill. This song is an excellent overall description of Raskolnikov’s irregular and paranoid personality throughout the book. |
| Money, Money, Money- ABBA “I work all night, I work all day, to pay the bills I have to pay Ain't it sad And still there never seems to be a single penny left for me That's too bad…Money, money, money Must be funny In the rich man's world Money, money, money...always sunny In the rich man's world Aha-ahaaa, all the things I could do If I had a little money It's a rich man's world” |
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o16uVon2NRQ
Raskolnikov is constantly frustrated by the power of the more wealthy throughout the book, especially with the pawnbroker who he views as greedy and provides society with no benefit. He also is frustrated with Luzhin, a wealthy man from Raskolnikov’s hometown who wishes to marry Raskolnikov’s sister, Dunya and is willing to use his power and money in order to nearly force Dunya into marrying him (Luzhin). Also, Raskolnikov is always portrayed as needing more money within the novel. There are times in the book when Raskolnikov receives large enough sums of money to feed himself, return to school, better himself, et cetera. However, he always seems to give his money away to people who are even less fortunate than he is. This good side of Raskolnikov is, however, contrasted by his darker, more erratic, possibly antisocial side, which may be reflected in the tense rhythms throughout the song as well as the minor key the song is set in.
| Teardrop- Massive Attack “Water is my eye Most faithful mirror Fearless on my breath Teardrop on the fire of a confession Fearless on my breath Most faithful mirror Fearless on my breath” |
This song also fits Raskolnikov’s character as it describes a pain similar to the one Raskolnikov goes through as Raskolnikov tries to decide whether to turn himself in for his crimes in the beginning of the book. One line of this song that sticks out to me is “Fearless on my breath” which describes how Raskolnikov must have felt as he was confessing to the police regarding his crimes. Also, the pulsating rhythm and the repeated bass line throughout the song sort of gives it the sense of being fairly distant and disconnected from reality, much like Raskolnikov tended to be throughout the novel. Many of the scenes Raskolnikov was in featured his thoughts in great length, implying that Raskolnikov may have been extremely disconnected from the world. |
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