Having read just the first two chapters of this novel, I am already surprised at how much I like this book. Since it was written in the 1800s in Russia, I was expecting the story to be really difficult to understand, but it is written in vernacular that is surprised me. The only difficult part of this read so far is keeping track of the different names since they are all Russian names that are difficult to pronounce, let alone remember. The first character introduced is Raskolnikov. I cannot yet make out exactly what I think of him. I am assuming that he was born into money based on the fact that he is described as “a man of a education and not accustomed to drinking.” He is now living in virtually squalled conditions in horrendous conditions of poverty leaving me to believe that something must have happened to transition him to this state at such a young age. Several times throughout the first two chapters, it is written that Raskolnikov cannot believe he is thinking of “that” and that he is capable of doing “that”. I am predicting that the “that” to which he is referring is the robbing of his land lady Aliona Ivanova as he takes pays particular attention to where her valuables are located in her apartment, the layout of her apartment, and the schedule of her visiting sister. The next character introduced Marmeladov seems nothing more than a lowly drunk willing to sacrifice anything in his life for another drink. He repeats several times that he is not looking for pity, but it actually seems like is. Nobody could possibly pity a man who allows his young daughter to prostitute herself so that he can continue to stay sleeping on the couch in the brief periods he isn’t intoxicated. So far, the book is entertaining, but I am wondering how these two characters are going to be related. The only apparent commonality between them so far is the things that they are willing to do in desperation. ~ Davis Knaub ~
Wendell Pfeffer Response
ReplyDeleteI cannot but help comment on some of the points Davis states in his reaction. Davis first talks about how the book appeared to be intimidating at first but actually turned out to be quite interesting which relates to how I felt about the book in the beginning. In addition Davis talks about his point of view on the main character. He describes that he is “a man of education and not accustomed to drinking” and how he “assumed he was born into a money based” family. Davis you must know that in Nineteenth century Russia the average Russian who wasn’t an Aristocrat like Raskolnikov lived in poverty, even if they seemed to be educated. Try taking into account Marmeladov, he is a retired government official and an educated man who speaks eloquently and enticingly but yet he is having trouble financially. He is also suffering from family issues mostly concerning his oldest daughter Sonia who is prostituting herself to be able to support her family. Davis you also begin to talk about the lady Aliona Ivanovna who is known to pawn items for a cheap price. You discuss how Raskolnikov “pays particular attention to where her valuables are located in her apartment.” I think this foreshadows what is going to happen in the future of the novel, that even maybe Raskolnikov is going to try and take revenge against Aliona Ivanovna the reason being of the many successful attempts she has been able to rob him of his many few prized possesions. For Instance Aliona only offers “a ruble and a half” with interest in advance for Raskolnikov’s watch. These series of events are going to play out in the next few chapters. Davis you also talk about Marmeladov and how he “seems nothing more than a lowly drunk willing to sacrifice anything in his life for another drink” and how he is looking for pity. I think he is more of a man than you say he is, eventhough he does sacrifice money to support his drinking you also have to think about the situation he is in, I agree that it is a shame that he is letting his own daughter prostitute herself but you must also feel sorry for the man, he is man that has literally given up on hope itself.
I also agree with Davis on many points in his reaction. So far, I’m enjoying the book and finding it to be an interesting read. I also am unsure how to think of Raskolnikov. So far, I can’t see him as a clear-cut “good” or “bad” character yet. He is obviously conflicted about considering some horrible act, questioning himself as to why he thought of doing it in the first place. His behavior (apparently for the past month) leads me to wonder what could have happened to him that would lead him to consider doing something that he finds to be awful. I am also wondering as well what could have happened to him that would cause him to go into poverty. Surely it wasn’t something as mundane as student loans. There has to be something else to it that we just don’t know yet. It is also a reasonable guess that the “act” Raskolnikov was horrified at considering doing was robbing the landlady, but bearing in mind how repulsed he was at the thought, and taking into account how he seems to dislike people in general, I’m beginning to think it was something darker. Perhaps “doing that” was referring to murder and theft? In addition, I agree with Davis and disagree with Wendell on their opinions of Marmeladov. For Marmeladov to truly be pitiable, he had to have made a genuine effort to get out of his bad situation. Even he knows this himself. The fact that he is aware that what he is doing is bad, yet continues to drink his daughter’s money away is horrible. He even tries to (as I see it) underhandedly ask for Raskolnikov to pity him by telling him not to do so. However, I am also wondering how Raskolnikov and Sonya will interact in the future. Even though he regrets doing so, Raskolnikov still provided the family with some money. He also kind of felt sorry for her in a way. I wonder if that is foreshadowing something further along in the book. -Rachel Franklin
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