Initially, Rodya, the main character in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, seems like a rare figure who is alienated from society. He is so set on proving himself an "extraordinary" man, believing himself to be superior to the general population,("Freedom and power, but above all, power! Power over all trembling creatures, over the whole ant-heap! . . . That is the goal!") and therefore separates himself from society. It seems that Rodya is an example of how society doesn't always shape an individual into who he is.
After he commits his crime, however, Rodya begins to fall victim to the unrelenting nature of guilt. At first his guilt launches him deeper into isolation. He pushes away Razumihin, Donya, Sonya, and everyone else who tries to help him. Eventually, Rodya begins to realize what such alienation has turned him into. He finally recognizes that he is not an "extraordinary man" ("I am certainly a louse.") and that the essential reason that he murdered Alyona was his desperate and impoverished condition. Rather than the justifications he provided himself with ("I didn't kill a human being, but a principle!"), it was Rodya's desperate nature that initially drove him to commit his crime.
It isn't until the Epilogue that Rodya finally breaks himself away from his need for "extraordinary" existence. When he, at last, fully realizes his love for Sonya, he comes back to society, ready to repent and for renewal. With the influence of Sonya, Rodya no longer separates himself from society and is now willing to allow society to reshape his character.
