Crime and Punishment Questions
Dostoevsky uses the feeling of suspense in his novel a lot. Within the first few chapters, we do not find out what Raskolnikov is thinking about, and what his intentions are for the bad deed he wants to enact. All of the descriptions that he uses sort of beat around the bush to enhance the reader's suspense or anticipation.
Throughout the story, Dostoevsky tries to follow a normal person’s daily life, but of course he has to put important events into it to keep the story interesting. In one instance, while Ras. is at the tavern getting a drink, he over hears that the pawnbroker would be better off dead and have her fortune spread around to the less fortunate. Here is where we finally hear of his intentions to kill the pawnbroker.
Ras. is the main character that we follow throughout the whole entire story. Although he is the main character, he is also a murder and kind of a jerk at times to his friends and family. Luzhin is a character that was made just to be hated. He is the pompous jerk that Dunya was supposed to marry, but after he insults all of her family, she calls it off. Svid. is a character that readers will have a love hate relationship with. He is a creepy pedophile, but he also only wants the well being of others than himself, and in the end kills himself because even though he made the right choices, he will never feel happy. all three are faced with secrets that they are unable to live with or deal with, so in the end Ras. goes to jail, Luzhin leaves, and Svid. kills himself.
Sonya is a character that we can only feel sadness for. She lives with a family that just slowly falls apart, and is forced to be a prostitute to help the family stay afloat. Dunya is a character that feels very strongly for her brother. To try and help her brother, she plans to marry a rich man to help the family financially. Katerina is the mother of Sonya, and as a reader, we do not like her very much. She constantly ridicules her husband,...