Part II: Close Reading/ Literary Term Analysis
1st Entry: Part I (Conflict)
Conflict: Conflict is a struggle that happens between two opposing forces. There are two main types of conflict, internal and external. Internal conflict is the struggle between man and himself. External struggles include man versus man, man versus nature and man versus society.
Example: “I wonder what people are most afraid of? I babble too much… maybe I babble because I don’t do anything. I’ve learned to babble over this past month, lying in a corner, thinking about… Cuckooland. Why on earth am I going now? Am I really capable of that? (4).
Function: In the first few pages of the novel, the author establishes the mental state that Raskolnikov is in and his constant self-doubt that he faces. By using internal conflict, Dostoevsky can show the way Raskolnikov is constantly questioning himself, his preparation for his crime and how he might react in the aftermath of committing his crime. In the opening paragraphs of Crime and Punishment, readers can see Raskolnikov questioning himself and going back and forth about every thought that enters his mind. These thoughts include what people are afraid of, whether he babbles too much, why he babbles and when and why he is going to Cuckooland. By vividly describing the internal conflict that Raskolnikov is facing, readers are able to establish a sense of how Raskolnikov handles situations and his thought process. By establishing this now, Dostoevsky gets
From the very first page of Crime and Punishment, there is an air of isolation. The novel opens to Raskolnikov leaving his apartment. While on his way out, he is in hopes of not meeting his landlady, who may demand payment for his long overdue rent. From here, it becomes evident early on that Raskolnikov does not truly wish to be in the company of others. He isolates himself from society. This is shown in Part II, Chapter II when Raskolnikov seeks out his friend, Razumikin. He goes to Razumikin’s apartment for no clear, apparent reason. Upon the beginning of a conversation, Razumikin points out that Raskolnikov is ill; Raskolnikov becomes angry with himself for initiating a meeting and storms out of the apartment. Solitude becomes a
Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment is a psychologically charged novel in which the primary element that plagues the protagonist, Rodion Raskolnikov, is not a person but rather an idea; his own idea. Raskolnikov has an unhealthy obsession with rendering himself into what he perceives as the ideal, supreme human being, an übermensch. Raskolnikov forms for himself a theory in which he will live purely according to his own will and transcend the social norms and moralities that dominate society. Raskolnikov suggests that acts commonly regarded as immoral are to be reserved for a certain rank of “extraordinary” men. Raskolnikov’s faith
The first thing to address while discussing the author’s purpose is to examine the motivation of the main character, Raskolnikov. In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov becomes an ubermensch, and part of this is that he does not take into account
First, let me introduce you to the main character himself otherwise known as the murderer in this story. Raskolnikov is the main protagonist of the novel, making the story in his point of view. He is very alienated from society due to his
Crime and Punishment revolves around Raskolnikov and his amplifying guilt after he murders the pawnbroker, Alyona. From the beginning of the novel his poverty is displayed in his living condition, which is further described by the “yellowish dusty wall-paper peeling off the
Often times in literature, we are presented with quintessential characters that are all placed into the conventional categories of either good or bad. In these pieces, we are usually able to differentiate the characters and discover their true intentions from reading only a few chapters. However, in some remarkable pieces of work, authors create characters that are so realistic and so complex that we are unable to distinguish them as purely good or evil. In the novel Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky develops the morally ambiguous characters of Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov to provide us with an interesting read and to give us a chance to evaluate each character.
Dostoyevsky gives the reader no such comfort. The reader wants to see Raskolnikov have some good excuse for killing the old woman, some sense of moral justification of the act so we can turn his accusers into "bad guys" and himself and his friends the "good guys". The reader gets nothing of the sort, Crime and Punishment is no fairy tale. The suspense in Crime and Punishment is caused by Dostoyevsky's superb characters, and the longing for a moral sense of right and wrong.
The author, Dostoevsky, uses characters in his book, Crime and Punishment, to convey important themes and motifs to the readers. The most prominent recurring theme that influences the character’s decisions is religion. [a] Dostoevsky’s uses a unique form of symbolism and character actions to cement the basis of religion. Raskolnikov, the main character, is repeatedly illustrated as being non-religious, as a consequence, constantly in a state of confliction with his inner thoughts, with no clear path to embark on in the future. However, as he grows fond of religion, his mind becomes clear as religion is able to guide him forward. The theme of religion reflects the author’s perspective, as he has been closely affiliated with Christianity
Conflict means a struggle or problem between two opposing groups or individuals. There are two types of conflict: internal and external conflict. An internal conflict is a struggle that is internalized and deals with choices, consequences, or emotions. An internal conflict is a man vs. self struggle. An external conflict is a struggle between the protagonist and another character against nature or some outside force. External conflicts are either man verses man, man verses nature, or man verses society. Various examples of internal and external conflicts can be shown in Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace,” Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game,” and O.Henry’s, “The Gift of the Magi.”
From declaring he wanted to become a Napoleon to wishing for financial independence to murdering for his own sake, he rattles off various motives, showing his obsessive rationalization (394-397). By presenting his conflicting intentions, Dostoevsky exhibits the chaos within Raskolnikov’s mind.
Conflict is “an expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scarce resources, and interference from others in achieving their goals” (Hocker, 1991). There are two basic types of conflicts: substantive and emotional. According to Schermerhorn et.al., substantive conflict is a fundamental disagreement over ends or goals to be pursued and the means for their
Even when Raskolnikov was asleep he received painful messages of others who were suffering, just as he was. In one particular instance, before the double-murder, Raskolnikov is brought back to the poverty he suffered throughout his childhood. He once again feels a great empathy toward the suffered, but this time
The main theme of Crime and Punishment is estrangement from society. In the beginning, Raskolnikov distances himself from the people of the world. “It was not that he was a cowed or naturally timorous person, far from it; but he had been for some time in an almost morbid state of irritability and tension. He had cut himself off from everybody and withdrawn so completely into himself that he now shrank from every kind of contact.” He was poor but because of his egotistic view of his importance and his feelings of superiority to everyone else he “had ceased to concern himself with everyday
Through Raskolnikov’s exemplification of the impracticality of this principle\, Dostoevsky makes his greatest point in Crime and Punishment. His commentary on the subject seeks to discredit the theory in the circumstance of an individual “superman” by displaying Raskolnikov as a character who is difficult for readers to identify with because of his inanity. Even Raskolnikov’s name is a symbol of nihilistic ideas, the word “raskol” meaning schism in Russian, illustrating the shift from an older school of thought (social utopianism) to a darker philosophy: nihilism and utilitarianism. Raskolnikov seems to fluctuate back and forth between the two philosophies, acting on one and then mentally chastising himself for it, immediately and almost erratically changing his mind. This symbolizes the more human side of him struggling
If I could meet Dostoevsky I would ask him what his inspiration for Crime and Punishment was. Sometimes I wonder if the novel was written to give us insight to how Dostoevsky felt about the world. Maybe he is using the character Raskolnikov to portray a part of him who feels alienated from the world, and is torn apart