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Crime and Punishment
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Author:
Fyodor Dostoevsky-a Russian writer, so forgive all the awful character names
Published:
1866
Setting:
Around Easter/summertime
St. Petersburg, Russia
hot and humid weather-think Florida or somewhere
Raskoklnikov's apartment
the pawnbroker's flat
Dounia and her mom's apartment
Sonia's room
police station
Major Characters:
Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov: handsome, intelligent, very poor student, proud,
name means "split", has a good side and bad side (morally ambiguous)
Sonia Marmeladova: became a prostitute to make money, very shy, religious, believes
in suffering before redemption, Raskolnikov's good side
Peter Petrovich Luzhin: Dounia's fiancee, rich, most reprehensible character
Dounia: Raskolnikov's sister, engaged to Luzhin, "legal prostitute"
Minor Characters:
Svidrigailov: Raskolnikov's bad side, rapes women, causes his servant's suicide,
employer of Dounia, commits suicide when he realizes Dounia will never love
him
Alyona Ivanovna: pawnbroker, cheats Raskolnikov of his money, he kills her
Dmitri Prokovich Razumihin: Raskolnikov's friend, name means "reason", publishing
business, cares for him during his illness, likes Dounia
Porfiry Petrovich: policeman, knows Raskolnikov murdered but wants him to realize
his mistake, very intelligent
Marmeladov: drunk, used his daughter's money for drinking, is killed in an accident
Lebezyatnikov:(good luck pronouncing his name) rooms with the Marmeladovs, phony, related to Luzhin
Themes:
Everyone is capable of both good and evil.
Crimes have punishments, both internal and external.
Internal punishments are worse than external punishments.
Love can either save people or condemn people.
Alienation causes crime, and isolation from humanity is the consequence.
Redemption comes only from suffering.
Symbols:
Water: rebirth and regeneration, cleansing, but for negative characters (like
Svid) it is death
Vegetation: life
Yellow: oppressiveness, sickness
City: Raskolnikov is trapped
Country: he is free
Killing Alyona with blunt end of ax: evil and cold
Killing Lizeveta with the sharp end of ax: kind (as if killing anyone could ever be kind, but this is what JudyMac said)
Dreams: Raskolnikov is the man beating the horse and is also the child pitying the
horse.
Allusions:
30 pieces of silver to betray Christ: 30 roubles Sonia earned her first night
as a prostitute, Raskolnikov's mom sends 30 roubles when Dounia is engaged to
Luzhin
The story of Lazarus: resurrected after 4 days, Raskolnikov confesses 4 days
after murder Raskolnikov takes the cross from Sonia on his way to "Golgotha"
Raskolnikov kisses Sonia's feet.
Ironies:
Raskolnikov is poor but always gives money away. (generous dude he sure is)
He steals money but never looks at it. (must be the guilt or something)
He plans the murder very carefully but still messes it up.
He feels freer inside of prison than out of it. (weird, this guy is messed up)
Luzhin appears respectable and Sonia appears immoral, but just opposite is true.
Dounia's marriage appears to be respectable, but she is really just selling herself.
Point of View:
third person limited omniscient from Raskolnikov's point of view, expect when
a scene does not have him in it. Rarely first person.
Ending:
Raskolnikov turns himself into the police, glady accepts the prison sentence.
Svidrigailov kills himself when Dounia says she can never love him. Sonia follows
Raskolnikov to Siberia. Dounia and Razumihin are together.
Other Important Notes:
Extraordinary Man Theory-Raskolnikov's Theory that there are men who should
cross the laws to better society. He kills an old woman, despicable pawnbroker
and her sister to test the theory. Disease and crime are related.
Brief Summary:
Raskolnikov is a poor student who has to pawn items for money. He forms the
extraordinary man theory and test it on the pawnbroker by killing her. Her sister
walks in and is also murdered. He takes the money, falls ill and feels cut off
from humanity. He goes through four days of internal suffering. He confesses to
Sonia and she tells him to confess publicly.
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