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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
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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
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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.
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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.
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT PAGE 06
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.
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CHARACTERS
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1. RODION RASKOLNIKOV
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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)
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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?
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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."
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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.
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THANK YOU!"CRIME AND PUNISHMENT" BY FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY
B O O K R E P O R T P R E S E N T A T I O N
B Y E S S A Y S H A R K . C OM