«Crime and Punishment» Book Review

Crime and

PunishmentB O O K R E V I E W

B Y E S S A Y S H A R K

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT PAGE 02

OUTLINE About the author

Setting

Context

Characters

Main themes

Motifs

Symbols

Conflict

THE AUTHOR


FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY

Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist,journalist and philosopher. Who is famous for

novels: "Crime and Punishment," "The Idiot" and"The Brothers Karamazov." Many works

were screened and staged in theaters, ballet andopera performances.

When Dostoevsky was in hard labor, he facedthere not only political criminals, but also thievesand murderers. The writer carefully studied their

history and on this basis created his novel "Crime and Punishment."

TIME

The novel begins on a hot July day of 1865.

PLACE

Poor region of St. Petersburg.

MOOD

The mood of story is brightly depicted withdescriptions of scenery and people: motif ofstuffiness, crowdedness, sweat, stench anddirt. Everything bears the stamp of totalinsecurity, scarcity of human existence.

SETTING


CONTEXT

Due to the political situation Dostoyevsky

in 1849 was sentenced to hard labor for

participating in the revolutionary literary

circle. On hard labor he met many soldiers

and peasants.


This new life experience had tremendous

significance for Dostoevsky's worldview. In

his opinion, the current state of society is

destroying the living ties between people

and leads to the loss of spiritual values. A

painful condition of society, loss of moral

values has lead the writer to ideas that he

has depicted in his novels.


T H E S T O R Y ' S P L O T

The plot of "Crime and Punishment" is simple: a young man, a student Raskolnikov, who created a theory according to which all people divided into "ordinary men" and "extraordinary men", kills the old woman and her sister Lizaveta. The hero has to confront with the clever investigator Porfiry Petrovitch who understands who the real killer is. The murderer is tortured by the torments of conscience, and in the end confessed to a crime. On hard labor, he understands that every crime needs punishment.


CHARACTERS


1. RODION RASKOLNIKOV


Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov is 23 year-old student of the law faculty of St. Petersburg University. He is handsome, intelligent and well- educated but very poor.

Life and study in Petersburg was quite expensive, and the young student is forced to give private lessons noble to children to make ends meet. However, poverty and exhaustion led to the fact that the young man seriously fell into a deep depression and caused a crime.


He physically and mentally suffered from committed crime.

Rodion has found support in family and love - Dostoevsky puts these two values at the forefront: only thanks to mother, sister Avdotya and Sonya (with whom Rodion falls in love) he comes to the conclusion that love is a path to salvation.

2. SOFYA SEMYONOVNA MARMELADOVA


Sofya Semenovna Marmeladova, or Sonia, is a daughter of an official Marmeladov. The girl is about 18 years old. A timid, self-sacrificing girl. Because of poverty, she is forced to engage in "indecent work" to feed the children of her stepmother Katerina Ivanovna. Sonechka goes hand in hand with Rodion throughout the whole novel. Her faith, sacrifice, and pure love help Raskolnikov have a closer step to understanding the meaning of human existence.

3. AVDOTYA ROMANOVNA RASKOLNIKOVA


Avdotya Romanovna Raskolnikova, or Dunya is Raskolnikov's younger sister, a beautiful, intelligent, educated girl with a strong character. Dunya and her brother have a very warm relationship. Dunya worked in the Svidrigailovs' house, where she suffered a lot of grievances and troubles. Dunya is going to marry a wealthy Luzhin to help her mother and brother get out of poverty.

4. ARKADY IVANOVICH SVIDRIGAILOV


Svidrigailov is protagonist of story and ideological counterpart of Raskolnikov. A 50-year old nobleman. He loves debauchery and deceit. He is suspected in a number of serious crimes: the suicide of the servant Philip and poisoning of his wife. At the same time, he is lonely and does not stand the gravity of his own sins: he ends his life by committing suicide

5. LUZHIN PETR PETROVICH


Is a 45 years-old business man. Prudish, sullen and arrogant. Getting out of insignificance, he highly appreciates his own mind and abilities. Money is the only thing that interest Luzhin in his life. But he wants to appear an intelligent and progressive person. Luzhin felt in love with Dunya Raskolnikova and made her proposal. He thought that only poor girl would be grateful to him for all his life.

6. DMITRY PROKOFYICH VRAZUMIKHIN (RAZUMIKHIN)


Dmitry Prokofievich Razumihin is astudent and friend of Raskolnikov. He is akind, open and hard-working man. Rodiongoes to him right after the murder, to askhim to find lessons for earnings, but infact looking for a living soul, capable ofresponding to his suffering. Razumikhinsupports Rodion and his family during thestory and falls in love with Dunya.

MAIN THEMES

Poverty and suffering


The novel tells the story of two families living in extreme poverty.

Rodion Raskolnikov was forced to leave the university. His mother

and sister are ready to sacrifice themselves to help him. Another

family consists of always drunk Marmeladov, his sick wife, always

hungry children and an adult daughter who became a prostitute

to save children from starvation.

Theory of ordinary people


According to Raskolnikov's theory all people can be divided into 2

types: "ordinary men" (these people are obedient and

conservative) and "extraordinary men" (outstanding people who

move the world, which are allowed more than others, and who

determine what is possible and what is impossible.) Before the

murder, Raskolnikov thinks that he belongs to the second

category, but after committing the murder he is disappointed in

his theory.

Сompassion and charity


According to the novel, compassion is the only power that can

change the order of things. The cruel world that is depicted

in "Crime and Punishment" has many examples of active and

effective sympathy. Raskolnikov helps the Marmeladov's family,

the policeman helps the girl on the boulevard, Svidrigailov

supports children of Katerina Ivanovna. Even Lebezyatnikov helps

Sonia, accused of theft.

MOTIFSSuicide


The motive of suicide is not accidental: Svidrigailov shot himself; Raskolnikov repeatedly thought about committing suicide; the assistant speaks about "epidemic of suicides among little girls, boys and elders." According to the writer, suicide is the logical outcome of the rejection of all moral laws: this is the highest manifestation of self-will and the greatest crime according to Christian ethics.

Biblical motifs


Thirty pieces of silver turn into thirty copecks, which Sonya gives Marmeladov for a drink; Things hidden under stone were stolen (like the grave of Lazarus) ; Raskolnikov (like Lazarus) is resurrected on the fourth day ("four days barely eat and drink").

SYMBOLS Raskolnikov’s dreams


Dream is an expression of the unconscious in the human psyche. Dostoyevsky used Raskolnikov's dreams for creating an image, anopportunity to show the inner world of hero, his underlying thoughts, hidden from himself. Throughout the novel, Rodion Raskolnikov has five dreams that represented his inner thoughts and worries. Dreams in the novel, along with a symbolic meaning, help understand the hero's psychology and play another important role: they show the changes in Raskolnikov's theory.

Stairs


Stairs in mythology symbolizes the ascent of the spirit or its descent into the depths of evil. One can get out of hell only by stairs, so Raskolnikov (except for wandering the streets) often appears on the threshold or moves along the stairs. The most important moments of story occur on the stairs. The hero rises and descends the stairs 48 times.

Yellow color


The main color is yellow: Raskolnikov’s room is decorated with dirty yellow wallpaper, the face of the hero becomes yellow during the illness; furniture in office of Porfiry Petrovich is made of yellow wood, the face of the investigator is dark yellow. Yellow is a color of insanity and Svidrigailov calls Petersburg a city of half-crazed people.

Red color


Red color symbolizes blood. Raskolnikov brings the old woman a gold ring with three red stones, like drops of blood. After the murder hero is pursued with signs of blood - it seemed to him that everything he touched was stained with blood. The color detail is repeated again: red lapels on Marmeladov's boots, red spots on the hero's jacket.


The state system and the environment pushed Raskolnikov to consider every man, whoever he or she was, like a louse. A hard life, based on poverty has led him to loneliness and depression. The feeling of contempt grows into a hero's hatred. Raskolnikov loved the invisible mankind, but he hated individual people.When he decided to murder Alena Ivanovna, he felt the hope that people like Sonya will appreciate his rightness and make him their lord. Having committed the murder, Raskolnikov was rejected by society.

CONFLICT

IDEAS FOR AN ESSAY1. Analyze Rakolnikov’s steps to crime.

2. What situations have driven characters to the wrong way?

3. What is the meaning of Christianity love in "Crime and

Punishment?"

4. What is the meaning Raskolnikov's theory of ordinary

people?

5. What is the meaning of Raskolnikov's dreams?

6. What is the tragedy of Marmeladov’s family?

7. What lessons has Raskolnikov learned?


8. How does image of the city influence on the overall mood of

novel?

9. Can be the aim reached with the help of crime?

10. What conclusions do you make about the nature of

Raskolnikov according to his actions?

11. Analyze the apartments and rooms in which the heroes of

the novel live.

12. Describe the roles of female characters in the novel "Crime

and Punishment."


LESSONS FROM NOVELCrimes lead to the destruction of the perpetrator.

Real humanity is connected to love for people and can

not be connected with murder.

Freedom is not permissiveness. Permissiveness leads

to immorality.

One can not come to a good through crime.


THANK YOU!"CRIME AND PUNISHMENT" BY FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY

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«Crime and Punishment» Book Review

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