Crime And Punishment: Characterization In Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov's dream about the mare can be used as a vehicle to probe deep into his mentality to discover how he really feels inside. The dream suggests that Raskolnikov is a "split" man; after all, his name in Russian means "split". He has a cruel and thoughtless side as well as a caring, compassionate side to his personality. Through the dream and the symbols therein, a reader can cast Raskolnikov, as well as other characters from Crime And Punishment, into any of the various parts in the dream. Each part that a character takes on