Wendell Pfeffer
Crime and
Punishment
Reaction on chapters seven and eight
Chapter seven begins with Raskolnikov
talking angrily towards Aliona Ivanovna. He discusses with his friends how much
she has cheated others for her own gain, even if it cost her a ruble: “Rich as
a jew, she’s always got money around…. She could lend out five thousand, yet
she wouldn’t turn down a pawn worth a ruble.” This was a problem with Raskolnikov
in the beginning of the novel - he tried to pawn his fathers watch, but only
received half of what he should have got. I knew Raskolnikov hated her ever
since this incident occurred. He even insults her calling her a “stupid,
senseless, insignificant, bad tempered, sick old hag” to try and relieve his
anger. I knew one day he would get his revenge against this sick and evil old
lady.
It all began to play out when Raskolnikov
brings out the idea of killing the old lady for the better of his society:
“kill her take her money, dedicate it to serving mankind.” His friends thought
he was joking, but he wasn’t; he actually wanted too kill her and he did in the
eight chapter. Raskolnikov’s plan was incredible successful, he tricked the old
lady into believing that he wanted to sell her something of value. He even
ended up killing her sister - Elizaveta to leave no witnesses behind. After
executing his plan with perfection Raskolnikov leaves without being seen and
returns to his home like as if nothing ever happened.
Raskolnikov
should have not killed the old lady, violence only leads to more violence, he
should have tried and dealt with his situation in a more adult manner. But in
his case with his associated “mental problem” I think he couldn’t help it. Raskolnikov
must have thought that it would have been okay to kill her because everyone
scorned her.
I particularly agree with Wendell's idea of Raskolnikov's idea of killing the elderly lady for the better of society. This reminded by of the story of Robin Hood and the whole notion of Socialism. This made me wonder if this story was popular in Russia at this time and perhaps influenced ideas of Socialism that would be put into action in the early 1900s. Raskolnikov's plan was quite successful, but I still predict that he is going to be caught. I believe that the title is indicative of what is going to happen in the rest of the story. The "Crime" is the murder of the old woman, and the punishment is going to be when Raskolnikov gets caught for his crime. He did execute the crime rather well, but he must have made some mistake leading the the upcoming "punishment". Maybe the maid of the building who brings him soup knows that Raskolnikov would have motive. I think Raskolnikov believed that he had no other choice but to kill the old lady, and he should be punished accordingly. Obviously, this is 18th century Russia, and he won't be treated as a mentally ill person, but just as another criminal. Overall, Wendell made some valid points here that I cannot help but agree with.
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