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Porfiry is the attorney investigating the murders of Alyona and Lizaveta, and is a bit of a mystery. We don't really know him outside of his professional capacity. He's related to Razumihin, but that doesn't give us much to go on as far as his character is concerned.

The “man of action” is straightforward and goes after what he desires. People envy him

for this simple reason. I found out there is a good side and a bad side to being a man of action by studying the life of Mr. Razumikhin. He is the idea of the man of action come to life and provides the perfect study in the pros and cons of leading such a straightforward lifestyle.

The best example of this is that its lead character, Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov, is not a realistic villain, but an archetype- and really a symbol. The sound of his name connotes his being a rascal or rapscallion, and in Russian raskolnik even means to be divided, or schismatic. His swings between guilt and mendacious evil are better seen as devices serving the drama of the narrative than as any true portrait of a sociopath- be it a modern serial killer, a gangster, or any other form.