How Is Raskolnikov A Confidant

A confidant is someone who is there for a protagonist when they are most vulnerable, someone who helps raise them up and works to help them succeed, someone who the lead character trusts. Simply put, a confidant is someone they can confide in. In Crime and Punishment, the protagonist Raskolnikov is adrift in his own head, torn between his theory of the extraordinary man, accompanied by his desire to be that man, and the compassion and faith he so often sees as weakness—something to be looked down on and viewed as inferior. In a desperate attempt to cross the line and shed his “ordinary” role, he murders Alyona and her innocent and helpless sister Lizaveta, and this departure from the morals of society widens the rift between his heart and his
As well as assisting him when he is vulnerable, Razumikhin sticks with Raskolnikov when he is full of pride, and remains by his side even when he is violently pushed away. Though he is not confided in, he is completely trusted, and in this way is a true confidant: listening to Raskolnikov and advising him when he needs it, and remaining loyal throughout Raskolnikovs search for redemption. He never rejects his friend, not even after Raskolnikov confesses his guilt. It would have been all too easy for Razumikhin to look down on him once Roskolnikov is marked a murderer, to scorn him and forget him when he is sent to Siberia for seven years of hard labor. He does not. When one leaves their heart open to the people around them, they can gain a better understanding and love for humanity itself, seeing not just the bad or the good, but both. This true acceptance and the ability to keep an open mind and heart is vital, not just to a successful life, but to a happy one. Dostoevsky creates a man who is conflicted, filled with turmoil and guilt, and then creates his counterpart, a man who can lead Raskolnikov towards ultimate