The Search for Motive: Crime and Punishment

Raskolnikov battles between his belief that murder is acceptable in certain situations versus Russian, and even international, societal beliefs. This puts him in a position where he himself questions whether or not his actions were indeed just. The thought of his actions makes him sick, as he experiences hallucinations and an overload of stress. When questioned by Porfiry Petrovich, Roskolnikov is asked about an essay that he had written about murder, in which he states that there are certain exceptions in some cases. The founding of this, along with the contrasting beliefs of Petrovich, insures Raskolnikov that he is indeed a suspect. The motive of the crime, Raskolnikov determines, for killing Alyona Ivanovna, is to establish his theorized superiority, which would then grant him the social allowance to commit murder. Yet, his search for motive is still undetermined to himself because of the environment around him.