Lesson 2: Man and Superman

Students need to have completed their reading of the entire novel. They also need access to the discussions of "man and superman" and crime in Part 1, Chapter 6; Part 3, Chapter 5; Part 5, Chapter 4; and Part 6, Chapter 5.

• Worksheet 5. Crime and Punishment in Theory
• Worksheet 5. Crime and Punishment in Theory (teacher version)
• Worksheet 6. Crime and Punishment in Practice
• Worksheet 6. Crime and Punishment in Practice (teacher version)

Activity 1. Man and Superman

Point out that Raskolnikov is intelligent and comes from a respected though impoverished family. He is an intellectual with an article published in an esteemed journal; someone, it would seem, unlikely to murder two women with an axe. Why did he do it? At times even he seems unclear on this point.

Explain that the theory of man and superman involves the difference between ordinary people and those who achieve greatness and transcend limitations. It is often associated with the Übermensch posited by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Dostoevsky anticipated this idea, as well as other concepts that were developed later by Nietzsche. Many Russian intellectuals of the 1860s were rebelling against traditional morality and religion. Ask students to look up a definition of nihilism, and ask them to explain it in their own words. Stress that nihilism involves rejection of authority and tradition.

Ask students to work with partners or small groups to complete Worksheet 5. Crime and Punishment in Theory; follow with discussion, using Worksheet 5. (teacher version).

Explain that sociologists sometimes distinguish between intellectual crimes and those motivated by passion. Intellectual crimes spring from thought rather than from anger, greed, or some other passion. For example, the protagonist speaks of killing the old pawnbroker, not because of hatred, but because of the intellectual conviction that the world would be better off without her. In order to benefit a wide circle of individuals, one would, in theory, be able to kill her with no experience of guilt or remorse.

Distribute Worksheet 6. Crime and Punishment in Practice, and have students answer the questions either individually or in collaboration. Follow with whole class discussion, using Worksheet 6. (teacher version).

Lesson 2 follow-up discussion questions. Use evidence from the text in formulating the answers.

• Raskolnikov had the theory of man and superman all worked out. Why, then, is he in torment from the moment he carries out the crime?
• Is the theory accurate? Does history show that extraordinary individuals (supermen) are beyond the limits imposed on and accepted by ordinary people?
• During the course of the novel, more than one possible motive for the crime is described. Which do you think is the real one?
• Dostoevsky is sometimes described as a psychologist. Does his portrayal of Raskolnikov’s mind at work seem realistic to you? Why, or why not?
• To what extent do other characters understand Raskolnikov? What do their responses suggest about the man behind the crime?

Assign students to write short essays in which they respond to the question: What does Dostoevsky imply about the nature of reason/logic in contrast to the nature of emotions/heart?

[Require students to go beyond the content on the worksheets to address additional ways Dostoevsky’s novel contrasts the effects of reason and impulse. Use the following questions as additional prompts if appropriate: Does reason by its very nature lead to sophistry? Does the novel indicate that emotions are more honest? Which characters seem more linked to reason, and which to emotion? Do any characters exhibit a harmonious balance between reason and emotion? If so, how is that harmony attained?]