Crime and Punishment
Discussion Questions
1. How does Dostoyevsky achieve and sustain the suspense in his novel? Which scenes strike you as being particularly suspenseful? How does he use description to enhance the turmoil in Roskolnikov's mind?
2. What role does chance play in the development of the novel? In which scenes does coincidence figure heavily in the outcome? Is Dostoyevsky interfering too much with the natural course of events in order to move his story along, or is he making a point about the randomness of life, free will, and divine intervention?
3. Compare the characters of Roskolnikov, Luzhin, and Svidrigailov. How is each of these men a "villain," and to what extent are they guilty? How does each man face his guilt, and how does each suffer for it?
4. Compare the major female characters: Sonya, Dunya, Katerina Ivanovna. Do you think they are well-rounded characters or stereotypes? How does each figure in Roskolnikov's actions?
5. Discuss the scene in which Roskolnikov meets Sonya in her room and he asks her to read the story of Lazarus. What makes this scene so effective? What does Roskolnikov mean when he tells Sonya she is "necessary" to him?
6. Later, in confessing the murder to Sonya, Roskolnikov claims, "Did I really kill the old woman? No, it was myself I killed.... And as for the old woman, it was the Devil who killed her, not I." What does he mean by this? What motive does Roskolnikov give for his murder? Why does he confess to Sonya? Why doesn't the confession ease him of his inner torment?
7. Discuss Roskolnikov's theory of the ordinary versus the extraordinary man. What is Dostoyevsky's attitude toward this theory? Can you think of modern-day examples of this theory put into practice?
8. Does the fact that Roskolnikov never uses the money he stole from the pawnbroker make him less-or more-guilty? Why do you think he never recovers the stolen items or cash?
9. Why does Roskolnikov reject his family's and Razumikhin's attempts at solace and comfort? Why, when they are at their most loving, does he have feelings of hatred for them? What is Dostoyevsky saying about guilt and conscience?
10. Roskolnikov emerges as a dual character, capable of cruelty and compassion, deliberation and recklessness, and alternating between a desire for solitude and companionship. Why has Dostoyevsky created such a complex psychological portrait?
posted by dconlay @ 5:00 PM
21 comments
21 Comments:
T. McClanahan
1. Dostoevsky creates and maintains suspense in the novel through Rodya’s shifting mindsets and quick-paced thoughts and actions of the characters. He leads the reader to believe – many times – that Raskolnikov is going to confess, giving himself up to the authorities. For example, in chapter six of part two, when Raskolnikov is talking with Zamiotov at the café, he says “I declare to you – no, better, I acknowledge. No, that’s not quite right either. I hereby make this statement and you take it down…” (pg. 156), and the reader is led to believe that he will begin to confess to this police investigator. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for Rodya, Zamiotov believes that he is still ill from before, and is speaking nonsense. Earlier, following a summons to the police office, he thinks “I’ll go in, I’ll fall on my knees and I’ll tell all…” (pg. 90), leading the reader to believe that he is set on confessing right then, the morning after the murder. Raskolnikov thinks very descriptively, and the reader gets to see everything he thinks, and therefore reads everything from both sides of Rodya’s turbulent mind. Dostoevsky creates situations and describes them in a way that the reader feels that people would act a certain way naturally in the given situation, but then has Rodya rationalize himself out of it or to a different outcome than anticipated.
2. Chance is most often found in situations where Rodya’s more compassionate side comes out, as he has had no time to plan ahead as his intellectual side would want to do. For example, when he sees the young girl being followed down the street and stops to help, or when he stops to help the man who’s been hit by the street cart (who turns out to be his friend Marmeladov), these are random, chance occurrences, and Rodya reacts compassionately, though later regretting it after trying to rationalize everything. Also, there are some things that don’t go to planned during the murder, such as the painters and the pawners being there, as well as Lizaveta showing up after Alyona is dead, that cause Rodya to act differently or make different decisions than maybe he would have if they had not shown up (like not killing Lizeveta). Dostoevsky has to have things appear random in the story because, in essence, life is a bunch of random events strung together to appear planned, and there are many parts of life that simply cannot be planned. Spontaneous actions usually only come from the unexpected, and randomness is impossible to predict. Free will, however much we want to tell ourselves that we have complete free will, is not what controls our lives, but neither is divine intervention. It’s merely coincidence.
3. Raskolnikov is a ‘villian’ because of his crime as well has his coldness to those he loves. Rodya’s main way to face his guilt is to rationalize it. He contemplates confessing to the murder ten times in the novel, but then draws back and rationalizes that he killed not a person, but a principle, and because he was an ubermensch, the common law didn’t apply and he was allowed to break traditional morals. Through isolation Rodya suffers and the internal turmoil between compassion and rationalization also serves to cause Rodya suffering. Luzhin is truly a man of no class. He is single-minded, stingy, conceited, and narcissistic. He wishes to marry an intelligent, beautiful woman who is poor, so she will be indebted to him and will do whatever he wishes. He faces his guilt by bribing people into liking him and disregarding what other people feel or think about him, and he, too, suffers through isolation. Svidrigailov is the closest a character comes in the novel to being an ubermensch – self-dependent, seeks pleasure and gratification only, and who acts on his own will and gets what he wants, no matter what it takes. His only downfall is Dunya, who’s love he believes he can attain, but upon realizing that he will never have it, he finds that he cannot live in isolation as the true ubermensch, and wills himself to commit suicide, as death is the only thing he has yet to will upon himself. Svidirgailov, too, suffers in isolation, but rationalizes everything away, making it appear that everything that happens, he has a say in and turns out how he willed it to.
4. These female characters are not well-rounded and serve to represent one or a certain group of characteristics or traits. For example, Sonya represents selflessness and shows opposite motives to Rodya for her sins – she sins for the sake of others, while Rodya’s sin was for himself only. She is also very devoted to her family and her faith, and Dostoevsky uses her to make social commentary on topics such as the treatment of women, the effects of poverty, and the importance of religious faith and familial devotion. Sonya also represents compassion in all circumstances and general concern for the well-being of others. Dunya is very similar to Rodya, but instead of being self-centered, cruel, and rationalizing, she is like Sonya in her self-sacrificing, kindness, and in her compassion. She (along with Razumihkin) depict those who, though destitute, are not crushed by poverty and retain morality in spite of their social class or economic state. Katerina Ivanovna, on the other hand, is crushed by poverty and battered by sickness, but can’t give up her claim to aristocratic ancestry. Even in her poverty, she still consumes a great deal, and is often the figure of Rodya’s sparse compassion.
5. Something that is interesting about this scene and him asking for her to read the story of Lazarus is that Porfiry had asked Raskolnikov if he believed in the raising of Lazarus when they first met. Also, Rodya’s two paths to redemption lie in Sonya and Porfiry, and redemption would mean for Rodya to come back into society and “become one of the living”. The whole scene in the room is interesting because it begins with simple conversations (and simple, innocent answers from Sonya) but then rapidly moves to a winded dissertation from Rodya about how life is going to get very bad for Sonya and those in her life
6. When Raskolnikov says that “it was the Devil who killed her, not I”, he meant that she was evil and had sold her soul to the devil, per se. The Devil had caused her to be the way she was and, as he put it, he killed only a principle, not a person. When talking with Sonya, he comes up with many motives behind his murder, but dismisses them quickly with “No, no, that wasn’t it”…some of his ideas include: merely for plunder, he wanted to be a type of Napoleon, he needed the money to keep himself in school without being a burden to his mother, he killed only a louse (principle), he was being vain and mad, and he wanted to see if he had the daring to do it. He chooses Sonya because he knows that she if suffering heavily as well and from the previous day’s encounter with her (the reading of the story of Lazarus) and she has also transgressed against life and asks her to join him so that “we may go our way together.” (Ch. 4, Pt. 4)…he’s also attracted to her loyalty and commitment. Confessing to Sonya is only a step toward redemption, but he must still answer for the law and accept the consequences of what he has done before his inner turmoil will settle.
7. Raskolnikov’s theory of the ordinary versus the extraordinary man – or ubermensch – is not complete and has flaws that cause one to analyze them after he has put his theory to the test. He believes that all men are divided into two categories: the ordinary man who lives in submission of authority and cannot transgress law or morality in any way, and the extraordinary man who is above morality and the law and transgress them as they see fit. These ‘supermen’ are the ones who create new civilizations and push man and society onward and, because of their superiority to the common man, they have the innate right to overstep the law in order for the practical fulfillment of his new idea or ideas for society. Dostoevsky does not think that this theory is practical, and proves it through the self-destruction of Svidrigailov and Raskolnikov’s eventual submission to the law (guilt and conscience) and his desire for Sonya. Modern-day examples of this theory put into practice can be seen in the lifestyles of some of the musicians of the eighties and nineties. In actuality, a fair amount of people deemed “famous” and are in the media a lot appear to live by this theory that it is their will (and only their will) that matters and they will do whatever they want…not to name any specific names.
8. While it did probably protect him from being implicated in the crime earlier, the fact that he never uses the money he stole from the pawnbroker actually makes him more guilty. If he had used the money as originally intended (give it to people who need it in society) instead of freaking out and burying under a rock, it would have made him less guilty because the murder would have actually helped people in society – people the pawnbroker had previously hurt. Raskolnikov is constantly trying to move on from the murder and recovering the stolen items or cash would just bring the crime back into his life, and he would then run the risk of being caught with the stolen goods, thus proving himself the murderer.
9. Roskolnikov (Rodya) believes in something called the Ubermensch, or the extraordinary man, to whom common laws and restrictions do not apply and who is completely self-sufficient. This side of Rodya’s personality comes out as the rejection of comfort from relatives and friends, the rejection of charity for those he is close to, and his desire to be above his low social status and destitution – to be that ubermensch. As a normal person would, he appears to want to (and needs) their affection and love, but when he tries to step back and rationalize everything, his need to be “extraordinary” creates disdain for that which was not deemed of his own will. His crime (through his guilt) has isolated him from his family and friends, and the need to rationalize the murder and his conscience constantly serve to distance him from the emotion that others that humans so desperately need.
10. Dostoevsky creates such a complex psychological portrait for Raskolnikov because Rodya can then represent two different character traits or groups of character traits as one person. Dostoevsky is playing on the idea that man strives to be more and “for something more” – this ‘more’ being the ubermensch in this case. He also creates foil characters for both sides of Rodya’s personality: Svidrilgailov is the foil to the human, compassionate side, and Sonya is the foil to the cold, aloof, intellectual side (inversely, Sonya represents the human and compassionate, while Svidrilgailov, the other). Dostoevsky challenges the ubermensch theory, and through Rodya and his dual character, can explore the consequences of both the actions and an ubermensch and as a regular, caring individual.
imuradian, p3
1. Dostoyevsky achieves and sustains the suspense in his novel by abruptly shifting scenes as soon as an issue in one scene has reached a climax. He also utilizes diction in the novel in such a way as to grab the reader's attention throughout the entire duration of a scene. His descritptive language truly enhances Roskolnikov's mindly troubles. For instance, Dostoyevsky writes "What was taking place in him was totally unfamiliar, new, sudden, never before experienced. Not that he understood it, but he sensed clearly, with all the power of sensation, that it was no longer possible for him to address these people in the police station, not only with heartfelt effusions, as he had just done, but in any way at all, and had they been his own brothers and sisters, and not police lieutenants, there would still have been no point in this addressing them, in whatever circumstances of life." This scene was particularly suspenseful in that it describes the awkward state of the protagonist in such a broken, illusive manner as to urge the reader to continue advancing within the infinite depths and folds of the plot.
2. As the twists and turns of the novel began to unfold, it seemed particularly noticeable that chance served little to no significance in the novel. That is, the majority of Roskolnikov's thoughts and actions were not driven by fate but rather by speculation and consideration (or lack thereof). A particuar example of Roskolinkov's intellectual justification is seen when he states "The old woman was a mistake perhaps, but she’s not the point! The old woman was merely a sickness . . . I was in a hurry to step over . . . it wasn’t a human being I killed, it was a principle! So I killed the principle, but I didn’t step over, I stayed on this side . . . All I managed to do was kill. And I didn’t even manage that, as it turns out . . .". Raskolnikov feels anxious not because he is a murderer but because he is an unsuccessful murderer, unable to use the crime to his advantage and dismiss the guilt from his mind. Dostoyevsky therefore does nto seem to be making a point about the randomness of life, free will, and divine intervention. Thus, this one case reflects numerous other instances in which chance plays little factor in the outcome of a character's decision.
3. Raskolnikov is the protagonist of the novel and is a destitute but proud man. He may be considered a villian in that he has a perpetual inner conflict regarding the murder of the pawnbroker in which he succumbs to the obviously detrimental position. He is guilty in that he murdered the pawnbroker and another woman, and he faces this guild through his decision to ultimately confess to authorities. He suffers in the obvious manner of eight years of laborious servitude and in the discrete manner of inner grief. Luzhin, Dunya’s fiancé, is a stingy, narrow-minded, and self-absorbed man. He is a villian in that he debases his own fiancé and her entire family, and is guilty because of his questionable motives for marrying Dunya. He faces this guilt by continuing to be arrogant and over-bearing, and suffers from it ultimately through Dunya's refusal to marry him. Svidrigailov, Dunya’s depraved former employer, is a villian for his threat toward Dunya and her family. His guilt is in the form of being a pedifile, and he faces it and suffers from it both through suicide. The three men all bear issues that label them villians but face and suffer from these issues differently.
4. Sonya is Raskolnikov’s love and Marmeladov’s daughter. She is forced into prostitution to support her family and is generally meek, but holds her religion as sanctity. She seems to be well-rounded in that she is there for Raskolnikov all the while supporting her family through any means. She figures in Roskolnikov's actions in that she often times persuades him to not succumb to his troubled side. He only listens and lets down his pride due to his love for her. Dunya, Raskolnikov’s sister, is intelligent and proud, similar to her brother. She seems well-rounded due to her decision to end her engagement with Luzhin when he insults her family and when she fends off Svidrigailov with gunfire. She figures in Roskolnikov's actions in that she too persuades him to confess and do the right thing. Katerina Ivanovna is Marmeladov's wife and throughout the novel she is plagued with serious illness. She seems stereotypical through her constant declaration of her aristocratic heritage. She hardly figures in Raskolnikov's actions.
5. Roskolnikov meets Sonya in her room and he asks her to read the story of Lazarus because, at this point, he is morally and intellectually drained and is on the brink of losing his sanity. He needs some form of consolation and comfort, and thus asks the woman which he has feelings for to recite the unequivocal words of the bible to him. With numerous dilemmas coursing through his brain, Roskolinkov is in desperate need of words that cannot be countered. This seen is effective in that Roskolnikov is for the first time openly but discretely expressing his emotion for Sonya. When Roskolnikov tells Sonya that she is "necessary" to him, he is basically declaraing his love for her.
6. Roskolnikov's claim is perhaps the foundation of the entire novel. Prior to his murder of the pawnbroker, he suffered a relentless inner conflict which he ultimately ended through the murder. His conflict questioned the outcome of humanity, and through his murdering of the pawnbroker he succumbed to the side which rendered humanity useless. Thus, his claim that he killed himself is appropriate. As for the devil killing the woman, he is admitting to the fact that he allowed the devil to win his inner conflict rather than God. Roskolnikov reasons that he murdered the pawnbroker because he questioned her purpose in society. He confesses to Sonya because he feels that she is the only one that truly understands him. The confession does not ease him of his inner torment in that by this point, he had fully realized his doom.
7. As the novel commences, Roskolnikov views himself as an extraordinary person and thus places himself above the usual limitations that govern the remainder of humanity. Because he views himself as superior, Roskolnikov forces himself to alienate from the remainder of society. Many of his inner conflicts and actions, such as the murder of the pawnbroker, are consequences of his theory. Dostoyevsky obviously rejects this theory, as seen through Roskolnikov's immense grief and ultimate confession. A modern-day example of this theory put to practice would be notorious dictator Sadam Hussien, who murdered countless individuals simply due to his belief that they did not deserve to share his domain.
8. The fact that Roskolnikov never uses the money he stole from the pawnbroker makes him more guilty in that his decision to murder was dictated not by need for survival but rather by a false and unrealistic premise that he formed in his elaborate brain. He never recovers the stolen items or cash because these were mere objects in his path toward establishing his supremacy and were by no means significant factors in his ultimate decision to murder.
9. Roskolnikov reject his family's and Razumikhin's attempts at solace and comfort due to his aforementioned supremacy complex. His isolation augments following the murder due to the immense guilt and delirium he suffers, and thus Raskolnikov pushes away the people who are trying to help him. He ultimately abandons his far-fetched notion when he declares his love for Sonya. Dostoyevsky is saying that guilt and conscience will reveal the flaws in even the most arrogant of people.
10. Dostoyevsky created such a complex psychological portrait in order to suggest and illustrate the capacity and the human brain. Human civilization has adopted a rather simple, straight-forward norm and Dostoyevsky attempts to deviate from this and display the daunting possibilities of humanity.
TMorley P3
1. Suspense was achieved in the novel by twisting and turning the story in many directions, while also keeping the same general theme in mind. The author also reveals parts of the future to the reader, giving you something to look forward to. Complex and in-depth descriptions make the novel suspenseful because he describes secondary factors in the novel, but intentionally fail to answer the burning questions that the reader wants answered. This is evident in the scene where he goes to the pawn lady and to plan his crime. The author generally tells you what is going to happen, but you have to read more to get the details and find out how it all unfolds for the characters and for the rest of the novel.
2. Dostoyevsky balances dumb luck and intervention with moving his story, but makes the connection blatant. He wants to tell a complete and in-depth story, but at the same time wants to make sure the reader gets the importance of chance and divine intervention. Chance, as in life, serves an important role and makes the novel more complex and suspenseful. Roskolnikov doesn’t go looking for any of the people that he comes in contact with early in the novel, like the drunken man in the tavern or Nastasya, the maid; rather, they come in contact by chance. This is not unique to the novel, as many relationships in life are developed out of a meeting by chance.
3. All three of these men are similar in the fact that they have something obviously dislikeable, making each villainous. They all have guilt of some sort and have somewhat aggressive tendencies. Roskolnikov is guilty of the murders he committed, and probably for his debt. He is negative and generally disliked by the people in his community. Petrovich is a shady character that doesn’t connect to anyone else. He has a down and dirty job and perfectly fits the role. He is a man of unwavering presence, and is the villainous man of the bunch. Svidrigailov was once a villainous man, but has since changed his ways. He feels the guilt of his previous actions, but has become a better man. As hard as he tries, there are certain parts of his past that he cannot put behind him.
4. The women in the novel are similar to the men, although slightly more well-rounded. They are pretty one-dimensional because they are intended to evoke specific traits and actions from the men and especially Roskolnikov. Alyona is capable of much more than she is, and is a possible reason for Roskolnikov’s hatred for the poor in the area. She is different than Katerina because Katerina is not much of a person but is proud and arrogant, especially with regards to her heritage. Sofya is forced into a low life and it shows, but she is a very strong and faithful young woman and doesn’t let her job change who she is inside. They are all different because of their situations and the way that they let it impact their lives. These differences make it possible to evoke the different emotions out of Roskolnikov.
5. This scene is very powerful and goes along with her traits and the way she sees herself. He has her read the story as if she can get her friend back, almost to hold her off for a while. He feels bad for her that her friend was killed, but there is nothing he can do but refer her to an irrelevant verse. The fact that he was willing to go to scripture to help someone was something commendable and revealed a new side to Roskolnikov. She is necessary because she is the only thing keeping him tied to those he murdered and is the person that it is “necessary” for her not to know.
6. He is saying that he was mean and rude and a bad citizen as a whole, and let the Devil kill him. Once “dead,” the Devil inside of him murdered the woman. He claims that being self-centered and pessimistic toward society motivated his murder, and that by killing someone he could prove that he can break the bonds that hold people to societal standards. He confesses when he realizes that he isn’t the mortal superhuman that he thought he was, and that he could never be that person. He was willing to accept his role on Earth and deal with the consequences of his actions. He is not fulfilled because he has not accepted any of this sincerely and only confessed because that is what society wanted and not what he wanted, which is the opposite of the old Roskolnikov.
7. Roskolnikov’s ordinary man is the worker who pays money to get by, no outside thought or intellect, and exists to reproduce and contribute little to society. His superman is someone who sees things on a higher level, looks down on the ordinary man, and is not held by the same bonds of society. These supermen exist for different reasons than common men. He thinks of this as reality and believes he is a member of the supermen. There are not really any examples of this system, but there are people that think they are invincible and that are not held to the same standards as everyone else. For example, when Snoop Dogg was arrested several times (airport, marijuana charges) recently, he figured he could buy his way out of the jam and live his life differently than others because he had money. He was a celebrity, an upper-echelon member of society.
8. As far as the legal aspect of what he did, I don’t think it makes a difference, except he has evidence with him. It does, however prove that he is feeling more guilt and has a hard time dealing with the stolen items because they remind him too much of what he did. He never turns them over because they tie him to the murder and, through the murder, his hopes of a superhuman life, which he doesn’t want to relinquish.
9. He doesn’t want to accept their help for several reasons. He doesn’t want to admit that he needs others and that he still is the superman of his dreams. He can’t face them because of his dirty deeds. His hatred is not for them, but for their attempts to help, since they are these perfect people with great lives and he is stuck in a predicament. Even if they had no idea about the murder, he would feel such a guilty conscience that he couldn’t act the same around them because he would have such a burden on his conscience.
10. This complex and unpredictable character is capable of revealing so much information and insight about so many things. Suspense is built around his unpredictability. We learn about interactions with so many different kinds of people and see both sides of them because of how Roskolnikov sees them with his two different faces. This kind of character makes us want to know so much, and everyone can find some kind of connection to his varied personality. There are many reasons for making such a complex character, and all of them were utilized in this conflicting and deep novel.
1.By rapidly shifting scenes and reeling the inner commentary of Roskolnikov Dostoyevsky manages to maintain the suspense of the novel. A particularly suspenseful scene was the one in which Roskolnikov compemplated murder. The detailed description helps to capture the psychological chaos that is erupting in the mind.
2.Chance seems to play a role mainly within Roskolnikov’s mind. By delving so deeply into his thoughts the reader can see that they are of random nature at some level. Petty intrigues and impulses dominate the main character’s actions. His rambling is exemplary of this tendency. This may be interpreted as a philosophical note that suggests that thoughts are just a roll of the dice.
3.Roskolnikov is a villain in the sense that he is a murderer. He seems indifferent about it, moreso than one might expect. Luzhin is guilty for debasing his fiancé and her family. He does not suffer the guilt that a more morally aware person would face. Svidrigailov is a villain because he threatened Dunya’s family. In the same sense he does not feel as guilty as society would think he ought to.
4.Sonya seems to be a fairly moral, well-rounded character. She resorts to prostitution because she absolutely must due to financial concerns. Dunya seems to be intelligent and full of pride and is notable for her decision to end her engagement with Luzhin. Katerina is obsessed with her aristocratic upbringing and is quite a shallow character. She is not considered much in Roskolnikov’s thoughts.
5.Roskolnikov requests the reading because its progression would grant some motivation and direction to his whirl-pooling life. His desperation makes the scene effective. In the scene he basically declares that he loves Sonya.
6.Roskolnikov is delving into philosophy in which he suggests that his body is not “him” but rather a doll with which the Gods play. He confesses to Sonya but that does not ease his torment because it says nothing of divine revelation.
7.Roskolnikov believes that among the ordinary humans (who follow conventions of society) there are the few extraordinary humans who do not need to follow such conventions due to greater insight. They are able to see the ridiculousness of such rigidity. Dostovesky arguably disagrees with the “extraordinary” theory as it causes Roskolnikov pain. This is not proof, however; the book reaches such philosophical heights that the pain could be part of a greater plan toward enlightenment.
8.Using the pawnbroker’s money makes him more guilty because he is basically admitting that he sanely accepts the murder. If he committed the murder in an insane, blind rage then he would have repented afterwards. Using the money shows that he is okay and comfortable with what he did.
9.Roskolnikov rejects his friend’s and family’s attempts at solace because they cannot delve into the depths of his mind to see what he sees. They are just petty trivialities lingering on the outside who cannot and will not understand what he is feeling. Their words are futile. This suggests an inner source of guilt rather than guilt imposed by society.
10.The complex psychological portrait serves to encompass the human mind in the broad spectrum and how fate can turn one who is potentially good into one who is looked down upon by society. It suggests that everyone is capable of good and evil and that the assortment of society based on such standards is just chance.
1. In Crime and Punishment, there is never a lack of suspense. From the very beginning when the reader is not given the main character's name right away, to the various amounts of strange visitors Roskolnikov receives to the withheld information on what type of crime Roskolnikov is thinking about committing. Almost every chapter is ended with the reader wondering what is happening next. Particularly, the murder scene is very suspenseful. Roskolnikov is always having dreams and other moments of thought that distract the reader from knowing what is happening right away.
2. Throughout the novel there are various amounts of coincidence occurrences that fuel Roskolnikov. The most noticeable would be in the moments leading up to the murder scene. When Roskolnikov is planning the murder of the pawnbroker he overhears her sister discuss with someone that she will be out of the house at a certain time. This helps motivate Roskolnikov and his plan to murder the pawnbroker because he now has a time to do it. Along the way to her house he happens upon the weapon he planned to use to kill the pawnbroker which he takes as a sign that he must kill her. I don’t think Dostoevsky was trying to rush the events but rather sending a message about randomness and free will.
3. Roskolnikov is a villain because he murders a woman because he is unhappy and he thinks he is doing everyone a favor. Also, he is a very stuck-up man who often thinks of himself. He won’t take help from anyone and he gets annoyed with people easily. Roskolnikov guilt eats away at him. He often faints when he is remembered of the murders and he also had horrible dreams. Through his conscious he is confronted with his feelings of guilt. Eventually he is compelled to confess his crimes and he is sent to Siberia to be imprisoned for 8 years. Luzhin is a self-centered man who likes to show off. He is engages to Roskolnikov’s sister. The only reason he wishes to marry Dunya is so she will always look up to him for bettering her life. When Dunya says that she does not wish to marry him he starts insulting her, her mother and Roskolnikov. Svidrigailov had committed many crimes before he enters into the story. He was the former boss of Dunya and later tries to force her to marry him. He offers her lots of money and keeps trying even after she refuses him. Eventually he locks her in a room and tries to rape her. When she points a gun at him and shoots at him he finally realizes that she will never love him and he is able to let her go. Near the end of the novel he gives his money away and then shoots himself.
4. Sonya is Marmeladov’s daughter who is forced into prostitution to help support her family. She is ashamed of what she does and only keeps doing it to help out her family. Dunya is Roskolnikov’s sister who, in the beginning of the novel, is engaged to Luzhin because she wishes to help out her brother. However, he is so prideful that he will not allow her to marry him to help him out. Katerina Ivanovna is Marmeladov’s wife who believes she is of noble blood and in the end of the novel, after her husband’s funeral, goes crazy trying to get respect and help from the community claming that her children are of noble blood. All three of these women do all that they can to help out their families. Sonya motivates Roskolnikov to confess to the murders. When Roskolnikov makes sure that Dunya and his mother are supported it shows that he is capable of caring for other people. I think that the women are well-rounded.
5. When Sonya reads the story of Lazarus, Roskolnikov feels that he can better his life. He can relate to the story and feels connected to it. He tells Sonya that he needs her because he feels like they are similar because they have both sinned, Sonya with her prostitution and Roskolnikov with the murders.
6. Roskolnikov tells himself that by murdering the old women he is doing away with an old woman that no one likes and wants around. When Roskolnikov says that it was the devil that killed the old woman, perhaps he meant that the devil had taken him over and by killing her he killed himself because now his conscious is eating away at himself. By confessing to Sonya he is trying to get help and to try and stop the immense guilt he is feeling. I don’t think this worked for him because it was only one person he told, he needed to confess to everyone and to face his punishment before he can stop feeling to horrible.
7. Roskolnikov thinks that there are some men who are above the ‘moral rules’ such as murder, and therefore are able to commit these types of crimes. He thinks of himself as this type of person and uses this to justify the murder of the pawnbroker. He thinks that he is above the rest of the community, Ultimately Roskolnikov realizes that he is not this type of man when is guilt overcomes him. I think this shows how Dostoevsky feels, that these men don’t exist, their may be men who think that they are indeed better then the rest of society, but eventually their conscious will catch up with them.
8. I think the reason he doesn’t use the money of recover the stolen items is because he does not want to be attached to the murders. Although he tries to make excuses for the reason he killed the women, he probably regrets it and he feels too guilty to use the money. I think this makes him less guilty because he feels remorse.
9. Perhaps the reason Roskolnikov rejects his families attempts at comfort is because he does not want it. He does not feel that he deserves it because of all the things he has done. It is possibly because he does not understand how they can love him and care for him after all that he has done. He feels guilty and does not want remorse from his family and his close friend.
10. Dostoevsky perhaps creates a complex character to show the many emotions humans are capable of. It also makes Roskolnikov more relatable, he is a complex person who is more real because of all his emotions.
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Period 3
1) The suspense in the book is sustained because Raskolnikov committed two murders and this affects his conscience and the reader is wondering on whether he will confess to his sins or whether he will get caught. A few scenes that seemed suspenseful would have been when he killed Alyona and Lizaveta and when Svidrigailov locks Dunya in the room and threatens to rape her and then Dunya tries to shoot him. It has that suspense because of his descriptive words and the way he uses his characters.
2) Chance is a big role in the novel because Raskolnikov had killed two women and had been able to walk out of the store without anyone else catching him and he didn’t get caught until he confessed to the sins. He almost confessed to Petrovich when he was “using his mind-tricks”, but then Nikolai comes in and confesses to the murders. There were plenty of moments when he was almost caught but he got away. Svidrigailov knew about him being the murderer but he ends up killing himself. It almost seemed like Raskolnikov had to confess to the murders to either appease him or the readers. Dostoyevsky is trying to make the novel seem more complicated and he is trying to make the novel longer as well but he uses all these characters and events to show some sort of intervention.
3) Raskolnikov doesn’t seem to be a villain because he thinks he killed that woman for the good of the world. He does steal the money but he doesn’t steal all of it. Luzhin wants to marry a woman who will be forever indebted to him. He’s self-centered and proud. His crime was in trying to convince everyone that Sonya had tried to steal a hundred ruble bill. He was also trying to make a woman some sort of a slave. Svidrigailov tried to force Dunya to love him by blackmailing her and threatening to rape her. They’re all human in the sense that they want what will make them happy but they just took unreasonable risks.
4) Sonya is a practical woman in the sense that she had to use her body to help her family. She knows that what she does, prostitution is wrong but she relies on the thought that this is for her family and God understands, in her mind. Dunya seems to be the same kind of character in the sense that she is a strong character. She may be insecure or in the throes of some sort of love. Katerina is a woman who once was rich but lost all her wealth. She is a stereotype because most women like her would want to tell everyone of her wealth form before and she would seem vain and proud. Dunya and Sonya both try to make Roskolnikov confess to the crimes while Katerina does not do anything but appreciate his help.
5) The scene is very effective because the whole purpose is to get Sonya to understand that he has something to say and he needs her to absolve himself of his sins. She’s the only one who will still care for him and would understand him. She’s the only one that he can confess to.
6) He killed himself because he did something that was very much out of character for him. He didn’t accomplish what he set out to do which was to distribute her wealth to those in need. He says that it wasn’t him that wanted to kill her, it was some other force, a force that used the excuse that society needed her to be killed. Once he realized this, he “killed” himself, his conscience; everything that he thought was rational was gone. He confesses to Sonya because he doesn’t want her to leave him and maybe she would understand why he did what he did. The confession didn’t help him because she would not have him if he didn’t confess to the murders.
7) Roskolnikov’s theory is that ordinary men will be those who watch things happen while extraordinary men do them. They make tings happen and they enable those ordinary men live. A good example of this would be the government of any country, trying to make rules that will help govern countries better or make it seem more livable for the “ordinary” people.
8) Roskolnikov is less guilty because he doesn’t use the money. He had the idea that he was trying to help all those people by getting rid of her. He had the intention of giving those in need the money but in doing so he would have then admitted in some way to the murders because people would wonder how he got the money. He leaves the money because it will never help him in any way because by using it he would be reminded of what he did.
9) Roskolnikov rejects his family only because he feels like he is a disappointment and he can’t bear that they love him when he has done something wrong. They might not understand why he murdered two people. He feels guilt but he can’t express that so he feels hate and anger. Dostoyevsky is saying that guilt affects the conscience and makes one react in ways that might alienate themselves from others or from their lives. It causes the person to maybe give up everything and rethink what they have done.
10) Dostoyevsky created this character because he wanted every sort of person to be able to relate to him. He wanted the reader to understand why he did what he did, why he was so complex, and why his story is like it is. He’s like any sort of person, because anyone who would have been in his shoes might have reacted in the same way. It makes sense for the lead character to have so many minuscule flaws because the reader could relate.
1. Dostoyevsky achieve and sustain the suspense in his novel by revealing the characteristic of the characters in his novel. Instead of revealing the characters' personalities at once, Dostoyevsky describe them little by little to show their way of thinking. The author does this to the main character, Roskolnikov. He does not show his true character until after the murder. The author slowly describe his personalities by action that he takes and people he talks to. Also, there were times when he was about to be captured and reveled that he was a murderer, but he escapes from it. The scene that I thought that was suspenseful was when he murdered the pawnbroker and her sister. He was very close to be caught, but barely escaped. The use of description shows how guilty he felt for the crime. His dream were as though it was reality.
2. The chance took place when Roskolnikov became a murderer and tried to avoid the police. Every time he met policemen, he would try to avoid them or lie, which is a chance. He could have been caught, but successfully escaped. The coincidence helps the murderer escape from the truth. Once of the example is when Nikolai confesses that he is the murderer, which Roskolnikov gets becomes innocent. Dostoyevsky is interfering with the natural course of the events because there is only a slight chance a murderer could get that lucky, but it does make the novel interesting for the readers to read. Of course, there might be people who are lucky to have random occur to have them escape from the chaos they have caused, but that is unlikely to happen.
3. Roskolnikov is identify as a “villian” because he is a murderer and a lier. He murders people and escapes from it. Also, he is a lier for lying to people about the murder. He is guilty for his action, but he did not attend to do it. He could have confess his murder to the police, which he would be innocent that guilty, but he was afraid to the point where he had to lie. He is a thief, but he is mostly guilty of his murder and lying. Roskolnokov have dreams about the murder and he can not forget about the details that happened that night. He suffers from thinking about the memory. Luzhin is guilty for marrying Dunya for her money. It is not a crime because Dunya wants to marry him, but he is using her for he money. He is guilty that he is trying to get her money. He suffers from his guilt by thinking about how he does not love her every time he looks at her. Svidrigailov has a crime of threatening and attempting to rape Dunya. He has not raped her, but he feels guilty for his action. He suffered form a dream that he had after the attempt and he killed himself. Killing is not the same as suffering because that is the a way of running away.
4. Sonya is Roskolnokov love and try to support as she can. Dunya was engaged to Luzhin. Katrina Ivanovna is Marmeladov's wife. I think they are stereotypes because their actions were typical and predicatble in the novel. Roskolnikov cheats on Sonya for Dunya, who he tried to convince her to from the engagement. Marmeladov had a small part in the novel, but it did change his perspective about people and the murder.
5. The thing that makes the scene so effective is the story because the Sonya realizes what Roskolnikov is doing and why he is doing. When he tells Sonya that she is “necessary” to him, he means that he needs her to go through his confession and needs advice because he can not work through this alone. He is already feeling guilty, therefor he can not think straight.
6. When Roskolnikov said that, he really meant that he was not himself. I betrayed his conscience and killed the woman. He is referring his bad thoughts as the devil. The motives that he give to his murder was that he did not want to be caught. He thought he was innocent and did not want to face the truth that he was guilty. He confesses to Sonya because he trusts Sonya and he wants her to help him through his hard times. The confession doesn't ease him because he is worried what might Sonya do with the truth. Also, he is confessing that the murder was reality and not his dream.
7. Roskolnikov's theory of the ordinary versus the extraordinary man is that the ordinary is innocent and the extraordinary do things that they wanted to to without intending to do it afterwards. Dostoyevsky did not like the theory because it did not happen to everybody. An example can be a business man who is trying to rob a bank. An ordinary man, but becomes someone extraordinary.
8. Roskolnikov his guilty for stealing, but he is not more guilty because he did not use it. It is almost as though he killed the woman and ran away without stealing the money. He never recovered the stolen items or cash because he when he uses or look at the money he stolen, it reminds him the scene when he killed the woman. He wants to forget about his guilt and that is why he does not use the money.
9. Roskolnikov reject the comfort from his family and Razumikhin because he does not want them to find out the truth. He is afraid that if they find out the truth, they would report him to the authorities and he would go to jail. He feels the most hatred because they he feels as though he does not deserve their love. He wants to be hated than to be loved by them. Dostoyevsky is saying that conscience helps guilt. The conscience reminds that Roskolnikov is guilty, which he suffers. The more he thinks, the more guilt he feels.
10. Dostoyevsky created a complex psychological portrait in Roskolnikov because the author wants to show what guilt can do to people. It shows that every crime comes with the punishment no matter who the person is. In Roskolnikov case, it shows different types of people in just one character. The punishment can not be avoided.
1. Dostoyevsky kept the suspense in the novel by switching from one scene to a different one, making the reader have to follow what is going on at all times. Once he gets a climatic scene, he then immediately changes it to a different event in the book leaving it as a cliffhanger. This technique helps keep the reader interested in the scenes although it may confuse them slightly.
2. While reading the novel, chance was very rare in this book and I felt as though every scene in the novel had some sort of reason even if it was miniscule. Even coincidence did not play a dominant role in any scene. Even when the scenes unfolded, there was hardly any chance in this novel because it seems as though all actions were committed with actual consideration.
3. Roskolnikov is the protagonist of this novel and can be considered as a proud man and some may even see him as a villain because of his thoughts regarding the murder of the pawnbroker. He killed the pawnbroker and another woman and from those murders he carried slight guilt but he later confesses to those murders to the authorities. Luzhin, who is Dunya’s fiancé, is a selfish and narrow minded man and he is a villain because he disgraces his fiancé’s family and her as well. His motives for marrying Dunya could be villainous and he faces this guilt by being arrogant continuously throughout the novel.
4. Sonya is Roskolnikov’s lover and also Marmeladov’s daughter. She was unfortunately forced to be a prostitute in order to support her family but she holds her religion highly. She was well rounded because she was always there for Roskolnikov’s and all the while she kept supporting her family. She also helped Roskolnikov stay away from his troubled side. She is the only exception to Roskolnikov because of his love for her. Dunya is Roskolnikov’s sister and she is both proud and intelligent and seems well rounded because of her decision to end her engagement with Luzhin when he insults her family. As for Katerina Ivanovna, she is Marmeladov’s wife but throughout the novel she had an illness and was not too much of an important character in Roskolnikov’s actions in the novel.
5. When Roskolnikov meets Sonya in her room and then asks her to read the story of Lazarus is because he is both morally and intellectually drained and so close to losing his sanity. He asks her to read it because he needed the comfort and the consolation. This is also the first time Roskolnikov shows his feelings for Sonya. He declares his love for her when he tells her that she is “necessary” to him.
6. "Did I really kill the old woman? No, it was myself I killed.... And as for the old woman, it was the Devil who killed her, not I." Roskolnikov’s belief could be considered as the base of the entire novel. Even before the murder of the pawnbroker, he suffered from inner conflict which he unfortunately ended with murder. His reasons for why he murdered the pawnbroker were because he questioned her purpose to society and he confesses to Sonya because he believes that she is the only one that can clearly understand him and his actions.
7. Roskolnikov thought of himself as a great person and placed himself above everyone else. Since he believes that he is superior to all, Roskolnikov alienates himself from the rest of society. Many of his actions and conflicts were due to his so called theory. Dostoyevsky rejects Roskolniko’s theory which was seen through Roskolnikov’s confession. I think the character Jigsaw in the movie Saw has the same motives as Roskolnikov did. Jigsaw would test people, his victims, who doesn’t appreciate living and would only live if they survive their weaknesses. He chose who he would kill based on the actions of people.
8. The fact that Roskolnikov never did use the pawnbroker’s money makes him guiltier because he had murdered someone not out of survival but to follow his theories. He never recovers stolen items or the money because they were just objects towards his path to his ultimate goal.
9. Roskolnikov’s rejection of his family’s and Razumikhin’s tries at comfort due to his god like complex. He isolates himself after the murder because of the guilt and of the delirium. His isolation caused him to push away the people that are trying to help him. But he abandons his notions when he professes his love for Sonya. Dostoyevsky says that even in the most arrogant of people, that guilt and conscience will show the flaws of characters.
10. Dostoyevsky created a complex psychological character for Roskolnikov to show the complexity of the human brain. Instead of having a simple and normal character, Dostoyevsky strays from the pattern and creates a character with the different complexities of human minds.
1. How does Dostoyevsky achieve and sustain the suspense in his novel? Which scenes strike you as being particularly suspenseful? How does he use description to enhance the turmoil in Roskolnikov's mind?
He achieves his suspense by not allowing the rear to know everything at first. For example, he avoids details of the crime Rodions is planning to commit. This desire to know, to understand his motives is what makes his books so suspenseful. You turn each page with anticipation of truly understanding Rodions plans and discovering what was dark and unknown. When he is about to kill the pawn owner, Alyona Ivanovna with the axe and her sister walks in is a scene that I found most particular suspenseful. Dostoevsky makes you feel that you are in the room with Raskolnikov trying to escape without detection. You want him to succeed but at the same time he is committing a cold blood murder. I love how you are constantly struggling with the thoughts of the main character. By describing Raskolnikov’s reflection you understand his thoughts, his motives and his actions better. You feel more for the character and he becomes a more deeper, more dynamic character.
2. What role does chance play in the development of the novel? In which scenes does coincidence figure heavily in the outcome? Is Dostoyevsky interfering too much with the natural course of events in order to move his story along, or is he making a point about the randomness of life, free will, and divine intervention?
Chance plays a huge room in his book. It was chance that lead to Roskolnikov overhearing the boy in the bar complain of the pawn owner, it was chance that lead to Marmeladov’s death, it was chance that untimely lead to the course that the characters and book took. I feel that the false confess to the murder by the painter effected the outcome significantly as it turned around your original assumption and took you by surprise. I think that the book was greatly effected by Roskolnikov’s chances meeting of certain main characters in the taverns such as Marmeladov. At certain parts in the novel you do feel that it begins to become to far fetched, that these things are to crazy to happen to a certain person in such a sort amount of time or just to random such as his risky meaningless killing of the pawn owner. His style of writing, quick and fast paste does help to move the story along but at the same time makes you realize that life is random. That chance has made you the person you are, has made you friends with the people you have meet, has given you certain opportunities and advantages over certain people.
3. Compare the characters of Roskolnikov, Luzhin, and Svidrigailov. How is each of these men a "villain," and to what extent are they guilty? How does each man face his guilt, and how does each suffer for it?
They are all villains, they all commit crime against people and ultimately try to harm them. However despite this similarity they all have different movites and reason for their crimes. They handle it a different way and the degree of their guilt is measured but ultimatly how much they suffered and how many people were effected by their crime. Rodya was the most guilty because he toke too lives for a selfish reason, he was untimely killing her as a principle as he felt she was a louse on society and the poor. He greatly suffered mentally and physically for his crime. HE become almost mentally unstable with guilt and was unable to do anything for about four days as he fought with the actions of his crime. Luzhin isn’t a very respected character. He is shiesty and not morally good. He is stingy and very full of himself. The motives for his crimes are selfish. Svidrigailov is obsessed with Dunya. It is his obsession that leads him to commit his final act of suicide. He at first is a morally wrong character, he is actually the only one who dies with dignity and does not go through with raping Dunya. He is generous with his money as he gives to the family of his finance and Dunya.
4. Compare the major female characters: Sonya, Dunya, Katerina Ivanovna. Do you think they are well-rounded characters or stereotypes? How does each figure in Roskolnikov's actions? Sonya is shy and timid. She is a very devoted religious women despite the fact she was selling herself which was for her family. She is the only female the Rodya is able to relate to and have a relationship with and this is because she is a very compassionate and understanding character and able to forgive him for his hideous crimes. Dunya is very similar to her brother. She is smart, beautiful and very strong headed. She is my favorite character because of her strong will her compassion and her unselfishness. I loved when she sacrificed her marriage to Luzhin because he insulted her family and how strong she fought against Svidigailov’s advances. Her marriage to Ramzumikhin symbolizes the union of two characters who are both morally good and the true heroes in this novel. Katerina Ivanovna, Marmeladov wife is a sickly person who also sells her body to support her family due to the lack of income created by her drunkard husband. She is an weak presence in the house and her ultimate death was a selfish act leaving behind her small children by not properly taking care of her self, which was a result of the death of her husband. She is a Proud and stubborn women who always likes to announce her aristocratic ancestry.
5. Discuss the scene in which Roskolnikov meets Sonya in her room and he asks her to read the story of Lazarus. What makes this scene so effective? What does Roskolnikov mean when he tells Sonya she is "necessary" to him?
At first Sonya is scared but they soon began to discuss her stepmother and what may happen to her family. She reveals that Lizaveta was a friend of hers and even gave Sonya a bible and a cross. He demands that he read her the passage, which holds a special meaning to her. He wants to escape form society and wishes that she will abandon it with him. He feels that they share a summarily in that they both are above society and has killed herself through prostitution as he killed the shop owner. I think it is symbolic of Roskolnikov’s quest of returning back to society. This is a foreshadowing of the promise to Sonya to turn himself in and face the pain for the crime he committed.
6. Later, in confessing the murder to Sonya, Roskolnikov claims, "Did I really kill the old woman? No, it was myself I killed.... And as for the old woman, it was the Devil who killed her, not I." What does he mean by this? What motive does Roskolnikov give for his murder? Why does he confess to Sonya? Why doesn't the confession ease him of his inner torment?
He is trying to depict his motives for the crime to her. He saying that the women was a bad women and it was the devil who would take her life and by committing this murder he would kill himself and further separate himself from society. That by killing the pawn owner, who was cheating the poor he was saving society from a harm. He despised society and felt he was above it but he is ultimately being controlled by it as well. He means that he killed himself by killing the principle of the wrongs and natural selfishness of society. He gave a number of different reason. The main one being pride, but also helping society and also he gives the reason of needing the money to pay his rent. He is not eased with the constant emotional strain of the murder despite telling Sonya because he has yet to be punished for it and to accept his actions and his guilt. Also it strains him even more to tell Sonya. He confesses to Sonya because he thinks that she will be able to forgive him and ultimately he is right. She is a very understanding person and he needs her to understand. She is not terrified that he is the murderer and helps him to confess to his sin.
7. Discuss Roskolnikov's theory of the ordinary versus the extraordinary man. What is Dostoyevsky's attitude toward this theory? Can you think of modern-day examples of this theory put into practice?
Roskolnikov believes himself to be a kind of superhero. By murdering the pawn owner he is becoming a sort of Robin Hood and giving back to the poor by destroying something that was worsening their condition. He believes there are people who make a difference and those who go on living their lives without contributing to the better of society. He becomes his own figurative superman by murdering the pawn owner but then realizes that he has only complicated matters for others and hurt others. That he has not greatly impacted the poor also is upset and destroys his theory of his “superhero“. The poor did not live in poverty because they were being cheated but their own flaws that contributed to their current state. I feel there should be more people that believe in this theory. To contribute to society but not in a negative way but a positive approach into becoming a super hero because society need figures like that to control our chaotic society and our needs to have a figure of moral good. Something the Rodya confuses himself with.
8. Does the fact that Roskolnikov never uses the money he stole from the pawnbroker make him less-or more-guilty? Why do you think he never recovers the stolen items or cash?
I think it makes him more guilty. Because by not spending the money he is not sure if he wants to be caught, if he wants to confess to the murder. Also he doesn’t spend the money because he is wrong. Would he be less guilty if he had spent the m money but given it to the poor he was trying to help. Yes, it would have help his case but he is more guilty by burying it. I think that he does not go back to retrieve the case from the courtyard because it is “dirty” money and represents the crime he commit and his failure to society.
9. Why does Roskolnikov reject his family's and Razumikhin's attempts at solace and comfort? Why, when they are at their most loving, does he have feelings of hatred for them? What is Dostoyevsky saying about guilt and conscience?
I think that he rejects his family because he feels he is not worth it and it also supports his struggle to be accepted by society and his alienation from it. Razumikkin offers him a job that he turns down despite the fact that he needs the money. He becomes annoyed with his family because of the growing stress of the murder and his confusion. Also he fears the hurt that they will experience if they learn if his crime as his mother dies after being unable to accept her son as a murderer. He doesn’t want to accept their kindness because he is unwilling and unable to cope with his thoughts and emotions and their presence just complicates his feelings.
10. Roskolnikov emerges as a dual character, capable of cruelty and compassion, deliberation and recklessness, and alternating between a desire for solitude and companionship. Why has Dostoyevsky created such a complex psychological portrait?
Roskolnikov represents a complicated dynamic character. His intellect and pride lead to his distrainment for society. However he believes himself above moral standards to better provide for the needs of the utilitarian good. Later, his guilt for the murders lead him to accept that he will never be the true “superman”. Not a true model for moral good despite his actions and motives that he believed would better the poverty stricken Russia. When he realizes that he is in love and is chained by society to have a companion is he able to accept he wrongs and confess to his sins. He really does love his family and friends as well which also contributes to his compassionate side of his personality. Dostoyevsky creates this complicated character because it stresses the parallels to real society and how many people are complicated and how chance and emotional play a role in decisions that create and destroy people.
1. Dostoyevsky achieves and maintains suspense within the novel through the actions of the characters. For instance, the scene within the first chapter when Roskolnikov was walking in a trance and thinking about a possible crime produced suspence. We were put into a position in which we did not know if Roskolnikov would commit a crime. We did not even know what the crime was, which added to the suspense. Another example is when Roskolnikov tells Sonya of his crime and receives the advice from Sonya that he should confess his crime leaving us in suspense. Would Roskolnikov confess his crime or not? Dostoyevsky uses descriptions to increase the turmoil in Roskolnikov’s mind by describing the main character’s thoughts where the author shows conflict. For instance, in the beginning, Roskolnikov is in constant conflict with himself on whether he should commit his crime or not, increasing the effect that there was turmoil.
2. Chance acts as the pathway that the story must follow. For instance, when Roskolnikov goes to speak with Petrovich and almost reveals his crime, Nikolai confesses his crime. Therefore, the story ends that Roskolnikov confesses out of his own free will, thus preventing a drastic sentence since Petrovich assists Roskolnikov by witholding information on his guilt. If Nikolai had not intervene, Petrovich might not have assisted Roskolnikov since the heat of the moment could have changed Petrovich’s attitude towards Roskolnikov. This is a pathway leading to the events of the epilogue. This also adds to how the author is trying to prove the randomness of life, free will, and divine intervention and how they exist. This event could have fallen under any of those categories.
3. Roskolnikov, Luzhin, and Svidrigailov are similar since these characters have somehow caused suffering to a human being through their actions. Roskolnikov is a villain since he causes his friends and family suffering because of the murders. Luzhin is a villain since his greatest desire is to marry a woman who is poor, so that she will be indebted to him. Since his actions are not performed out of sympathy, he is a villain. Svidrigailov is a villain since he has murdered his wife and attempts to force a woman’s love in almost any way, including rape. Roskolnikov is guilty but can be forgiven since he believed that his actions would cause more good than wrong. The remaining villains cannot be forgiven since they performed their actions out of selfishness. Roskolnikov suffers for his crime through prison, Luzhin suffers by losing his fiancee, and Svidrigailov suffers by death.
4. Sonya, Dunya, and Katerina are similar since they have principles. They assist those that they can. I would not consider these three characters stereotypes since each character has a distinct quality. Sonya is extremely generous, Dunya is very strong, and Katerina is boastful. Each figures in Roskolnikov since Roskolnikov was initially trying to be helpful. Each woman shares helpful qualities.
5. This scene is effective since it reveals Roskolnikov’s deterioriating strength. He needs Sonya as a way to salvation. He would like to start anew with someone who shares his pain. Therefore, he feels that he could find salvation through Sonya.
6. Roskolnikov meant that he had destroyed his humanity by trying to prove that he was more than human. By blaming the devil for his actions, he could feel that he was not at fault. The motives that Roskolnikov gives are that he wanted to prove that he was more than human. Roskolnikov confessed to Sonya since he viewed her as his salvation and someone who has transgressed giving her the ability to understand another person who has transgressed. The confession does not ease Roskolnikov since he is only human and not “superhuman.” Therefore, he will suffer by his conflicting emotions.
7. Dostoyevsky does not believe in the extraordinary man, which is clearly shown through the main character who cannot cope with his actions. Modern-day examples of this belief could be viewed in politicians who feel that they can commit any action for a higher purpose even at the cost of others.
8. Roskolnikov never uses the money since he is reminded of his own guilt. It proves his feelings for guilt and proves that he is guilty of the crime.
9. Roskolnikov rejects his family since he is in a great state of guilt. He feels ashamed of the comfort of having a family since he feels that he does not deserve it. His judgement is also clouded by his guilt since he eventually begins to hate his family. Dostoyevsky is stating through this that guilt and conscience can drive any human being to insanity.
10. The author attempts to create a believable character through this complex personality. In a sense, all people are capable of possessing contrasting qualities, and by defining a character that is far from being simple, Dostoyevsky attempts to portray the intricacies of the human mind.
ppham p3
1. Dostoyevsky achieves and sustains the suspense throughout crime and punishment by changing and shifting scenes throughout the novel during climaxes to create different variants of emotions and reactions. In addition to the shifting, Dostoyevsky uses very descriptive wording to express Roskolnikov's dissonance. “What is it, to run away! A mere formality; that’s not the main thing; no, he won’t run away on me by a law of nature, even if he has somewhere to run to. Have you ever seen a moth near a candle? Well, so he’ll keep circling around me, circling around me, as around a candle; freedom will no longer be dear to him, he’ll fall to thinking, get entangled, he’ll tangle himself all up as in a net, he’ll worry himself to death!” This scene was suspenseful because, it entrances the reader and shows the state of Roskolnikov’s uneasy conflict within his mind.
2. During the development of the novel chance plays a somewhat of a large factor in the plunders and situation the protagonists participates in. Throughout the novel Roskolnikov is constantly speculating and sometimes this would lead to confliction of thought. This was probably the result of his intellect and self worth. The murder of Alyona Ivanovna was a scene that exemplified to me chance. After the murder Roskolnikov was unsure what he should do next, this choice was outlined by randomness and chance, although he speculated on what to do, he chose blindly because, he couldn’t figure out what advantages he received from his crime. Dostoyevsky refers too much his natural course of events as Roskolnikov reflects on every aspect before reaching a dissension.
3. Roskolnikov is the poor but intellectual protagonist of the novel. He is a villain because, he murdered the pawnbroker and her sister, he is absolutely guilty because, there is no refute that he committed the crime of murder. Luzhin is a narcissistic man who is Dunya’s fiancé. He is a villain because; he had questionable motives on marrying Dunya. Svidrigailov is Dunya’s is dissolute past employee. He is a villain for his attempted rape on Dunya, he faces his guilt by committing suicide. All of the men have committed crimes that would label them villains but, deal with their guilt in different ways.
4. Sonya is Raskolnikov’s object of affection in the novel. She is well-rounded in that she supports Raskolnikov in prison and scarifies for her family. She figures in Roskolnikov's actions by acting as the angel on his shoulder, convinces to stray away from his troubled thoughts. Dunya is Raskolnikov’s sister. She is well-rounded because, she ends her engagement with Luzhin. She figures in Roskolnikov's actions because she convinces him to confess. Katerina Ivanovna is Marmeladov's wife. She seems stereotypical through her devotion to her religious bindings. She figures in Raskolnikov's actions because, she represents orderly nature.
5. The scene where Sonya reads Raskolnikov is very effective because, during that point of the novel Raskolnikov is struggling to find solidity within himself. Every situation prior to this had left Raskolnikov in pieces and conflict. Furthermore, this was the first time that Raskolnikov has expressed his feelings for Sonya, he announces that she is a necessity in his life.
6. Roskolnikov's confession to Sonya means that in his act of murder he actually killed his own humanity. The devil killing the woman was his acceptance that he was truly wrong and evil for doing the deed. Roskolnikov reasons for murdering the pawnbroker was that he was unsure of her role in society. He confesses to Sonya because, he feels that she is the only one that truly understands him. The confession does not ease him of his inner torment because, he has realized that there is no hope in saving his humanity because, it is already dead.
7. Roskolnikov's believe that extraordinary men have no limitations and are not constricted by government. He views himself as one of these men thus; he alienates himself from the rest of society. This will ultimately lead to his decision after much inner conflict to kill the pawnbroker. Dostoyevsky's attitude toward this theory is negative, he portrays the negativity and grief it would bring in the novel.
8. The fact that he never used the stolen money makes him more guilty because, he murdered the pawnbroker off false pretences. He never recovers the stolen goods because, they were reminders of the awful murder he committed while conflicting with himself in his mind.
9. Roskolnikov rejects his family's and Razumikhin's attempts at solace and comfort because, his theory of extraordinary man wouldn’t allow him. Raskolnikov pushes away the people who are trying to help him, and hate them for the same reason. Dostoyevsky is saying that guilt and conscience will lead to self destruction and reveal the imperfections in humanity.
10. Dostoyevsky created such a complex psychological portrait to show all aspects of human characteristic. He was able to show how the human mind can withstand but crumble under moral confliction.
josieflores, p3
1. Dostoyevsky keeps the suspense in this particular novel by quickly switching from one scene to another. As soon as he reaches a climatic scene in a scene, he changes to another event in the book. This helps create a more interesting situation in which the reader is able to enjoy. For example, "What was taking place in him was totally unfamiliar, new, sudden, never before experienced. Not that he understood it, but he sensed clearly, with all the power of sensation, that it was no longer possible for him to address these people in the police station, not only with heartfelt effusions, as he had just done, but in any way at all, and had they been his own brothers and sisters, and not police lieutenants, there would still have been no point in this addressing them, in whatever circumstances of life."
2. After reading the novel in full, I felt that there was no chance in any part of the story. Every section of the novel had some sort of reason behind it, whether it was bad or good. It did not seem as though coincidence played a significant factor in any scene. It especially seemed as though Roskolnikov thought carefully about everything he did, especially when it is stated "The old woman was a mistake perhaps, but she’s not the point! The old woman was merely a sickness . . . I was in a hurry to step over . . . it wasn’t a human being I killed, it was a principle! So I killed the principle, but I didn’t step over, I stayed on this side . . . All I managed to do was kill. And I didn’t even manage that, as it turns out . . .". Roskolnikov clearly had an active mind when commiting the murder and plotted his reasons for doing so ahead of time. This particular case seems to run for the rest of the novel, so chance does not play a big role in the novel.
3. Roskolnikov is a villian because he murdered the pawnbroker and her friend just becuase he thinks he is better. He is guilty because he murdered two people with no cause. He faces the guilt by confessing his crime and suffers from the guilt throughout the novel. Luzhin is a villian because he yells at Dunya, his fiancé, and her entire family out of his arrogance. He is guilty because he does not have good reasons for wanting to marry Dunya and faces this guilt through his cockyness and suffers from it when Dunya breaks up with him. Svidrigailov is a villian because he threatened to rape Dunya. He is guilty because he is obsessed with illegal sex. He faces the guilt by being in love with Dunya and he suffers from it when he commits suicide.
4. I believe that Sonya is a well-rounded person because she has good religious morals and is always there to support Raskolnikov. She figures in Roskolnikov's actions by being there for him and giving him advice in bad situations. Dunya also seems well-rounded because she broke up with the wretched Luzhin after he disgraces her and her family. She figures in Roskolnikov's actions when she urges him to turn himself in. Ivanovna is stereotypical because all she talks about is her aristocratic background and nobility.
5. Roskolnikov asks Sonya to read to him the story of Lazarus because he wants comfort in the words of the bible. He is delirious and his brain is constantly pacing back and forth about the murder, and he does not know if he should turn himself in or not. He is hoping to find guidance through the bible. This scene is effective because it shows how Roskolnikov needs Sonya more than anybody else.
6. By saying he killed himself, Roskolnikov means that after he killed the pawnbroker, he realized that he had just ruined his entire life. He had given up and let his bad side win, the side that told him he was better than the rest of the world. He says it was the Devil who killed the pawnbroker instead of himself because it was the Devil who forced him into committing such a crime. He was not the controller of his actions for this brief point in the novel. Roskolnikov confesses to Sonya because he is in love with her and can trust her, but he is not eased because he knows that nothing can save him.
7. Numerous times throughout the novel, Roskolnikov demonstrates his arrogant theory that he is an extraordinary individual and is far better and more advanced than other human beings. He feels as though the laws and rules that govern the rest of society should not and could not govern him, and he tests this belief when he kills the pawnbroker. Dostoyevsky clearly disagrees with this theory because he makes Roskolnikov suffer and eventually realize that his theory is wrong. An examply of a group who holds this theory today could be celebrities. Since they are always idolized and make so much money, they think they are on top of the world.
8. Roskolnikov is more guilty when he does not use the money he stole from the pawnbroker because that means that he did not kill her for money, which he could actually use, but instead he killed her just to test his superiority. Roskolnikov nevers recovers the stolen items or cash because he did not care for these things; all he was thinking about was whether or not she deserved to die by his hands.
9. Roskolnikov rejects his family's and Razumikhin's attempts at solace and comfort because he thinks he is better than them and that they do not understand him. Roskolnikov pushes away the people who try and aid him because he is so isolated from the world that he feels help is useless and insignificant. Dostoyevsky is attempting to say that guilt and conscience can never be kept to oneself without the result of insanity.
10. Dostoyevsky created such a complex psychological portrait through Roskolnikov because he wanted to push the limitations of humans. A human can only tolerate so many thoughts and emotions before eventually losing control of himself/herself, and this is shown through Roskolnikov's complex mind. Dostoyevsky captured the true extent at which a human brain will lose control.
1. The author is able to keep an element of suspense throughout his novel by ending his chapters with cliffhangers. In the scenes, he will have Raskolnikov having a heated discussion with a few other characters, when suddenly someone new will appear in the doorway. “I knew you were not asleep, but only pretending,’ the stranger answered oddly, laughing calmly. ‘Arkady Ivanovitch Svidrigailov, allow me to introduce myself…” (p.278). With this, the author ends the chapter, making the reader want to continue on to read more to find out who this man is, and how he will contribute to the story. The author conveys the insanity that is installed in Raskolnikov after committing the murders with describing his feverish thoughts and actions. “His former terror mastered him completely again,” (p.109). Here, the author tells how Raskolnikov is deeply affected mentally and physically with the guilt and mental consequences of committing such a violent crime.
2. The entire novel is based on chance. When Raskolnikov first commits the crime, he luckily finds a way to escape from the room when the men that come to the door happen to leave just in time. Also, later in the story, right when Raskolnikov is about to confess to the crimes while being interviewed by Petrovich, Nikolai luckily runs in and takes the blame for the murder. “A little more and he might have given himself away completely, circumstantially,” (p.353). Here Raskolnikov admits that if Nikolai hadn’t suddenly come in and confessed, then he probably would have, and been in jail. In some ways, I think that they author is trying to represent the randomness in life, but in my opinion, there are just one too many chances that happen to let Raskolnikov off the hook during his story to seem realistic.
3. Raskolnikov is a villain because he is very selfish, and commits cold-blooded, pre-meditated murder for no good reason. Luzhin is a villain because he is this old, stingy, arrogant man that is trying to take advantage of the poverty of Dunya in trying to get her to marry him. Svidrigailov is accused of murdering his wife, and also tries to rape Dunya. Each man has his evil qualities for different reasons, and to different extents, but they are all guilty of being villains in their own ways. Raskolnikov becomes insane with guilt and can’t find peace until the end of the novel when he finally confesses and goes to prison. Luzhin doesn’t really ever face his actions, and just lives as a miserable individual. Svidrigailov tries to make his guilt go away by being overly generous with his money, but in the end he commits suicide because he can’t seem to escape his pain.
4. I don’t really think that these women are well rounded, but I also don’t think that they are stereotypes. I just don’t think that the author spent enough time describing them, and didn’t go into depth with them in the story. They are just sort of there as place holders to fill in the spot of the women needed to make the story complete. Sonya is Raskolnikov’s lover who helps him find peace in the end. “They were renewed by love; the heart of each held infinite sources of life for the heart of the other,” (p.541). Dunya is his sister, and she is one of the few people that Raskolnikov genuinely cares about. Katerina Ivanova is not really all that influential to him, but for some reason, her plight affects Raskolnikov and he gives her and her family money a couple of different times.
5. This scene is so effective because it shows the true characters of both Sonya and Raskolnikov. Raskolnikov tries to compare his sins to those of Sonya and make a connection with her, but his sins are not the same since she didn’t really have a choice in committing hers. Also, the story that he has her read is important because it reflects on his need to confess his crimes in order to find peace. “And some days later on, in years to come, you’ll understand perhaps what they meant,” (p.329). Here he is suggesting that he will someday reveal the meaning of his visit.
6. Raskolnikov says this because he believes that it was his destiny to rid humanity of the pawnbroker and her sister. This relates to his motive for committing the crime. Just from overhearing a stranger talking about how the world would be better off without them, he decides to go out and kill them. “This trivial talk in a tavern had an immense influence on him in his later action; as though there had really been in it something preordained, some guiding hint…” (p.69). He confesses to Sonya because he thinks that she is a fellow sinner, and that she will understand and relate to him. His confession doesn’t ease his pain because he is still not owning up to what he did, and not paying for his crime the proper way.
7. This theory states that men who believe themselves to be extraordinary or superior to the rest of humanity, put themselves in a form of isolation. In Crime and Punishment, the author proves this point through Raskolnikov. Throughout the story beginning with the murder of the pawnbroker and her sister, Raskolnikov believes himself to be above the law, thinking that he is doing what is best for humanity. This kind of thinking causes him to be alone and self centered. In modern day an example of this would be in a vigilante, or someone who thinks that they have the right to act above the law.
8. I think that the fact that Raskolnikov never uses or recovers the money that he stole from the pawnbroker just goes to show how twisted his view of the murders is. By not using the money, it proves that his only reason for killing the pawnbroker was to “help humanity”. He never recovers the money because it reminds him too much of the horrible crimes that he has committed.
9. He rejects their offers to help him because he feels that he doesn’t deserve to be helped after the crimes that he committed. This shows that his guilt was eating away at him changing his personality, and causing him to withdraw from his family and friends completely. “I have abandoned my family completely today… my mother and sister. I am not going to see them. I’ve broken with them completely,” (p.328). Here he tells Sonya that he isn’t going to speak with his family anymore. This is because when he looks at them, he can’t face the horrible things that he has done.
10. He has created this complex psychological portrait in order to demonstrate the complexity of the human psyche. The author shows this complexity through the torment that Raskolnikov undergoes throughout the story by dealing with his guilt and the anxiety of getting caught. These show that the human thought process causes many different problems when confronting the things that each individual does.
- E. Vivar
period 3
1) Personally, I enjoyed the suspense present through the whole novel. Dostoyevsky makes it consistent so that it adds more thrill to the novel’s scenes. What I started to notice was the shift of scenes throughout the novel. Dostoyevsky would have a scene that would have its own dilemma and right away he would start a different scene irrelevant to the previous one. The scenes towards the end of the novel were the most suspenseful. Roskolnikov deciding whether not turn he struck me the most. “ Crime? What crime? “That I killed a vile noxious insect, an old pawnbroker woman, of use to no one! … Killing her was atonement for forty sins. She was sucking the life out of poor people.’ pg. 513 Dostoyevsky uses detailed description to scene, especially this one that illustrates the turmoil going on through Roskolnikov’s mind.
2) In the novel, chance does not play any important role. Dostoyevsky makes Roskolnikov the type of character that really takes his actions by thought and justification and not by chance. With out a doubt chance was present, but so little of it isn’t enough to say it had a major impact. For instance, when Roskolnikov did not commit his crime by chance, but rather by intellect, decision, and thinking. “He was only a few steps from his lodging. He went in like a man condemned to death. He thought of nothing and was incapable of thinking…everything was suddenly and irrevocably decided. “pg. 65 clearly, this quote explains the lack of chance. In addition, Dostoyevsky isn’t making a point about the randomness of life.
3) Without a doubt Roskolnikov is a villain. Out of those characters he defines the word villain, mainly because he committed the crime, but they all have something in common. They don’t all particularly possess the characteristics of a villain or kill some one, but rather their attitudes are what define them. Dunya’s family being threatened by Svidrigailov makes him a villain. He the faces the consequences of death by committing suicide. Simply, Luzhin, Roskolnikov, and Svidrigailov are narrow minded and go about being villains in different ways.
4) First off, Sonya represents a very strong person in society who could be looked at as a remodel. Sonya has Roskolnikov’s trust and plays a key role in the outcome of the story. Dunya’s overall character trait is being compassionate. Overall, they are all well rounded characters with stereotypes of being good citizens in society but with some flaws.
5) Roskolnikov met Sonya in her room after he asked her to read the story of Lazarus. The purpose of this was to get Roskolnikov back on track with his morals. At this crucial point of the novel his sanity was at stake. Sonya, being Roskolnikov’s lover, was the only woman able to consult him with biblical teachings. At this point Roskolnikov confessed his love for her when he says she is “ necessary “ to him.
6) Roskolnikov’s explanation of the murder, where he claims to have killed himself, was sophisticated. Coming into the murder he posessed rebelious type behavior. This attitude led to the crime where he commited a sin and broke down. For the devil killing the woman, he is basically saying that he let the devil take over and left God behind. Initially those weren’t his intentions, but his actions led to it. He confesses to Sonya because he fells she is the only one who could understand such turmoil and one who he could trust. Although he finally told someone about his crime, it did not ease him of his inner torment mainly because he knew for a fact that it was all over.
7) The theory put forth in the novel between the ordinary and the extraordinary was simply superiority. Roskolnikov viewed the ordinary as those who lacked inner strength to be someone in society. This superiorty was taken into crime with the death of the pawnbroker. Simply Roskolnikov took action after he overheard the conversation. Whether it was right or wrong is debatable, but he enforced his theory upon him. A modern day example would be Fidel Castro’s long oppressive dictatorship. Superiority means everything to him and he continues to enforce it , even upon his family who his son is taking over his dictatorship.
8) Roskolnikov not using the money, personally, makes him a lot more guilty. First of all, he is already guilty enough by commiting the crime, but because he didn’t it comes to a conclusion that she died for no reason. Her death didn’t really benefit anyone. He wasn’t starving to death, therefore his actions weren’t necessary. He never recovers the stolen items and cash because those weren’t necessary to commit the crime.
9) He rejects his family because he feels he has disgraced his family and betrayed them. The guilt gets go him more and more as the novel goes on , which lead to isolation and turmoil. Dostoyevsky is trying to say that both guilt and conscience can reveal mistakes afterall.
10) Dostoyevsky creates such a sophisticated character to illustrate the uniqueness of humanity. We can see by Roskolnikov how complicated we can get. He creates Roskolnikov who is capable of cruelty and compassion to show how much we are capable of and how complex the human brain is. Overall, he proves his point that when there is evil, there is always good.
-E.Vivar
Kyle Jones
1) Dostoyevsky achieves and sustains suspense in his novel in a few ways. Primaly he has created a character with such morale confusion and dilema that it opens many, many, different routes for the author to take that character on with but a whim. "As he left, Raskolnikov had timeto stick his hand in his pocket, scoop out of it the copper change from the rouble he had spent in the drinking den, and place it unobtrusively on the windowsill. A moment or two later when he was already on the staircase, he almost changed his mind and went back." Here we see the morale confusion of the main character, and it helps to create and sustain suspense. The murder scene is strikingly suspensful, as when the sister walks in the reader's next thought is "what is going to happen now." The scene is almost one from a current day soap opera. As with any good work of literature, the better the description, the better the novel, but espically ins Dostoyevsky's case with Raskolnikov, he is able to describe the situations the character is in from the outside view of the narrator as to enhance the turmoil!
2) As far as chance goes, it plays a mediocre role in the novel, it is not permanantly outstanding but it does have its sublitites. A major part of the novel where chance comes into play is the actual murder scence! when Lizaveta walks in it is by chance, and it isnt calculated by Raskolnikov, thus furthering the development of the novel. The good thing about stories, is that they are stories. To say that Dostoyevsky is interfering with the natural course of events is true, its his story, he's the one writing it. But then again it is not easily said that all the happenings in Raskolnikov's life are unfathomable when compared to real life. So maybe he's making a point about the randomness of life, free will, and divine intervention.
3) Raskolnikov is the main character of the novel, to classify him as the protagonist his enemies are poverty, destitution, and despair, But this proud and self-centered man does commit a murder, something normally associated with the antoganist of a novel. He feels extreme guilt although this is not enough to justify him as a good man. Luzhin, Dunya’s fiancé, is a stingy, narrow-minded, and self-absorbed man. He is a villian in that he debases his own fiancé and her entire family, and is guilty because of his questionable motives for marrying Dunya. He faces this guilt by continuing to be arrogant and over-bearing, and suffers from it ultimately through Dunya's refusal to marry him. Svidrigailov is a villian based on his threats toward Dunya and her family.His guilt is in the form of being a pedifile, and he faces it and suffers from it both through suicide. The three men all bear issues that label them villians but face and suffer from these issues differently.
4) The characters of Sonya, Dunya, Katerina and Ivanovna are easily comparable , in that they are all in positions of sacrfice. Sonya is forced to degrade herslef by becoming a prostitute to support her family, Dunya's engagement that can be seen as a sacrifice to further support her family. and Katerina's willing to sacrifice for her son. They are all sterotypical of the time period, and social standing, for we have again the recuring theme of the lesser position of the woman.
5) Roskolnikov meets Sonya in her room and then he asks her to read the story of Lazarus to him because, at this point, he is morally and intellectually drained and is on the brink of insanity. He needs some form of consolation and comfort, and so he asks the woman which loves to recite the words of the bible to him. With multiple grinding dilemmas surging through his brain, Roskolinkov is in desperate need of words that cannot be dispuited. This scene is effective in that Roskolnikov is for the first time openly but discretely expressing his emotion for Sonya. When Roskolnikov tells Sonya that she is "necessary" to him, he is basically telling her that he loves her.
6) Roskolnikov's claim is perhaps the basis of the entire novel. Before he has commited his murder, Roskolnikov suffered such and inner conflict that he thought was resolved by his murder of the pawnbroker. His conflict questioned the outcome of humanity, and through his murdering of the pawnbroker he succumbed to the side which rendered humanity useless. Thus, his claim that he killed himself is appropriate. As for the devil killing the woman, he is admitting to the fact that he allowed the devil to win his inner conflict rather than God, so perhaphs the devil was acting through Roskolnikov. Roskolnikov reasons that he murdered the pawnbroker because he questioned her purpose in society. He confesses to Sonya because he feels that she is the only one that truly understands him. The confession does not ease him of his inner torment in that by this point, he had fully realized his doom.
7) As the novel carrys on, Roskolnikov views himself as an extraordinary person and someone that is above the law, and the rules that govern humanity. Because he views himself as superior, Roskolnikov forces himself to alienate from the remainder of society, perhaps because he dosent see them as fitting company to someone of his stature, in his mind at least. Many of his inner conflicts and actions, such as the murder of the pawnbroker, are consequences of his theory. Dostoyevsky obviously rejects this theory, as seen through Roskolnikov's immense grief and ultimate confession. A modern-day example of this theory put to practice would be notorious dictator Sadam Hussien, who murdered countless individuals simply due to his belief that they did not deserve to share his domain, he was hung for his actions.
8) The fact that Roskolnikov never uses the money he stole from the pawnbroker makes him more guilty in that his decision to murder was dictated not by need for survival but rather by a false and unrealistic premise that he formed in his elaborate brain, a plan that he formulated for his own pleasure for his need to "think". He never recovers the stolen items or cash because these were not important treasures in his goal toward establishing his ultimate supremacy and were not at all significant factors in his ultimate decision to murder.
9) Roskolnikov reject his family's and Razumikhin's attempts at solace and comfort due to his aforementioned superority complex. His isolation changes following the murder due to the immense guilt and delirium he suffers, and thus Raskolnikov pushes away the people who are trying to help him, thinking only of himself. He ultimately abandons his far-fetched notion when he declares his love for Sonya. Dostoyevsky is saying that guilt and conscience will reveal the flaws in even the most arrogant of people.
10) Dostoyevsky created such a complex psychological portrait in order to suggest and illustrate the capacity and the human thought. Human civilization has adopted a rather simple, straight-forward normal way of goign about things and Dostoyevsky attempts to show the darker side of hummanity, and the side of our lifestyles we could live by. As the twists and turns of the novel began to unfold, it seemed particularly noticeable that chance served some significance in the novel. Raskolnikov feels anxious not because he is a murderer but because he is an unsuccessful murderer, unable to use the crime to his advantage and dismiss the guilt from his mind. Dostoyevsky therefore does not seem to be making a point about the randomness of life, free will, and divine intervention. Thus, this one case reflects numerous other instances in which chance plays some kind of a factor in the outcome of a character's decision.
1. He achieves suspense by using a lot of psychological factors. It is like those psychological thriller movies these days. A look into the dark mind of an individual gives people a cold feeling in their stomach. Scenes that are very suspenseful are those in which we get a glimpse of his mind. He uses very descriptive words to better emphasize what is going on.
2. Chance plays a major role in the novel. It was by pure chance not skill that Roskolnikov did not get caught. When he kills and is not caught, when he escapes just in time, it all seems too coincidental. Dostoyevsky is interfering just the right amount. He lets enough pure chance to be believable.
3. Roskolnikov, Luzhin, and Svidrigailov are all villains. They have done horrible deeds in different ways. Roskolnikov is evil because he committed a murder. He did it of his own free will and should bear the complete responsibility of it. Svidrigailov is also evil but in a different way. His act was to give him pleasure and to place him above common morals. He does not allow small human actions, morality, or law to prevent him from having his own way. Svidrigailov rape a 15-year-old mute girl for his own pleasure. Luzhin is evil because he takes advantage of Roskolnikov’s sister and her situation.
4. Sonya, Dunya, Katerina Ivanovna are stereotypes. They each are what most people think about when they imagine their kind of people. Each one of them play a role in Roskolnikov's actions in different ways.
5. It makes this scene effective but he gives a glimpse that Roskolnikov believes it was the devil that made him do it. He tells Sonya that she is necessary to him but she’s the only one he can confess to.
6. He means that evil, the devil, made him do it. That he did not kill of his own free will. He claims that something made him do it, something or someone else. He tells her that he did not mean to and that it was out of his control. He confesses because the guilt was eating at him like in The Tall Tale Heart. It does not ease him of his burden because it lasted too long and it was too late.
7. Roskolnikov belives there are two types of man. The extraordinary man and the ordinary man. According to him the extraordinary man can makes his own rules and live by them. He can make his own laws and live life his way. He believes they are above the law. The ordinary man has to follow are laws, rules, and regulations. They have special privileges, they can steal, and kill. Examples of these theory is psycho killers, sociopaths. They believe they are above human law and go out and murder people.
8. The fact that Roskolnikov never used the money makes him guiltier. He killed for the money, to be able to survive. He never does at all. Throughout the whole novel not once does he use the money. He killed the old woman for nothing, he killed her in vain.
9. He rejects them because he does not believe he deserves it. He wants to suffer for what he did. He has feelings of hatred for him because they love him even though they don’t know he killed and it drives him crazy. Dostoyevsky is saying that guilt will ultimately be the ruin of the criminal mind. A persons conscience can only take so much before it breaks. Guilt will eventually manifest itself in a physical form like when his sickness spells and his illness after the murder.
10. He created such a complex psychological character because it better shows the criminal mind at work. It better demonstrates the struggle inside a murders mind. He approached it way to make it easier to view Raskolnikov's nature as a struggle between his solitary mind and his own moral consciousness.
Taylor Brown's Questions
1. Throughout the novel Dostoyevsky goes into great detail about the psychological problems Roskolnikov is facing, almost as if to base the novel around his psychological state. By going into such detail as he does, it makes Roskolnikov seem more crazy than he really is, which helps add to the suspense of the novel.
2. Chance plays a huge part in the development of the novel, most of the events that happen are based upon chance. It seems as thought almost everything that happened throughout the novel was based on coincidence. I think Dostoyevsky was interfering a little bit too much with the natural course of events because so much happened in just two weeks that it took away from the reality of the novel a bit. But at the same time I think he was using it to over exaggerate the randomness of life, free will, and divine intervention.
3. Roskolnikov is a villain for murdering the pawnbroker and he goes insane with guilt. He is constantly afraid someone will figure out its him, which drives him insane. He is obviously guilty of killing the pawnbroker but the fact that he ends up turning himself in makes him seem a little less bad. Luzhin is a villain because all he wants is to marry a beautiful, intelligent, rich girl so that she will be indebt to him so he will always feel superior, which is why he tries to marry Dunya. Svidrigailov is a villain because he too wants to marry Dunya, even though she practically hates him, and he almost tries to rape her. Finally when he realizes how much she dislikes him he lets her go because the guilt is too much for him to handle.
4. Sonya isn’t exactly a well-rounded character since she does prostitute herself for her family, but she is very religious and the only person Roskolnikov has a meaningful relationship with. Dunya is a well-rounded character because she is an intelligent, beautiful, proud woman who stands up to her fiance when he insults her family, making her seem almost as the perfect character. Even though she tries to help her brother, he is so caught up in his own crazy thoughts he doesn’t listen to her. Katerina Ivanovna is very sick but still seems to be a very strong and proud woman. She is very proud of her aristocratic heritage and lets everyone know it.
5. First off the story of Lazarus death and reawakening parallel Roskolnikov’s spiritual death and rebirth. This is also when Roskolnikov first finds out that Sonya was friends with Lizaveta. Throughout the scene he tries to save her by trying to get her to run away with him even though she doesn’t understand why. It’s his first real showing of emotion for another character in the novel by him.
6. He says that because he believes that she was evil and already dead, he just punished himself by killing her. He confesses to Sonya because she is the only person he feels a connection with and truly cares about. He finds what she thinks is important so he wants her help. After confessing to her, he isn’t eased of his torment because he still hasn’t turned himself in, and he is surrounded by people who are still looking for the killer, so the murder is always on his mind. Plus you can’t just get rid of guilt like that.
7. He believes that since his is an extraordinary man he is justified in killing the pawnbroker, since he lives outside the moral constraints that effect ordinary people. Dostoyevsky's attitude toward this theory is shown through the novel because right after the crime he already feels a huge guilt for committing it, proving his theory wrong. He acts just like Napoleon or Hitler did when they tried to conquer the world.
8. He never recovers the stolen items because he feels to guilty about the murder and also he is scared he’ll get caught and punished for it so he keeps them hidden. The fact that he never uses the money doesn’t make him any more or less guilty because he still committed the crime, it doesn’t matter how he feel about it afterwards.
9. Roskolnikov reject his family's and Razumikhin's attempts at solace and comfort because he feels so guilty about the murder he doesn’t want to be comforted, he wants to be left alone. He hates them when they’re trying to be loving towards him because he’s going so insane with guilt he can’t handle it anymore. Dostoyevsky is trying to show what guilt will really do to you, and how it will make you turn on those you love.
10. Dostoyevsky created such a complex psychological portrait because it makes him seem more human that way. The fact that he is capable of being cruel and compassionate at the same time only makes him seem more realistic because humans aren’t one-sided. It also helps add to the hectic thoughts going on in his mind, and helps show the true power of guilt, and how it can destroy a man.
1. Dostoyevsky achieves and sustains the suspense in the novel throughout. He does this through his method of story telling. He jumps quickly from scene to scene. This is evident where he switches from inner turmoil, to the one ragged girl on the street, to a dream scene. He also does this by alluding to Raskolnikov's murderous thoughts but not specifically pointing out what they are initially.
2. Chance plays quite a big role in the novel. One scene where chance figures heavily on the outcome is where by chance he overhears a conversation about Ivanovna. This leads to his determination to kill her and even begins to warp his thoughts. It causes him to comment that "It wasn’t a human being I killed." This is how chance influences the entire novel, considering the murder is a critical part of the book.
3. It is quite simple why these three men can be coined as villians. Raskolnikov is a murderer. Luzhin treats his wife badly, and Svidrigailov threatened to rape Dounya and commited suicide. These men are all guilty to a great extent. A quote that shows Raskolnikov's guilt is "It wasn’t a human being I killed." Each man faces his guilt and they all suffer for it. Raskolnikov has killed people and suffers, Luzhin destroys his relationship with his wife, and Svidrigailov dies.
4. All the female characters in the question seem to care for there family. Sonya cares much for her father and "dounya" cares much for her brother. They are all well rounded characters.
5. Raskolnikov meets Sonya in her room and he asks her to read the story of Lazaras. This scene shows how comforting the bible and Sonya is to Raskolnikov. This comforting feeling is one reason why "she is 'necessary' to him."
6. He means that he was not in control of his actions and that it is not an action he would normally commit. It is sort of tanamount to a declaration of "temporary insanity." The motive he gives for the murder was demonic influence. He confesses to Sonya because it is something that is necessary for a person to do. The weight of the sin weighs on one too heavily and they must confess it. The confession doesn't end his torment for one critical reason. It wasn't to a priest and the sin still stains his soul.
7. Raskolnikov's theory of the ordianry versus the extraordinary is that the extraordinary man is better than the ordinary man. He considers himself as part of the extraordinary man. Dostoyevsky disapproves of the idea and shows this by the outcome of Raskolnikov's life. His attitude towards this is most likely due to the stratification of society that existed in Russia. He was persecuted by the elite leadership during his life and this is reflected in the novel.
8. The fact does nothing to alter his guilt. Sin is not based on what you do with stolen money, unless it causes more sin. He never recover's the stolen items or cash because these items didn't hold much meaning for him and most likely didn't provide any motivation for the murder.
9. He rejects his families attempts at solice and comfort because he believes himself to be misunderstood. He also harbors some animosity for his family at this time. The author is saying the guilt and conscience plays a large role in people's lives and that one cannot maintain a state of sin and guilt, with not outward side affects.
10. The author created such a complex character in order to shed light on the complexity of the issue the book is commenting on. One the major issues the book is commenting on is the state of affairs in Russia. In his life alone, he was treated both well and miserably by the government. He couldn't portray is without using a character with a complex psychological portrait.
evelez-sanchez, p3
1)The way Dostoyevsky achieves and sustains his suspense in the novel is that he gives small clues about what is going to happen next. When an important thing happens, he gives a lot of details. The scene where it is very suspenseful is when he actually commits the crime.
2)Chance plays a big role because if he would have done something wrong, he would have been caught but instead, he has been lucky. He pretty much is very cautious.
3)The way Roskolnikov is really a “villain” because he was the one that committed the two murders and he tries to keep it a secret. Luzhin is a “villain” because he is a very rich man and he is using his money to get married to Roskolnikov sister because she is really poor. Svidrigailov is a “villain” because he was the one that raped his servant, the mute one, and at the end, she ended up killing herself. Svidrigailov didn’t seem to care as much because he was in love with Roskolnikov sister.
4)The way Sonya, Dunya, and Katerina Ivanovna get compared is because they are all females and they are somewhat all connected to the murderer.
5)The way this scene is so effective, is because he is in love with her and felt that the story linked Sonya and him.
6)What he means by this is that he never wanted to do it; it was his conscious that did it. That why he says that the devil was the one that did it. The motive that he gives for his murder was that he got into a state of madness that he did not control himself. He probably told Sonya because he trusted her with this big secret that he had to get out. Also, I don’t think that he eased from the inner torment that he has about killing another person.
7)Dostoyevsky’s attitude toward this theory was that there were to types of men: the extraordinary men and the ordinary men. Two modern day examples that I could think of is when President’s Bush’s daughter was caught drinking and was left alone.
8)The fact that Roskolnikov never used the money he stole from the pawnbroker makes him guilty because he just killed the pawnbroker for nothing. Another thing was that she was killed in vain.
9)Roskolnikov rejects his family’s and Razumikhin’s comfort because he can’t live with his conscious like that because the family is comforting him, not knowing that he was the one that killed those people. So he feels bad and he believes that it is not the right thing to do, by accepting their comfort.
10)The reason why Dostoyevsky created such a complex psychological portrait because he wanted us to see what we humans can do in our state of nature. Also, he wanted us to see how people can react with all the traits that he included into Dostoyevsky nature.
jmiguel
1)In Crime and Punishment the author achieves and sustains suspension very well. He does this by foreshadowing what is going to happen next in the novel. He also does this my coming to a high pint at the end of a chapter and continuing on to the next chapter with something else.
2)Chance plays an important role in this novel. Some of the things that he does are mere coincidences. At some points things don’t go according to plan and there is no way to control that. This is the randomness of life and however much free will we have there are still those coincidental thins that cannot be controlled. One example is the way that some of the things from the murder do not go exactly as planed.
3)Raskolnikov is a “villain” because he commits two murders and he conciders himself to be above the laws of the land. He suffers by putting himself through psychological punishment. Luzhin is a “villain” because he tries to takes advantage of women by trying to get marries to one with the use of his money. Svidrigailov is a “villain” because he had an obsession towards Dounia whilch lead hem to rape her. He suffers by commiting suicide after regretting what he did.
4)Sonya, Dunya, and Katerina all compare because they are all females. Another thing that they share in common is that they are in some way or another all connected to the murder.
6)When he says “Did I really kill the orld woman? No, it was myself that I killed …. As for the old woman, it was the Devil that killed her, not I.” he means that he killed himself. Not literally, but he did so by not living life the way that he could have. He did this by being negative and not living a moral life. Roskolnikov says that he commited the murder because he wanted to prove that he was not binded by the laws that bind all men to society. He wanted to show that he was above the laws of the land. He confesses to Sonya because he wants to get rid of some of the burden inside of him. Even so, he is not eased after the conffesion because he was not sincere as he had wanted to be.
7)Roskolnikov’s theory of extraordinary is that a man lives above the law. He does not have to follow what is mandated by a common rule or law. His theory of Ordinary is that he has to follow the standards of society and abide by all laws. In todays world terrorist could be seen as extraordinary people because they have no regards towards laws.
8)The fact that Roskolnikov never used the money he stole from the pawnbroker does not make him more guilty nor does it make him any less guilty for what he had done. The deed he did was irreversible and no matter what he does he will still be guilty.
9)He rejects his family’s and Razumikhin’s comfort because of his conscience. He cannot except that they are trying to comfort him after what he did. This provokes him to go back to his theory of extraordinary men.
10)Roskolhikov’s dual character could perhaps be traced back to the author’s family history. The two dual characters could perhaps be the characters of both of the authors parents in one person. This person is Roskolhikov, the main character of Crime and Punishment.
amikol per3
Reading Questions- January 6, 2007
1. Dostoyevsky achieves and sustains the suspense in the novel by keeping the main plot and motive of the main character in a quiet stillness until the very end. His descriptions help to understand the feeling of confusion and utter distraught. The timeliness of his word usage allows for proper imagery.
2. Chance in the novel plays a very big role because he is never caught for the murders of the two women but is suspected the whole time by the detective and others because of his mysterious ways. Coincidence, in the novel, is not as important as it should have been. There were many things that were not coincidental that should have been and the lack of the coincidence made the novel more suspenseful. The author allows most of the plot to thicken and build by its self without adding too many twists. The nature of this is because with the twists the story would become disillusioned by the fact that the characters would become less and less major and the story would be about a bunch of minor characters.
3. All of these men have different traits to differentiate between themselves and yet their motives seem to lay the same. Most of the time the three of them accuse each other and would inevitably fight if the author thought it should go. The natural course of things took them to become bitter and endangered at each other for the misunderstanding of the murders and other predicaments. The men face their guilt as many weak men do; they take their pain and displeasure and throw their feelings at one another to try and fix the problem by themselves and wind up helping nothing at all.
4. The female characters in the novel are obviously stereotypes. Without the role of stereotypical women, the novel would be another bad book. The women portray themselves, of course, as being helpful, gossips, and naggers to the men. The author uses this to simulate the real life events that do go on daily and to signify that the world is the same no matter where you live. Stereotypical.
5. The scene of the Lazarus story is an attempt at what would seem a love scene, but twists on you to turn into an argument of thoughts and feelings that never pours forth into words. The inaction of both, and the story of Lazarus, foreshadows what happens at the very end of the story. The scene is so effective in the fact that there is underlying chemistry brought on by the author that he wishes not to uncover as a fact of point. When he describes the one point of her being “necessary” it breaks the chemistry in order to fulfill his deep desire for her and produces the lasting effect of wanted love and the hinting love scene.
6. What he means by confessing to Sonya is that he sold and lost his soul to the devil because when he committed the crime it was the devil that did it for him in the effect that the devil would make him rich. He also could have been just near crazy in order to execute the plan that had been thought out carefully. The motive he gives for the murder of the woman is because of his insanity; also the greed for money pursues him to find out more. He confesses to Sonya because he feels he can trust her to hold this secret until he needs to be taken in. He also does not want to be the one to give him up and make him look like a stupid murderer. The confession of his murder does not ease him because of the torment of selling his soul to the devil and allowing for the thoughts to plague his mind and soul.
7. The theory of ordinary versus extraordinary man is that the ordinary man can only accomplish little while the extraordinary man can accomplish the great. This allows for the contrast of good and evil, right and wrong, and why some men are greater than other in the grand scheme of things. The author’s attitude towards this theory is that the whole point of the matter is that many of the people in the world have a single-minded mentality and shallow as it may seem deserve to be that way. That way of living for themselves and that the world revolves around them. They are not choosing to be an ordinary or extraordinary man; they are given that power through the people they are around. An example of today would be like star athletes or celebrities versus regular Joes and Janes. The idea is that the people you are around reflect the person you will become and who you are.
8. The fact that the main character never uses that money he stole in fact leads him to be less guilty because he did not use stolen money to profit himself, but just let it lie and himself succumb to the guilt of the actual murder. The reason he never recovers the stolen items or cash is because he does not want to be more suspicious than he is already making himself out to be. On the contrary, everyone else did go to the place to pick up their belongings while he stayed away form the scene of the crime.
9. The main character rejects comfort because he is the one who is guilty for the murder of the woman of the goods. He deserves to live in solitude and does so accordingly according to his own self punishment. He hates them because they love him for being himself, when they actually should despise him for the murder of the woman. He has this internal hate because he knows the truth of the person who killed the lady. The author tries to convey that you are guilty if you have a conscience and that conscience leads you to have feelings and emotions.
10. The author creates this person with so much personality to portray the actual human mind and all that lies within it. The changing of emotions, the fire of brain cells, the action of instant response and flight of fancy experiences that warrant a spur of the moment event, like the murder. The main character reveals to all of us that the human mind is fragile and that we all have a conscience and that if we do something bad enough, it will forever haunt our conscience and make us guilty.
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