In Friedrich Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche describes for us the two categories of men into which he believes the whole human race falls- the dependant and the independent. Categorizing these two types of men is what drives the discussion of the main character in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment- Raskolnikov. In Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, we meet Raskolnikov- a man that, at times, exemplifies both aspects of a dependant and independent man, but can confidently be described as one of Nietzsche’s independents. Dostoevsky’s Raskolnikov exemplifies these characteristics that are said by Nietzsche to be that of an independent and commanding man as he; differentiates himself from the “herd,” is a “free spirit” with an innate sense of freedom and individuality, and is at his best when he acts on his instincts.

Nietzsche’s independent man is one of fierce individuality when the herd instinct encompasses him. On page 54, Nietzsche talks of the “herds of men” and how the mass majority of humans gravitate toward the state of being considered as one of the herd, that is, being one that accepts all that is presented to him. In a society, the individuality and ideology of Nietzsche’s independent man will prove to be different from that of the masses of men. Furthermore, Nietzsche goes on to talk of how the independents see themselves;

Indeed we do not even say enough when we say only that much; and at any rate we are at this point, in what we way and keep silent about, at the other end from all modern ideology and heard desiderata- as their antipodes perhaps?

In this passage, Nietzsche tells of how the thoughts and ideologies embraced by the independents are at the complete end of the spectrum compared to the thoughts and ideologies embraced by that of the herdsmen, which gives them their independence. On the other hand, the dependant, or ordinary man, would possess none of these characteristics, and would not embrace the ideologies of his own, but those of the herdsmen around him. In short, the ordinary man, “accepts whatever is shouted into its ears by someone who issues commands- parents, teachers laws, class prejudices, public opinions,” Note 199, paragraph 1. An independent’s incredible individuality would then recognize him as an individual, whose ideas and creativity have been both disregarded and shamed by the herd. This individuality would then recognize him, as one of Nietzsche is few extraordinary men.

Nietzsche goes on to talk about these independents how their innate sense of freedom and creativity play a crucial part in the character of an extraordinary independent. As mentioned above, the independent man has successfully broken the desire to become one of the herd and shun his own personal individuality, but not only have these independent men shunned the ideologies of the herd, they have gone on to embrace their own ideologies and ingrain such as an instinctual behavior. On page 140, Nietzsche goes on to describe the characteristics of these extraordinary men and how they can be related to the artist;

Artists seem to have more sensitive noses in these matters, knowing only too well that precisely when they no longer do anything “voluntarily” but do everything of necessity, their feeling of freedom, subtlety, full power, of creative placing, disposing, and forming reaches its peak- in short, that necessity and “freedom of the will” then become one in them.

Here Nietzsche goes into length about how the independents exemplify the full power of freedom and creativity that is ingrained in artists, as successful artists can only paint works of art when they are employing their creative abilities to their fullest. Not only do these artists employ such creativity and freedom- they do such things as part of their instinctual reaction, which is a critical aspect of the independent man and is mainly what differentiates the independent man. The same, however, cannot be said for the ordinary man, as he has completely lost touch with his own sense of individual creativity. The dependent man has gone on to replace instinctually embracing his own creativity and freedom with instinctually embracing the herd’s creativity and freedom, which he has accepted outright. Automatically embracing one’s freedom and instincts is an integral characteristic of the independent man, as an extraordinary person is only extraordinary when these reactions are not only innate and ingrained, but are also the natural automatic reactions that come about when the independent is put into situations that test him.

In Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov is a prime excellent example of Nietzsche’s extraordinary men. Raskolnikov, on more than one occasion, acted ways that earned him the distinction of an independent. First, Raskolnikov proved himself an independent by his constant desire to perpetuate his impoverished state. While Raskolnikov always had enough food to eat, it is evident that his poor lifestyle was of his own creation, and not a happening of circumstance. This choice of poverty was evident in how he would avoid/ not pay his landlord, yet he would do frivolous things with money such as giving it away to strangers. This disdain for money and wealth clearly exemplifies Raskolnikov as one Nietzsche’s extraordinary men that rejects the ideologies of the herd and embraces his own personal, even opposite ideologies instead.

By far the most crucial aspect of Raskolnikov’s independent personality is how he exemplifies, to the fullest, the idea of being controlled automatically by one’s own sense of creativity and freedom. As mentioned above, a defining characteristic of one of Nietzsche’s extraordinary men is how he is able to rely on his ability to automatically revert to his own instincts and be able to successfully rely on his own natural beliefs. Raskolnikov’s actions during the murder of Aliona and Lizaveta are perfect example as to how he is at his best when he is acting automatically. During the murder, things did not exactly go as Raskolnikov had planned; his having to find a new axe, people being at the door, and lizaveta’s presence in the apartment. All of these things surprised Raskolnikov, and set him into a state of panic and alertness that caused him to rely on his innate instincts. On page 77, we get a true glimpse of how Raskolnikov was feeling the pressure, “Am I very pale?’ he wondered. ‘Am I not evidently agigated? She is mistrustfull… had I better wait a little longer… till my heart leaves off thumping?’” Then, as he moved into the apartment, he instantly goes from this semi-frightened state to this calm, cool, and collected murderer there to do the task he was given, “Why, Alyona, you know me…Raskolnikov… here, I brought you the pledge I promised the other day…” This is a prime example of a man that is on the edge of abandoning his first murder, but reverts to his automatic instincts and ends up being a smooth operator and plays it cool. After that, he goes onto kill Alyona, Lizaveta, and manage to slip by the two men as if he were James Bond and cunningly make his way out into the crowd and out away from the scene. Raskolnikov’s smooth actions, in a truly testing moment, show that he emulates the extraordinary man in that he is successful when he relies on his automatic freedom of creativity, i.e., when he lets everything go and reverts to instincts.

Raskolnikov is a man that could have found himself on either side of the discussion- dependent or independent, but ended up showing his true colors. Nietzsche set out strong guidelines for what it is to be extraordinary man- guidelines that force one to almost completely alienate ones self from the masses and be able to stand upon his own two feet, all the while having to contradict that which the “herds of men” stood for. Is it possible to consider Raskolnikov as a truly independent man? Is it possible to attribute some of his success as a murderer to pure luck? Though the argument could have been made in favor of his dependence, Raskolnikov proved himself independent through his valiant success with the murder of Alyona. His actions brought him up to the level that Nietzsche described in his passages- the level of extreme individuality and innate perfection.