The theme of duality in Crime and Punishment In Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, the theme of duality is present in much of the novel. The conflicts are twofold: one external between a disillusioned individual and his world, and the other internal between an isolated soul and his conscience (Walsh). It is the internal conflict of the main character, Raskolnikov, that is the focus of much of the novel. Raskolnikov's dual personalities are constantly at war with each other, causing the internal conflict he experiences and thus creating his personal punishment. The first of Raskolnikov's two sides is his intellectual side. This side of him is cold, callous, inhuman, and shows extreme will and power. This is the side of him that proposes his theory. The crime was the result of his theory that some people possess extraordinary abilities while others have none. It is this intellectual side of his that led him to conceive and carry out his murder. This half of his personality is part of the reason he lives in a run-down place and is why he has strayed so far from his goals. This side puts him in many difficult moments throughout the novel. His extreme apathy towards everything is this side of his personality. There is also a completely opposite side of Raskolnikov. This side is his compassionate, kind, humane, compassionate and warm side. It is part of his conscience and performs acts of charity and fights against evil in his society. This is the side that his mother wants to see and he trains himself to let her come into contact only with this side of himself....... middle of paper...... In the end the good side of his mother won personalities approaching and realized that he needed help. Killing someone is a crime and would do them no good (Harris). His mind was very much in tune with Raskolnikov, who thought he could improve humanity through justified crime. The truth is that each of us has a complex personality. Nobody has a one-sided character. The difference between us and Raskolnikov is how we choose to act on our instincts. Raskolnikov clearly did not know how to handle his intellectual nature and therefore had to suffer punishment from himself and the law. Balanced people know how to deal with their emotions and personality in a healthy way. Raskolnikov teaches us that whatever man does, it must be done in terms of general humanity and for this reason man must learn to master his dual personality.