Crime and Punishment - Raskolnikov's Theory of the Extraordinary ManIn the novel Crime and Punishment, the main character, Raskolnikov, unknowingly published a collection of his thoughts on crime and punishment via an article. entitled “On Crime”. Porfiry, who is trying to connect Raskolnikov to a murder, discovered this article, read it and tells Raskolnikov that he is very interested in hearing his ideas. Porfiry brings Raskolnikov into this conversation primarily to learn more about Raskolnikov's possible involvement in the crime. Raskolnikov decides to take on the challenge of discussing his theory and launches into a wide-ranging discussion of his philosophy of man. Raskolnikov argues that by a law of nature, men have been "somewhat arbitrarily" divided into two groups: the ordinary and the extraordinary. . Raskolnikov believes that the duty and vocation of the first group is to be servile, the material from which the world and society must be formed. The first group is made up of people of the present, of now. The second group, those who are extraordinary, are a cut above normal, ordinary dogs. They have the ability to go beyond normal boundaries and transgress the rights of those who are simply ordinary. They are the prime movers – they have the right to transcend normal societal restrictions to accomplish the things they have deemed worthwhile in their conscience. Extraordinary men are the main drivers. He cites such extraordinary men as Newton, Mohammed and Napoleon. He tells us that Newton had the right to kill hundreds of men if necessary in order to make his discoveries known to the world. Napoleon and other leaders created a new word. They overturned old laws and created new ones. They had the right to defend their new ideal, even if it meant killing innocent people defending the old law. “The first class of people preserves and populates the world, the second makes the world move and leads it to its goal.” Despite these enormous differences in his theory and the obvious superiority enjoyed by extraordinary people, Raskolnikov maintains that both classes have an equal right to existence. This is interesting, and anyone who sees huge problems with this theory needs to understand this very important point: both categories of men and women are necessary to understand the true meaning of Raskolnikov's theory. Without the extraordinary branch of men, without their abilities and morality, the obligation to go beyond the limits of society at certain times, world history would never have progressed to the state in which we find ourselves today. 'today.