Crime and PunishmentMrs. Schroeder

AP Literature

The Genre

• Realism claims C&P for the true depiction of the poor and dirty lives of the characters. • The Age of Realism, generally considered the culmination of the

literary synthesis of earlier generations, began in around 1850. The writers of this period shared important qualities: great attention to realistic, detailed descriptions of everyday life; the lifting of the taboo on describing the vulgar, unsightly side of life; and a satirical attitude toward mediocrity and routines. Although varying widely in style, subject matter, and viewpoint, these writers stimulated government bureaucrats, nobles, and intellectuals to think about important social issues. This period of literature, lasted from about mid-century to 1905. (The Book Stop)

• The novel is classified as a psychological fiction• The novel is split into 6 parts and an epilogue. Only one part is

devoted to the actually crime. A majority of the novel is Raskolnikov’s punishment

The Era

• Russia in the 1860s was a society in transition: • Cities: St. Petersburg and Moscow• filled with bankers, government clerks, and intellectuals of

all stripes, many of whom espoused political philosophies considered “liberal” and modeled on similar movements in France and what would become Germany.

• The new tsar: Alexander II was himself a reformer. (He freeing of the serfs in 1861, two years prior to Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation). Once freed, serfs were no longer tied legally to the estates of their landowners, but, like in the US, many remained in conditions of pseudo-bondage, unable economically to establish themselves and attain middle-class positions. (litchart)

The Era

• Nihilism: the destruction of established institutions—of government, religion, education—and the acknowledgment that morality was a subjective or human construct, not a set of rules derived from God or nature. • Dostoevsky considered nihilism, and the fight against

nihilism, to be one of the great struggles of modern life, and his novels prefigured many of the ideas discussed in the work of Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher and cultural critic. (Litchart)

The Author

• One of eight children• a family lineage of middle-class businessmen and petty nobles• His father, Mikhail, was a military doctor who later secured a

government position and an acquired rank of nobility. • A sickly but intelligent • Sent to a military engineering academy, (hatedit)• It is believed his father was killed by serfs on his own

plantation. • His mother died of tuberculosis when Dostoevsky was a young

man.

The Author

• Arrested at twenty-eight by the Czar's secret police

• Sentenced to death (His particular crime was publishing illegal articles advocating changes in Russian society.)

• Member of a group that supported revolutionary political and social ideas.

• Saved by a royal messenger dramatically announcing a reprieve.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

“When you read Dostoevsky's novels, it's easy to see how his experiences influenced his choice of theme and character. This is especially true of Crime and Punishment, published in 1867.”

The Author

• Dostoevsky's prison experience provoked his interest in the causes of crime. It also made him wonder about the usefulness of punishment.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

"Punishment meted out by the law to the criminal deters the criminal far less than the lawgivers think..

“He believed that…for punishment to work, it had to make the criminal accept his own guilt.”

The Novel

• Crime and Punishment Intro

• It was published in 12 monthly installments in a Russian literary journal.

• “Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, an impoverished St. Petersburg (Russia) ex-student who formulates and executes a plan to kill a hated, unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money, thereby solving his financial problems and at the same time, he argues, ridding the world of an evil, worthless parasite. Several times throughout the novel, Raskolnikov justifies his actions by relating himself to Napoleon, believing that even murder is permissible in pursuit of a higher purpose. There is, though, the promise of redemption, which is seen in most of Dostoevsky’s work.”

--Sally Martin, Daviess County High School

The Characters

• Raskolnikov, Luzhin, Svidrigaïlov, Zametov, Marmeladov and Razhumikin have some symbolic meanings in their last names. For every Russian reader it is the obvious fact; however, in translation the meaning of names becomes lost.

Raskol’nik schismatic Protagonist

Luzha puddle Bethrothed

Razum reason, intelligence Confidant

Zametit’ to notice Angry Police Chief

Marmelad sort of sweet candy Drunkard

Svidrigaïlov medieval Russian history, Lithuanian prince

Double

The Conflict

• There are two main conflicts in Crime and Punishment. • Internal conflict: It is Raskolnikov’s choice to kill the

pawnbroker. • He thinks in his mind that he is above regular humans, a kind

of Napoleon (superman), and that his deed will benefit everyone (rationalization).

• He cannot handle the guilt that accompanies the crime. As he struggles to keep an innocent composure, his mental condition becomes unstable, tearing him apart from the inside.

• Only with Sonia’s guidance is he able to choose to confess and lift up his burden.

The Conflict

• There are two main conflicts in Crime and Punishment.

• External conflict: Dounia’s love interests. • Engaged to Luzhin (to support her brother and mother.) She

has to deal with his snobbish behavior and Raskolnikov’s disapproval of the marriage. After she realizes Luzhin’s true selfish nature, she deserts him.

• Svidriagailov, pursues her. They come to a head when he lures her with information on Raskolnikov’s crime. Their conflict comes to a climax at the potential rape scene.

• Dounia overcomes and is rewarded with a happy marriage to Razumikhin.

The Tone

• The tone of novel is tragic and despairing• Dostoevsky dives deep into Raskolnikov’s mind and talks

about human suffering and his motives

The Themes

• Superman• Isolation• Duality of Mind• Punishment

The Motifs

• Poverty• Provides the reason for the crime• To “help” the poor• To improve Raskolnikov’s own situation• To release Raskolnikov’s family from supporting him

Symbols

• The axe- “…a tool so often associated with Russian peasantry. It also carries the connotations of peasant unrest. However, Porfiry, is not deluded by the traditional weapon of a peasant and dismisses two painters from the list of suspects. Instead the ‘axe’ is used in his conversation with Raskolnikov as a double edged metaphor.” (Martin)

• The Cross- hardship and suffering• St. Peterburg- “The crowded, cluttered, and dirty city of St. Petersburg could

represent the state of mind of Raskolnikov. Similar to how he cannot escape the city, he cannot escape or let go of his delirious mental condition. It is only when he moves away from St. Petersburg and into Siberia that he is able to return to his normal state of mind (UK Essays)

• Sonia- Christ Figure or Mary Magdalene.• Doubles (there are arguments for multiple doubles in C&P)• Dreams- The grey mare• Yellow

citations

• http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/03d/1866-1866,_Dostoevsky._Fyodor,_Crime_And_Punishment,_EN.pdf

• www.apliterature-martin.wikispaces.com/Crime+and+Punishment

• http://www.litcharts.com/lit/crime-and-punishment