In Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, the main character, Raskolnikov, goes through troubling times after making a cruel act of injustice. He suffers mental anxiety for what he has done, that leads to physical problems, all the while being torn by thoughts of who he really is. His name, raskol, in Russian means "split." It is easy to see how he is split into two mindsets – one of a cruel, heartless being, and one of a caring, humane gentleman. He cannot keep control of what he needs to be doing and how he should act. Raskolnikov's conscience is sent into a whirlwind of ideas and emotions that he just cannot handle. A large scene in the novel is when Dostoevsky talks about Raskolnikov's dream. This dream can help summarize how he has been torn in two by his acts.
             To begin, Raskolnikov's dream was a vivid description of a drunken man beating his horse. Whether this dream is a result of his mental sickness or he simply has weird dreams, Dostoevsky uses this as a metaphor for Raskolnikov's mental state. The scene can be taken in a variety of ways, depending on how the reader interprets what Dostoevsky was trying to say. It can be broken down to main parts. Take for instance, Mikolka, the drunk man who committed the vicious act. He can represent Raskolnikov. The mare, so to speak, could represent Aliona Ivanovna. Mikolka and Raskolnikov both committed acts of murder. Both of their motives were very unclear. Raskolnikov's killing of his landlady and her sister, Lizaveta, can parallel Mikolka's act of beating his horse. Raskolnikov's intent towards his following through with his acts is very vague; his mind was not controlling what his body was doing. His unclear thoughts and disturbed actions resulted in him taking "the axe out all the way, raised it back with both hands, hardly aware of what he doing; and almost without effort, almost mechanically, he brought the blunt s
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