The title of this novel is finally starting to make sense to me. I knew that Raskolnikov was in a dreadful state of mind and incredibley desperate, but I never truly thought that he would carry out his plan to kill his land lady. Surprisingly, my perception of Raskolnikov has gotten better. I can’t help but be on Raskolnikov’s side after discovering the land lady was described as such a horrible person. Saying that, nobody deserves to die, but Raskolnikov almost seems like a Robin Hood-like character. The discussion of how much good the old lady’s money could do, how many meals it could feed destitute families, rang bells of Socialism as I read these last few chapters. It’s not surprising to me that this book was written in Russia, as Socialism was such a signature part of the country’s ideals for such a long time. On this note, I would think that the author would have Raskolnikov carry out his plan of charity and be revered as a hero to the rest of Russia, but the title forces me to predict otherwise. The “Punishment” aspect in the title leads me to believe that Raskolnikov will be captured for murdering the old woman. I personally cannot think of any way he would be caught as he killed all of the witnesses. The old lady seemed to be a person that nearly everyone who met her, or at least owed her money, would want her to be killed. At the end of this section of the novel, I find that my perspective toward the protagonist has changed dramatically. Ironically, the murder of the old woman makes me eager for Raskolnikov to succeed in evading the authorities.
I agree with many of the points Davis makes in his last reading of the novel. I knew from the beginning when he was cheated from his prized possessions that he would carry out a plan to kill the landlady. When he commits his crime I was actually on Raskolnikov’s side during his particular situation; she’s a greedy old lady that gives many people a hard time and only thinks about herself. Like Raskolnikov said a person that has an abundance of money shouldn’t steal more money from people that are less fortunate. But help other people that cant even afford a meal for themselves or their children. Nobody deserves to die but she could have at least tried to do something that didn’t benefit her entirely. I agree with Davis that the “punishment” part of the title gives you an idea of what will happen too Raskolnikov in the future. He must have committed some faulty error or left some clue that he was the killer. Otherwise, Raskolnikov will commit many more crimes and will be punished towards the end of the novel. I also really don’t blame Raskolnikov entirely for his actions; you have to feel for the situation he is in with the landlady and most of all his surroundings. He’s living in a nightmare, if a person was giving me a hard time I probably would not think twice. Most of the population in Russia during that time was living poorly; there was a lack of food and ideal means of living. Thousands were getting killed every day to support Stalin’s regime; it was a dark time in Russia’s history.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the point that Davis made about Raskolnikov not being caught after committing the crime. No one saw that he was in the building when the crime was being committed, and there could have been many other people that wanted her dead so I cant imagine that anyone would suspect Raskolnikov in particular. Therefore, I believe that the "punishment" part will either be due to the fact that Raskolnikov feels too guilty with his own self and turns himself in, or he will simply drive himself insane from the guilt. We have already seen that Raskolnikov has a very unstable mindset, and he already began to feel guilty as soon as the crime was committed. Who knows how he will continue to feel after time passes from the death of Alyona, or how his conscious will take the guilt he must now live with.
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