Here are the topics we brainstormed in class on November 13:
Crime and Punishment is a book about…
· Life
· Guilt
· Crime
· Punishment
· Chance vs. coincidence
· Illusion vs. reality
· Internal conflict of man(insanity)
· Drunkenness
· The Angry Russians ft. T-Sale
· Emotions
· Cycles of poverty
· Class conflict/social order
· Self-deception and justification for immorality
· Hats
· Pride
· Sacrifice
· Love
· Philosophy
· The importance of family
· Prostitution
· Painful deaths
· Morality (deep…)
· Conscience
· Dreams
· Socialism
· Drunken Russians
· Science vs. religion
· Biblical allusions
· Carnal nature of man
· Role of women
· Violence
· Infatuation
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Hello everyone! In case you forgot or didn't pay attention to the discussion we had today (the 19th) on the first half of part four, here is a little summary.
We began by talking about possible doppelgangers in Crime and Punishment. Many thought Svidrigailov was a doppelganger to Raskolnikov. They're both kind of crazy, they feel the need to protect Dounia, and they have similar ideas about life yet it seems like Svidrigailov takes it one step further. Being introduced to Svidrigailov was like being reintroduced to Raskolnikov. Rodya even tells him that he should see a doctor and Svid replies that he is five times healthier than Rodya. Both men are also haunted by deaths from their pasts: Marfa'a spirit lurks around Svid and the Alyona haunts Rodya his thoughts and dreams. We also talked about the difference between a doppleganger and a character foil. While foils share many similar characteristics but deviate in personality one way, doppelgangers need to have some sort of evil aspect (evil twin!). Olivia later enlightened us about the special bond only two people who have shared amniotic fluid can feel.
Anyway, we moved on to the possibility of Rodya being the evil twin to Razumuhin. They both have a twin-like bond and on one occasion they seemingly communicate without speaking. When Rodya leaves his family and friend, Razumihin takes the position of son, brother, and (let's hope!) lover. It was also asked if, during the exchange in the hallway, Razumihin knows about Rodya's horrible and bloody deed. Some believed that yes, now Razumihin is aware his comrade is a cold-blooded killer. However some thought Razumihin wouldn't let himself believe Rodya would do such an act. Wake up and smell the dirty streets of Petersburg, Raz! But say he does know about the truth about the murder; is it nobler for him to tell the police or keep his crazy friend's secret? This question was not answered, but it's a good one so you should all ponder it.
Moving on to the pretentious character of Luzhin...Does he honestly think he'll be able to take Dounia's hand again after how he acted? Oh yes, this is a man with a mission. Maybe Luzhin used to be a square, but now. Now! He has wealth and power. He believes people should be worshipping him and kissing his ring. He also loves Dounia in his own twisted way. Rounding off the discussion was confusion over the seething hatred Rodya harbors for Luzhin. He has a history of caring about people for roughly five minutes then changing his mind, so what makes the love he has for Dounia any different? Well, many said it’s because he is very close to his sister and Rodya didn’t want her to marry a jerk. Dounia deserves better! (aka Razumihin)
Hey everyone, I came up with a few ideas about the conversation between Sonia and Rodya in chapter IV. I re-read the section in order to try to better understand Rodya's motives, and I came up with two main reasons why Rodya visited Sonia.
1. Need for companionship:
It appears that the main motive for Rodya’s metting with Sonia is that he was searching for someone to relate to. When he first entered Sonia’s room, Rodya kissed her feet and said “I bow down to all the suffering of humanity” (279) then continued on to say that Sonia had “destroyed [herself] for nothing”(280). Rodya may have felt particularly close to Sonia because they both suffered for their “crimes” and because they were both trapped and somewhat helpless in their lives. Rodya must have realized that both of them were tied to their families while they would be better off if they struck out on their own. The ideas Rodya alluded to in the beginning of his conversation with Sonia became more clear after Sonia read from the bible;
Rodya admitted that he had broken ties with his family (285) and that he wants to escape with Sonia (286). His argument to get Sonia to leave was that she could not help her family, and that she should seek to have freedom and power over her life (287). Finally, he expressed a need to confess his guilt because he told Sonia that he would tell her who killed Lizaveta. Rodya felt that because Sonia had also committed sins ("you too have transgressed"286)and felt as trapped as he did, she could be someone who could relate to him and accept him as he was.
Desire for religion/hope:
Rodya also attempted to understand why Sonia could sacrifice so much for her family, and why she could continue to persevere even when it was obvious that her efforts were inadequate. He was incredibly skeptical about Sonia’s strong belief in religion, and wrote her off as a “religious maniac” (281) because he could not find hope for himself. However, it seems as if he was envious of her faith because soon after Sonia explained her firm belief in God, Rodya thought “Everything about Sonia seemed to him stranger and more wonderful at every moment” (282). From this quote, it is clear that although the idea of having trust in God was foreign to Rodya (“stranger”) it also seems good to him(“wonderful”). Even though Rodya was outwardly skeptical and cynical of Sonia’s beliefs, he will continue to search for hope of his own.
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