Crime and Punishment

Crime and Punishment shows that the identity in one's mind can be so incredibly divergent from the identity that the world perceives. If your actions aren't in line with the thoughts inside your head, the world will see you differently than how you see or want to see yourself. It's probably most important that a person lives so that he can accept himself, but no man is an island, and if you want to get anywhere in this world, you have to be able to successfully and accurately portray your desired identity to other humans.

Raskolnikov thinks of himself as a great "extraordinary" man while everyone else thinks he's absolutely crazy. It is clear that he’s capable of being both intelligent and kindhearted, but his inner convictions of his own greatness are counteracted by his bizarre and careless actions. Raskolnikov really can only be seen as extraordinarily insane, and when he’s in the company of the others, the value of others’ views of him is greater and more realized than his view of himself.