Now that we've finished the book, your job is to figure out what it's all about.
In 3 paragraphs (maybe something like an intro, body and conclusion) and analyzing at LEAST 2 quotes, your job is to explain what you see as the main message/lesson/point of the book Crime and Punishment.
Consider this semi-exploratory, semi-formal.
Suscribirse a:
Enviar comentarios (Atom)
15 comentarios:
Being the owner of such a revolutionary and controversial mind such as the one Dostoevsky had, must not have been an easy to burden to carry. His ideals opposed an ordinary man's thoughts. Therefore it is even possible to say that Dostoevsky himself could have been considered an extraordinary thinker. "I wanted to become a Napoleon , that is why I killed her...".The outlet for his theories, thoughts and beliefs could have been conveyed through the very text of crime and punishment.
Dostoevsky could have been inspired to write a fiction novel which revolved around some of his own truths in life as a way to clear his conscience. All authors have been taught to write what they know, and who is better to write about the mind of a murderer than a murderer himself? In Crime and Punishment we are presented with a window into the mind of a twisted criminal. If in fact Dostoevsky was a criminal, writing this book must have provided him with the peace of mind that he sought for. "He(Raz) had gone to her, Sonia, first with his confession; he had gone to her for human fellowship when he needed it" Like Raz, Dostoevsky's mind would have been all over the place if indeed he had committed a crime, and the only way to set it right was by confession to someone. Writing this novel was Dostoevsky's Sonia.
Crime and Punishment didnt necessary have a lesson; aside from the obvious, dont kill people, lesson. This novel may have simply just been Dostoevsky's way of getting his secret of his chest. It has not been proven that he was actually a murderer or even a plain criminal for that matter, but it is a likely situation for the conditions he lived in at the time. Being so in tune to a criminal's mind clearly rises that suspicion.
The novel of Crime and Punishment comes off as a dramatic view of 19th century St. Petersburg. Our protagonist, Raskolinikov, commits bloodshed and the novel takes us on a journey of pyschological chaos. By the end of the story though, a sense of unexpected calm and "cheese" sets in. The point therefore can be construed as one of forgiveness and hope for our protagonist that survived the struggle.
The exploration through demented Raskolnikov's mind for the continuation of 540 pages leaves the audience in extreme pessism. You reach the epilogue thinking not much of what will happen. One's will die, Raz will suffer, and Sonia's great spiritual purity never recovered. Then suddenly after all the trials and tribulations, Raz finally realizes what he was missing, lost affection and love for himself (since you cannot love others without loving yourself first). This changes the tone completely of the novel. Hope is possible. First, Raz must admit what was that made him so distraught after the murder (and besides the murder itself, which never really seemed to bothe him). "It was wounded pride that made him ill." (Epilogue. Chp. II) Finaly, Raz can see what is ahead of him, a family and Sonia that love very much so. "He did not know that the new life would be given him for nothing, that he would to pay for it dearly..." (Epilogue. Chp. II) This quote goes to show that life isn't that simple. After the realization doesn't come a rapid fountain of joy, but Raz will get another chance after all.
Once more proclaiming that, even in the case of a murder, a better, healthier future is possible. It's worth depends on what one would live, the torture of regeneration or insanity of destruction. Dostoyevsky proved this with the novel.
--------------
Besides the work, I was thinking that Dostoyevsky wrote this AFTER he got out of jail. After he got out of jail, his ideals were kinda destroyed. He no longer believed in Western philosophies, and also opposed nihilism and socialist movements. He was more conservative and Christian in general, and I think that might have led him to this ending.
Crime and Punishment is written in a time period in which change is the main character. This change, industrial and psycological has an ifluence on the story. Give these reforms, Dostoevsky, debates the essence and mentality of the man. Doing so, he classifies the man as either ordinary or extraordinary.
Psycology is a topic present in Crime and Punishment and Dostoevsky either plays mental games with his characters and the reader or debates his own theory form different perspectives.Dostoevsky's interest in human psycology brings about this theory, in which man is classified into to groups. "Ordinary men have to live in submission, have no right to transgress the law"(3.4), while "extraordinary man ahs the right to decide in his won conscience to overstep obstacles"(3.4). Dostoevsky, tried his own theory, created this world based on his own in order to see how his ideas would work.
The world Crime and Punishment revolves around is that of money, power, and intelligence; all of which the so called extraordinary man should acomplish. Such examples of these men are "Solon, Mahoment, Napoleon" of whom the main character, Razkolnikov, tries to follow and become. Raz later explains his crime "Yes, I wanted to become a Napoleon"(5.4) This world Dostoevsky created is where his ideas are put to the test.
Crime and Punishment its a novel that narrates the story of corrupt events on that time. The lack of morals within the society in this novel as in the main character Raz who committed a murder, we can see and analyze how he gave himself his own punishment. A message can be that your mind along with internal struggles control yourself up to the point to drive you crazy and become your true punishment even worst that being in jail. "If he has a conscience he will suffer for his mistake. That will be punishment-as well as the prison."Ch. 19 You can not remain in peace when you have a sin.
At the end he did the right and was what helped him to get through with his conflict, he felt guilty for his actions and this terrible feeling is what let him to justify his actions but still not being able to end his internal conflict. Feelings of desesparation also came and even rejected his family. His conscience wouldn’t let him in peace until he did the right thing. His conscience made him crazy. "Life is real! Haven't I lived just now? My life has not yet died with that old woman! The Kingdom of Heaven to her-and now enough, madam, leave me in peace!" Ch. 14, he tried to convince himself his life was not miserable because of this murder, trying to fell like his actions had no effect on his but they truly did.
"Go at once, this very minute, stand at the cross-roads, bow down, first kiss the earth which you have defiled, and then bow down to all the world and say to all men aloud, 'I am a murderer!' Then God will send you life again. Will you go, will you go?" Ch. 30 Revealing his actions will bring him back his soul in peace. He managed to proclaimed himself guilty in front of the people and even that he was getting punish he gain something more important which was peace, regardless how bad your actions were in life you have to be responsible for your actions and admit the consequences, keeping it to yourself will only bring you with a much more struggle in your mind causing you a greater pain in your life.
There are many unanswered questions as of the real reason of why Dostoevsky decided to write this book, but after taking a glance at his life I believe i found one possible answer. The book resembles somewhat his own life, along with his thought and social circumstances. He was a boy that lived in a "disfunctional family".
Dostoyesky's mother died when he was still very young and this brought his father into a deep alcoholism. He was taken into an intern along with his brother and then his father died drowned with alcohol after some brutal attacks. This resembles somewhat the book itself. The strong presence of alcohol and poverty along with violence. He would blame himself for the death of his father often and this might have brought suicidal thoughts since very young. "then he was very interested why in all great towns men are not simply driven by neccessity, but in some peculiar way inclined to live in those parts of the town where there are no gardens and fountains; where there are mostly dirt and smell and all sorts of nastiness" this represents the way he sees society as a whole, and people. He felt he was living in this world, he was a lonely person that was surrounded by death and alcohol and violence.
This book has no purpose than for him to express a moment in time on which he felt his life was miserable. He was able to communicate to others how he was feeling and the reality of the time, his father under a depression entered into alcoholism and this destroyed fyodor's life. Katerina is like his mother in real life, his mother died from tuberculosis and she left the children alone with their father and this marked the beginning of his tragedy. "I will put those two little ones and polenka into some good orphan asylum", this was how he felt when his mother died, he was taken into an academy. This book, I believe, was written by Dostoevsky to free himself from all the pain and suffering he had been carrying since very young.
The novel Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky allows the readers to wonder inside a criminal's mind. This novel has allowed us to analyze clearly what happens inside someone's mind after committing murder. Dostoevsky wrote this novel after coming out prison, so at this point he had a very clear idea of how these people thought. Raz's thoughts and ideas were the most important part of the novel: his fear, doubts, and torments.
This novel begins and right away we are presented with a murder by the protagonist, Raz. The first part of the title is Crime and the crime is committed in the very firsts chapters of the book, the following pages and chapters are dedicated to explore what goes through the mind of a criminal after committing such horrible crimes. Dostoevsky also presents the idea of the extraordinary and ordinary man. He wanted to leave his idea clear and send a message through his book. Raz believed he was an extraordinary man and therefore was allowed to commit such crime, but later on in the book we can see he was no ordinary man and punishment would come to him:"All I managed to do was kill. And I didn't even manage that, as it turns out . . .". Raz was inside a state of mind that made him believe and want to be a "Napoleon", he didn't mind killing, what tormented him was not being able to forget it and not feel guilt, that he was an unsuccessful murderer. The idea of committing a murder was normal to him, but he couldnt live with the idea of not gaining something or being able to live with it.
Dostoevsky was coming out of jail, as i said before, when he wrote the novel. We know he didnt go to jail because he committed murder, but two things come to my mind as a reason of why writing such a novel. Experiences that he heard from the other people in jail in which he thought he was the extraordinary man and the others the ordinary, or that after going through such an experience he was certain of how it could be made. "It was I killed the old pawnbroker woman and her sister Lizaveta with an axe and robbed them." When Raz was able to confess his crime, he was arrested, but his mind could rest at last. The novel's punishment is seen at the end of the book, but it is not as important because through such punishment he was able to free himself from a much heavier burden: his conscience. So the point of the book is, i believe, to make everyone understand that the crime and punishment are not as hard to bear as having to deal with the tormenting guilt and delusions that this might bring so therefore you shouldn't kill!
Crime and Punishment was written during a time of unrest, disorder, and changing ideals by the mind of a revolutionary writer. Dostoevsky challenged man's conceptions and put everything that people had become used to in a very different light. He brilliantly takes a serious matter, the killing of a human being, and explains it in a completely rational, and at the same time, baseless way that contradicts everyone's thoughts in these matters.
Starting with the protagonist of his story, Dostoevsky throws at us an anti-social and almost deranged person. We are given small info on his past life, and at once he commits an atrocious act, murdering a pawnbroker. Not for money, or fame, or even to better society, it was a simpler reason, just to do it "'I...I wanted to have the daring...and I killed her. I only wanted to have the daring, Sonia! That was the whole cause of it!'". This completely destroys our conception of "evil" acts, as does the rest of Razkolnikov's explanation of events that unfold, breaking out into a debate for what exactly means to trespass the law, and if there really is such a thing as a law. The book is meant to shock its readers of that century, making them think before they act for in that time they were advancing quite fast in technology and society. It was meant to be a reflection of their ideals and their ways, and to see if where they were headed was really a good future. Dostoevsky also makes fun of the "revolutionary" ideas of the nihilists by introducing an inconsequential character that firmly believes in their ideals. "He, like everyone, had heard that there were, especially in Petersburg, progressives of some sort, nihilists and so on, and, like many people, he exaggerated and distorted the significance of those words to an absurd degree." He portrays the fear that Russians had of a non-existent threat, which left untouched would have everyone crowding into the nihilists' side and changing the world into worse.
With this piece of literary work, Dostoevsky is mainly shouting out to his fellow Russians to "watch where they're going". For if they continued with their ideals into wherever it may take them, then chaos would surely ensue. He is trying to rouse people into giving a little more thought to the workings of everyday life.
After scanning most people’s initial thoughts on the novel and looking back at it after finishing it, it really gets me thinking: why did Dostoevsky write C & P? Was it to show people that the ubermensch (superman) was simply an idea and nothing more? To show what your environment and situation can lead you to do given the circumstances? In my opinion, it is one of those fictional “biographies” that we talked about in class today. Dostoevsky did grow up in extreme poverty with a highly devout mother and those very details seem to show up in his work.
To begin with, the realist elements of poverty and, essentially, the “filth” that comes along with it are key characteristics of not only the St. Petersburg portrayed by Dostoevsky but also any booming metropolis, i.e. the real St. Petersburg. The actual economic situation is also one that ties in with the author’s actual conditions. The only detail is that Dostoevsky was not the type of person to curse the world or God for his penniless state of being, he wanted to live with integrity and dignity, something he thought came from “paying it forward”. Through the use of Marmeladov, a raggedy character IN Raskolnikov’s life, Dostoevsky shows us that "'poverty is not a vice, that's a true saying. Yet I know too that drunkenness is not a virtue, and that that's even truer. But beggary, honoured sir, beggary is a vice. In poverty you may still retain your innate nobility of soul, but in beggary—never—no one. For beggary a man is not chased out of human society with a stick, he is swept out with a broom, so as to make it as humiliating as possible'” It is clear what the author deems noble. That very detail could be what makes Raskolnikov not spurn Sonya as the rest of the residents of St. Petersburg do. She may be poor but she is at least noble enough to work, even if that job does degrade her. When Sonya shows up at Raskolnikov’s apartment, he motions for her to sit next to his mother and sister, something that to the three women is shocking. Sonia herself feels inferior as in the case when “Sonia sat down, almost shaking with terror, and looked timidly at the two ladies. It was evidently almost inconceivable to herself that she could sit down beside them. At the thought of it, she was so frightened that she hurriedly got up again, and in utter confusion addressed Raskolnikov.” Just with these two correlations the message of the story slowly begins to form. Little by little we see the thoughts that were racing though Fyodor’s mind and the way he perceived the world around him. Speaking of surrounding and environments, Svidrigailov, a foil to Raskolnikov, at one point asks Raskolnikov if “the hideousness, the filthiness of all your surroundings, doesn't that affect you? Have you lost the strength to stop yourself?" Based on that question it is clear that Svidrigailov and, ultimately, Dostoevsky, do place some significance on one’s surrounding in relation to their actions. Another interesting note is that Doestoevsky was an educated military engineer which could have something to do with his protagonist’s actions and the reactions that has to the situation and other people.
By taking these small excerpts from the novel and piecing them together with the possible purpose they hold in the author’s mind, a message is formed. In a nutshell, I believe that it has to do with a demonstration of the author’s conceptions, surroundings and mentality by means of a fictional cast of characters. The only thing is that because Dostoevsky never corrected any of is works and was forced to write at blazing speeds, he could not format the story to his original plan; it was more like a stream of consciousness piece (according to his biography). In the end, I do feel like the story entertained its readers and it left them with a seed of thought planted in their minds.
Materiliasm, present in Fyodor Dostoevsky book, Crime and Punishment, make characters do things which they later on regret for life. Raskolnikov, the protagonist, feels certain greed towards money and his desperation to get a big amount of money from one day to another leads him to kill an old woman and Lazaveta.
Raz committees the murder showing us that he is somehow interested in money, maybe not completely since he also did it because he wanted to seem like Napoleon, but as soon as he finishes the murder, he gets the box on the bottom of the bed and gets some of the things inside, making his intentions seem like he was looking for something more, money material things.
In my opinion, Raz does this, in a way because he felt bad when he heard from his mother’s letter that his sister Dounia was going to get married to Pyotr Petrovitch Luzhin not beacuase of love but actually to help him out financially. “He is a well-to-do man, to be depended upon, he has two post in the government and has already made his fortune…he is forty-five years old, but he is of a fairly prepossessing appearance, and might still be though attractive by woman.” Pg. 33. This is part of the letter Pulcheria, Raz’s mom writes to Raz where she tells him that his sister is getting married to a very rich man, we can tell that it is for money, but as well we can see how she tries to make everything seem good by saying that he is attractive and that maybe Duonia can be happy. Here once more we can see materialism in the story and not only from Raz’s side but as well as from his mother.
Love for materialistic things can make people make wrong decisions. We can see how Raz got confused and committed the murder, which he later on felt a huge pain inside and had a much tormented life carrying such horrible sin and had nothing that could make him forget what he had done.
Crime and Punishment is a novel that explores the psyche of a man who has lived surrounded by poverty, alcoholism, and an unhealthy environment. Raskolnikov's personality and behavior is interpreted as a result of living a life in this kind if surrounding. Ras was able to observe his acquaintences and their behavior, and as a result, he concluded in his theory of ordinary and extraordinary men. Dostoevsky's purpose to write such a novel was to determine how much of a person's behavior might be part of his or her personality and how much might be influenced by the enivronement.
Dostoevsky's clear interset in psychology is reflected in the plot of the novel as well as in the characters' ideas. Porfiry Petrovicth is another character that exemplifies the psychology of the novel. His interest in the murder and his desire to interpret and descifer Ras' behavior allows the reader to know his obsessive personality, as this quote suggests: "When you were writing your article...you couldn't have helped...fancying yourself...just aa little, and extraordinary man, utterting a new word in your sense?" (P.3 Ch 5).Dostoevsky also establishes psychology as a main factro fo teh novel through Ras' ideals of extraordinary men. These ideals were developed through his mind as well as through his environement, as this quotes states :"...crime is a protest against the abnormality of the social organisation"(p3, ch 5. Ras' ideas and actions were influenced by the poverty-stricken society he lived in.
The novel focuses on the power the mind and the surroundings have on another human being. Most of the characters are influenced on some way or another by the setting of XIX century Russia and revolutionary ideas of nihilism that were so popular during that time, and by their own consciences. Dostoevsky demonstrated the powerful combination a human being's mind and an environment can create.
Crime and Punishment is a book in which the sufferings and other products of poverty are brought forward and are described in such ways that the reader becomes fully conscious of them and of how these can lead to extreme actions and incoherent thoughts. Razkolnikov , a man living in poverty and undergoing several conditions at heart as well, comes to murder a woman with no firm reason for doing so and possessed merely by his instinct and mind. Yet, the most interesting as well as important part of the whole is how these actions have consequences and the greatest consequence in such a case, at least for Razkolnivok, is a deep feeling of fear and guilt.
Panic and remorse are two emotions that strike Razkolnikov right after he commits such a crime, and its these two that start eating him slowly. The greatness of the fear he is experiencing brings him to an ill, mad and even unconscious state; while the guilt he feels inside, at the same time, takes his peace away from him and consequently fills him with numerous insecurities and tensions. When he says: "Why am I to be pitied, you say? Yes! There's nothing to pity me for! I ought to be crucified, crucified on a cross, not pitied! Crucify me, oh judge, crucify me but pity me?", the significant extent of his remorse is proved.
Raskolnikovs story is a miserable one as it is one filled with sufferings and is it that of a man who undergoes a great deal. Yet, the whole point of it is to make known and prove the effects of certain actions and of how acting without clearly thinking first and without having strong, firm motives for doing such actions, can lead an individual to undergoing several serious consequences internally. Like Raskolnikov himself once said "If he has a conscience he will suffer for his mistake. That will be punishment-as well as the prison." It was not after Razkolnikov confessed his crime and served his sentence that he came to be at peace and get his happy ending.
The whole point of the book is the hard life of those time in Russia. Not only based on how it looked, but how people acted and how these conditions made people the to think the way they did. Raz, for example, is victim of murder by the reason that he can stand being helped economically by his family and due to pride, he decides to take a step, in order to stop it. surely, he ended up killing a pawnbroker for the sake of a theory rather than for money, and he took in a physiological punishment that lasted through the book and I came to the conclusion that Raz represents the selfishness and compassion of those times and how one person could affect many.
"Sonia wrote simply that he had at first shown no interest in her visits,had almost been vexed with her indeed for coming, unwilling to talk and rude to her.""Razkolnikov had got an how man into a hospital and paid for his funeral." Here we see how Raz's mentality changed over time, and how even though he was selfish, never thinking of the damage he could do to people, such as when he went to Sonia, just to see her cry for his crimes, and at the same time he had compassion for the needy, in the same case, Sonia, along with others examples of the book.
Dostoevsky show every single side of a human through the characters of this novel, whether it is selfishness, arrogance, love, compassion, despair or peace, he uses Raz in order to explain the standards of life in the 1860's in Russia, where even though Raz was not a nihilist, he too had new ideas for the world, which prove the life style of the times. in this novel, even women are portrayed differently, where they are the benefactors of men rather that being the other way around. Awesome book.
Publicar un comentario