As this book progresses, I find my view point of the main character, I assumed the antagonist, changing drastically. The beginning of the book portrayed Raskolnikov characters suffering from a possible mental illness, but he still had a certain likeableness about him, despite the atrocities I predicted that he would commit in the coming pages. This following few chapters, strongly changed my opinion of this character. Raskolnikov’s mother sends him a warm and hearfelt letter describing at first how much she misses him and how much she hopes to send him money in the few days after hearing about him dropping out of the university. She then goes on to discuss how drastically their fortunes, as a family, have just changed. Out of the goodness of her heart, his sister Dunechka decides to marry a man just so her brother may have the promise of a better future and the new family plans to travel to Petersburg for the wedding and hope to see Raskolnikov. His reaction to the letter was undoubtedly the most surprising. Rather than being grateful and thankful for what his sister and mother are doing for him Raskolnikov can only scorn them and think of how naive they are. He hurls insult after insult at his family concluding that he will never allow this marriage to happen. As a reader, the letter made me excited for a better future for Raskolnikov, thinking perhaps he would not have to commit the crime that he has been planning. His reaction really solidifies my prediction that he has a mental problem. Something must have happened to make him leave the university, something that allows him to be such a bitter person toward his seemingly doting family. Either way, my perception of Raskolnikov as a character has changed direction entirely as I no longer hope for him to avoid the crime he plans to commit. My hope is that he not only commits the crime, but gets punished severely.
Wendell Pfeffer
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I cannot but help comment on some of the good points Davis makes in his reaction. Davis when you begin to comment about his “possible mental illness” and how it may have a profound impact in the decisions he makes, I believe that it really doesn’t, all the decisions that he has made in these series of chapters has been appropriate. He hasn’t really done anything out of the norm from that of a normal person. I believe that Raskolnikov is a loving young fellow that mourns over the suffering of other people. Also Davis when you comment on Raskolnikov’s reaction on the letter and how he “can only scorn them and think how naive they are,” I believe he did not scorn them but just thought negatively about the marriage between his sister and the businessman. I also believe from a brother’s perspective that he acted relatively appropriate. If my sister were marrying a man that I knew she would be unhappy with I would not want her to marry that person and I would do anything to change her mind. Unfortunately for Raskolnikov he might not be successful in changing the course of the wedding and I have to agree with Davis on this one that in the next few chapters Raskolnikov might commit a crime against the businessman. Davis you also state in your reaction how Raskolnikov’s thoughts on the letter “solidifies your prediction that he has a mental problem.” Even though most people were surprised at Raskolnikovs reaction, too me there really wasn’t that much of a surprise. Raskolnikov has no interest in money; he only cares about the qualities of a person. He knows that his sister would never marry a typical “business man” out of love and the sight of this disturbs him. Raskolnikov is just thinking what the best and happiest solution is for her sister, nothing else. Raskolnikov’s thoughts and actions in chapters 3, 4 and 5 do not make it apparent that he has a mental problem.
Davis mentions a some of Raskolnikov's actions that have a big impact on his life. Raskolnikov's relationship with his family is different than what most people would expect about a family. His reaction to his mother's letter in chapter 3 gives the reader the impression that he is excited to hear from his family but we later find out that he scorns them. Davis points out that there must have been a major incident that caused Raskolnikov to stop teaching and start thinking about his crime. His monomaniac obsession with committing the crime gives the impression that he has a serious mental condition that could have possibly lead to his current condition. As his character continues to develop within these chapters, it's hard to characterize him as "normal". Raskolinkov's thoughts on the crime and the letter are similar to those who have a mental illness. His isolation from others and his treatment towards others helps support the claim that he could be suffering mentally. His reaction to his sister marriage to someone she does not love is understandable. He wants his family to succeed and a good life.
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ReplyDeleteWhen I first read Raskolinikov’s reaction I too was surprised. I do not know how customary marriages take place in this time period so I thought what Dunechka was doing would be normal and accepted by Raskolinikov. I think that he saw a great connection between what his sister was doing and what Sonia was doing which is why he was so appalled. I found it amusing that even though he was angry at Mr. Luzhin for not helping his mother more financially and that she was forced to take out another pension, that not once he did not think to send back the money his mom was planning on sending to him. I agree that I thought his reaction seemed ungrateful, yet I think he also had good intentions by not wanting his sister to sacrifice so much for him. He is trying to be realistic and not depend so much on Mr. Luzhin, because some of his characteristics from his mothers letter are a little daunting, like the fact he thinks a wife should look at her husband as her “benefactor”.
ReplyDeleteI think I am still on Raskolinikov “side”. I don’t want him to get “punished severely” because I still have many questions about his character and his change from once being a student to what he is now. I think he cares about his family, and cares about the wellbeing of others. His initial reaction to people he meets in need thus far is to help them, like when he helped Marmeladov, the drunken girl, and even wanted to help the horse in his dream. Even though he is hard to figure out I think those things must be taken into consideration.