Comparing Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment and Ralph Waldo Emersons Self-Reliance :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Comparing Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment and Ralph Waldo Emersons Self-Reliance It is only as a art object puts off from himself all external support, and stands alone, that I check up on him to be strong and to prevail... -EmersonRalph Waldo Emersons stance on gentle reputation as seen in Self-Reliance is antithetical to that of Dostoevskys in Crime and Punishment. It is my sincere want that, had Emerson read this novel, he would have considered more carefully the implications of embracing a self-reliant human record. A self-reliant nature infers that the self is not relying on the divine for wisdom, but on ain judgments, scientific conclusions, and honourable convictions. A self-reliant human being is one that believes that (s)he is capable of arriving at the same plane as God divinity lies within. Following this nature leads to pervasive feelings of isolation from others because one feels independent from the thoughts of all human beings and thereby deflects any common ality among humans. By failing to recognize the fallibility of the self and the limitations of personal thought and experience, one transcends and also defies his receive humanity.Svidrigailov, the pernicious, obstinate character who successfully defies humanity, personifies Emerson himself. Emersons words echo Svidigailovs resolute theory on human nature ... If I am the devils child, I will live then from the devil. No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature. Good and spoiled are but names very readily transferable to that or this the only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong what is against it. A man is to carry himself in the presence of all opposition as if each thing were titular and ephemeral but he (Emerson, 260). Emerson and Svidigailov share in the amoral belief that integrity is found only by following ones own nature. Because divinity lies within ones nature, it is logical that not following ones nature is to reject the will of God. Emersons words spell out the very point Dostoevsky wishes to refute. Dostoevsky conveys that this design of a personal constitution is the very cause of immorality and harm among human beings. For it is in ones personal constitution where isolation begins and the common Truth in all beings is defied. Raskolnikov, the self-righteous student who tests his ability to transcend human nature by committing murder, cannot fully accept his personal constitution as truth. He is dubious of Svidigailovs character and thus Emersons theory.