What Does it Mean to be Mental ?

After Raskolnikov seems to begin recovering and  gain more mental normality I am questioning my initial assumption that he is mentally insatiable. He still is sickened by any thought of murder, but who wouldn’t be after committing such crime. Amir was sick not by killing anyone, but by the guilt of watching his friend get rapped. However, we don’t believe he is mentally unstable. Ironically I was watching Law and Order this weekend and a mentally unstable character was accused of murder and was quoting Crime and Punishment. One perspective of the show was that mentally ill people should be forced to take medication as a safety procedure for the public. Another is that being mentally ill is all about perspective. The only reason we know if we are “normal” is if someone tells us we are. Basically, the reason of others determines if we trust our own reason. In psychology metal sickness is centered around being able to categorize the issue with a set of symptoms, and make people “better” with drugs or psychotherapy that fit that category. It’s interesting to think that there is not much difference in the “good and bad” drugs. Both are just ways to manipulate people’s brains. In anthropology you can really see how mental stability is all about your perspective, because in a sense we are all brainwashed. It connects back to the institutions because the institutions inject the ideas of these criteria we use for mental stability. For example, shamans in certain societies do what we would call, having a bad trip and going absolutely psycho. However, they believe they are communicating with the spirit world. In their society, they are doctors and healers and praised. In our society they would be put in a mental hospital. It just proves that our standards for mental stability are not human absolute truths about humanity and the mind. It simply means that in different societies, certain individuals are marginalized for not fitting into guidelines. 

Perhaps Raskolnikov’s reason for stealing was purely economic and the guilt and fighting within himself was what made him crazy.  Something that makes readers think that he had a mental breakdown is the suggestion that in his past he was like the rest of us. The expensive top had and the fact he used to be a student is intriguing because we still don’t know what caused this contrast in character. I think he still fights within himself between being honest and protecting his life. Later it will probably be reviled what made him “tick”.

Comment on Wendell

       I dont not particularly agree with Wendells comment on Luzhin. From what we have read about him we still do not know if he is actually a bad guy. We aren't exactly sure if he is a great guy either, but we have seen that he has made an effort to speak to Raskolnikov and get his approval because he knows that would mean so much to his fiancé. Luzhin has also never treated Raskolnikov's sister poorly thus far. She has never mentioned that she was unhappy with him or of any harm he has caused to her. So I think Raskolnikov is just over exaggerating and making a big deal out of this. Ultimately, I think Raskolnikov is acting very selfish. His sister is trying really hard to get her brother to approve of the marriage, and he continues to bring her down and tell her what a horrible idea this whole marriage is. Raskolnikovs pride and jealousy is getting to the best of him. Luzhin is a hardworking man who has made a lot of money and is now helping support Raskolnikovs own family. I think this angers Raskolnikov because he isn't even able to protect and support his own family in that manner, and since Luzhin can, Raskolnikov acts out on him and openly hates him because he is too prideful to admit that Luzhin is helping out his family and he cant.

Part III:Raskolnikov Recovers?

The opening line of chapter III is that Raskolnikov has recovered gives us the false hope that Raskolnikov's sketchy behavior will stop. If Raskolnikov had truly recovered, wouldn't the book have ended? It still shocks me how sly Raskolnikov can be. Everyone's happiness that Raskolnikov has recovered is based off of a lie. He fakes his progression and his mental stability so he would no longer have to be watched like a hawk by Razumikhin.
The first step Raskolnikov takes to his fake recovery is by apologizing to both Zossimov and Razumikhin. He apologizes for them having to take care of him day in and day out. Secondly, he apologizes to his mother and sister for kicking them out of his apartment when they only wanted to make sure he was alright. Later, he explains how he really had spent the money they had given him. At this point, I started to make a connection between Dunya and Sonya. The two women had given themselves up to allow their family to succeed, one by marrying into wealth and the other by prostitution. Even after he confesses how he spent the money and his apologies, Raskolnikov continues to be disrespectful to his family. He begs Dunya not to continue with the marriage because it is not what a "respectable" woman would do. As Dunya stands up for herself by stating she is "guilty of no ones death." With this comment, Raskolnikov faints. How has he recovered if he still faints at the slightest mention of the murder? How does his family and friends not realize that he still has not recovered? Even after he faints, Razumikhin disregards it and decides to see Porify with Raskolnikov. When Raskolnikov and Razumikhin go to visit Porify, Raskolnikov starts to become paranoid if Porify knew about his visit to the crime scene and for starts to think about confessing.
In chapters three and four we start to learn more about Sonya. Despite her current situation, she tries to do everything she possibly can to help her family. When she walks in to invite Raskolnikov to the funeral, she is shocked by his lack his of money and rightfully so. If someone had given me a good amount of money to help my family I would think that person was from a wealthy family.

Reaction part 3 chapters 1-4

       Raskolnikov is surprisingly getting better and at times acting somewhat normal. Unfortunately, this only lasts for a small amount of time. It seems as if Raskolnikov has learned to control himself, and make it seem that things are going better for him, but then little actions that people do around him or certain phrases they say can send him back into his uncontrollable and ill self. For example, his friends do not give up on him regardless of the countless amount of times that Raskolnikov has yelled at them and asked them to leave, but now, he is actually feeling bad for doing that and apologizes for his inconsiderate and rude behavior. His attitude completely changes when he sees his mother and sister. His face brightens up, but soon changes when he remembers about his sisters fiancé. He gets upset again and tells her how this marriage will not be a good one, and when his sister answers back defending herself and saying that she hasn't done anything wrong and is guilty of no ones death, causing Raskolnikov to pass out again.
       This brings me back to the idea of Raskolnikov and the way he bluntly exposes his guilt. We obviously catch onto all of these clues because we are aware of what has happened, but his friends still have not despite all of the clues Raskolnikov gives off. His friends have at least figured out that it is something from his past haunting him and causing this strange attitude and ongoing sickness, but they have not realized that maybe he could have been the murderer. His friends currently believe that Raskolnikovs attitude has been acting up ever since he left the university. Of course Raskolnikov is going to go along with this idea, because he is not willing to admit that he was the murderer, but if his friends continue to try to help him, Raskolnikov wont be able to get any better any time soon since his friends aren't helping Raskolnikov in the area where he really does need help.

Comment on Mikaela's (October 28th)

 As the news of the murder starts to become the talk of the town, we start to see how everyone reacts to it. Mikaela pointed out that both Raskolnikov and the painter act guilty but everyone else assumes that Raskolnikov is just ill and does not know what he is saying while the painter is clearly conscious and is acting according to his guilty conscious. While Razumikhin and the doctor discuss the evidence and the painter, Raskolnikov starts to stress out and randomly interrupt the conversation. While reading the passage about Razumikhin's thoughts on the guiltiness of the painter, it was hard to understand his side of the matter. At one point, he accuses the painter, as Mikaela had said, but then the next sentence he is saying that the painter had no motive to do anything and there were witnesses that saw him fighting with the other man. The details of the crime scene add to the confusion of the reader. Even though this plot line could be solved in a couple of chapters, Dostoyevsky makes the plot complicated to show how hard it is to solve this problem when the real murderer is being treated for a physical illness. Mikaela's prediction that Raskolnikov will eventually crack from the pressure of keeping his guilt inside him is not far off. Keeping a secret that big will cause anyone to go mad and crack. It is only a matter of time that Raskolnikov does come clean.

Comment on Wendell

I agree with Wendell in the fact that these last few chapters of the novel were focused primarily on things other than Raskolnikov’s guilt. He does, however, seem to be forgiving himself in a few instances in these last few parts of the book. For example, he is not humble at all about giving money to Marmeladov’s family. I do not necessarily agree with the fact that Luzhin is a bad person and is going to treat Raskolnikov’s sister like garbage. I think that Raskonikov is mentally ill and therefore cannot cope with the fact of another change in his life, like his sister getting married without his consent. I think, regardless of the man, Raskolnikov would not approve of him because he was not  spoken to about any engagement whatsoever. I did not really get a sense of Dunya’s physical beauty like Wendell did in this part of the book, but I noticed that she does seem to deserve more credit that what Raskolnikov gives her. The whole ploy to decipher Luzhin’s intentions was well-crafted and intelligent. I was surprised that Dunya was able to come up with such a plan, solely base upon how Raskolnikov had spoke about her in previous chapters. I think that, regardless of the outcomes of this plan, Raskolnikov would have found something to make himself believe that Luzhin is not an appropriate person for his sister to marry. 

Comment on Davis Reaction

Comment on Davis Reaction

Davis brings up many valid points from his latest reading of the novel. Davis you first begin to describe Raskolnikov as “mentally ill.” I disagree with you, Raskolnikov’s incident with Marmeladov proved to help clear up his guilt until the final pages of chapter three when he had realized he had “uttered a terrible lie.” Furthermore, you also regard Raskolnikov as having a “blatant disregard for everyone around him combined with his incessant hallucinations.” I also can’t help but disagree with this statement because he hasn’t hallucinated at all during these three chapters and he doesn’t have a “complete disregard for everyone.” Take his sister for example, do you think if he had a “complete disregard for everyone” he would care about his sisters marriage and her future, I don’t think so. Speaking of which I do agree with your statement describing your first thoughts on Dunya, at first I thought she was a pretty but yet dumb girl marrying a man strictly for his money, but then when she is formally introduced you get the impression that she is a clever and smart girl. You see it all the time a rich politician or a famous rich business owner marrying a 20-30 beautiful year old girl. You get the impression that the only reason that girl is choosing that guy out of all the others is because of the money invovled, Dunya is a perfect example of this type of scenario. Davis you concude your reaction with your thoughts on what might happen in the future course of the novel, I agree completely with you. His health is beginning to deteriorate by the end of chapter 3, he is going to return to his old sickly state where he lies in bed and this might led others to believe that he is the culprit. 

Reaction part 3: chapters I, II and III

Wendell Pfefer

11/17/13

Reaction part 3: chapters I, II and III

            Raskolnikov seems to be in much better condition than he was in the earlier stages of the novel. The reason for this is because he has finally managed to set himself free when he unsuccessfully tries to save Marmeladovs life. The fact that he did something good makes him believe that whatever her did in the past is okay. Thus, he has cured himself from his guilt and is in good condition when he goes and visits his family. Especially his sister for whom he believes is just marrying Luzhin for money and not out of true love. He doesn’t want to see her sister living an unhappy life for the sake of others.

Raskolnikov has always disliked Luzhin ever since the beginning of the novel, so when he sees Dunia for the first time he tells her directly to not marry him. He even told her that if she chose to marry Luzhin he would not be her brother anymore. I personally am glad that Raskolnikov is acting in this manner. He is protecting her sister from a miserable life. Things would not turn out well if Dunia were to actually marry the businessman. Luzhin would treat her like garbage and make Dunia feel as if she were in debt towards him. However, it seems to me that Raskolnikov is the only one that knows this would happen because his family members are astonished to find out why he would ever come to the conclusion of disliking him. They think that Raskolnikov’s sickness is the reason he dislikes Luzhin to an extent of doing whatever he possibly can as a brother to prevent the marriage from happening, but it becomes clear now that all his family wants is the money.

What I also begin to notice is how beautiful Dunia actually is. Everyone seems to be attracted towards her especially Razumkhin whom is also against the idea of her marrying Luzhin solely because he wants her for himself. I actually think they would turn out to be a much more successful couple. But, Currently, all Dunia has on her mind now is her brother and her future husband. She doesn’t know what to do and is stressed out. This is where Razumkhin comes into play, his mission now is to comfort her and at the same time retain her attention. So he begins to go into this whole idea that the only reason Raskolnikov hates Luzhin is because of his sickness and how much of a profound impact it has had on him recently. But when the family went to go see him he looked absolutely fine until the midpoint of the conversation when Raskolnikov realized he had “uttered a terrible lie.” He is now returning to his old sickly state unfortunately. Further more, Dunia is trying her best to have her brother support her marriage. She cleverly comes up with a lie detailing her reasons for committing towards this marriage. Unfortunately it doesn’t work and Raskolnikov counter attacks with a clever argument using Luzhin’s letter against him. He convinces her sister that the letter demonstrates how bad of a person he actually is. As a result, instead of listening to Luzhins request Dunia actually personally invites her brother to join.

Part III: Chapters 1 - 3

These last few chapters seem to have been the most light-hearted portion of the story, thus far. That is probably so, because this part of the piece is dedicated primarily to Raskolnikov’s foil, Razumikhin. His overwhelming affections toward Dunya are portrayed almost as him being naive. Regardless, a shift to focus on a character other than Raskolnikov, who continues to suffer from fainting spells which one can only assume are brought on by his guilt. An important part did occur in this book, however, as Zossimov becomes the first character to label Raskolnikov as mentally ill, which I happen to agree with. Another aspect that seemed to be different in this portion of the novel was how Dunya was portrayed. In the earlier parts of the book, Dunya was made out to be an airhead concerned only about her future based upon Raskolnikov’s reaction to her engagement. In reality, Dunya seems to be quite level-headed making a plot to prove that her fiancé is truly in love with her. This deviation from what Raskolnikov stated earlier in the book further confirms that Raskolnikov is most likely mentally insane as he is incapable of seeing what is going on around him in an accurate fashion. I cannot help but be reminded of my psychology class as I continue this novel. Raskolnikov’s blatant disregard for everyone around him combined with his incessant hallucinations lead me to believe that he may be suffering from schizophrenia. Specifically, Rakolnikov had not seen any of his family members for several years until this point in the book. Unlike a rational person would, Raskolnikov greats them harshly criticizing his sister for getting married without his consent. My pre-mature diagnosis alternates between this and pure narcissism. Raskolnikov seems virtually disgusted with the entire society around him, when it is him, in reality that has committed a crime more heinous that any of them. It is ironic that Rakolnikov expresses such disapproval with those around him despite their continual efforts to help him return to a normal mental state when all of his friends and family have more than enough of a right to disown him for how he is treating him, yet they continue their efforts. I can imagine that Raskolnikov is unconsciously doing this in order to make him self feel less guilty for the murder he has committed. One can tell, however, that Raskolnikov’s emotions are actually starting to break through the wall of consciousness that he has been so zealously trying to conceal. Raskolnikov’s fainting at his sister’s comment about not having killed anyone shows how truly fearful he is for future as it appears only a matter of time before somebody connects his deteriorating mental status and bizarre behavior with the crime.

Comment on Wendell's Post

       I agree with Wendall when he says that because he had tried to help out his old friend Marmeladov to the best of his ability, that he no longer feels guilty, and that he will now be a new, carefree, person. Knowing the unstableness in Raskolnikovs life, I dont think that this "guiltless" feeling will last for long. He even told Sonya, Marmeladov's daughter, not to worry because he would now work and provide for her and the rest of her family so that they would be able to live. I think that he also said this to make himself feel like a better person, as if this nice act would cancel out the terrible murder he committed before. But Raskolnikov doesn't even leave his house, let alone work, so I have no idea how he will provide for this family when he cant even look out of provide for himself. He will soon realize that he hasn't done much at all, and the murder will continue to come back and haunt him.

 

Reaction to part 2

    As Raskolnikov's friends continue to discuss the murder in the comfort of his own home Raskolnikov continues to get even more upset. Randomly, his sisters soon to be husband enters Raskolnikovs house unexpected and unannounced. This causes Raskolnikov to become even more upset. Ofended by Raskolnikov, Luzhin leaves the room, and his friends continue to talk about the murder. Raskolnikov gives little input to the conversation every now and then, but he is still angered any time that the conversation is brought up. His anger soon takes over him, and Raskolnikov kicks all of his friends out of his house. For the first time since the murder was committed, Raskolnikov's friends take note of the fact that Raskolnikov seems to get extremely upset whenever the topic is brought up.
       Despite the fact that we know Raskolnikov is severely ill, he believes that he is feeling much better and goes out to town. Raskolnikov has a very awkward encounter with a police man, Zamyotov, about the murder. He was telling him all about crime and murders claiming to be an expert on both topics. I found this conversation very weird, because immediately after the murder, Raskolnikov was filled with guilt and was paranoid that the police new he was the murderer and would soon be after him. Now, he goes up to a police man and tells him all about how he knows everything there is to know about crimes and getting away with murder.
        I think that Raskolnikovs health is taking over him more so as time passes. He randomly thinks that he is feeling better and decides to go out and act out all confident, but then the next second he is back to feeling ill and has to go to Razumikhin's house so that he could look after him because he had fainted in the middle of the streets of town.

Comment on Jessica

I really like Jessica’s comment describing Raskolnikov’s behavior as “plagued by paranoia and deliria” because it perfectly describes exactly as what is going in this story.  The comment that his life is “plagued” is perfectly on point in that it absolutely consumes his world causing him to be ill sleeping for more than six hours at a time and being constantly forgetful, as Jessica stated. I agree with Jessica in Razumikhin being a foil character as he is essentially the exact opposite of Raskolnikov. For everything that Raskolnikov lacks, his college friend seems to have plus more. The characterization of these people seems to be only of people who Raskolnikov spends significant time thinking about. Whether he is jealous of the person or likes the person, the author makes sure to spend specific time drawing attention to Raskolnikov’s desires as Jessica stated. 

Reaction to Wendell

              It is obvious that Raskolnikov is not mentally sane at this point in the book. Wendell mentioned the incident where Raskolnikov insults Luzhin out of the clear blue. His actions are driven by his guilt that eats away at him. Wendell brings up valid points about Raskolnikov. When Raskolnikov is at the crystal palace, his word choice and mannerisms do not make him seem innocent. Raskolnikov does not want to be caught but at the same time he is not making himself look innocent. He is causing people to question him and maybe even his sanity. When the doctor, Zosimov comes to check up on him Raskolnikov's pulse is extremely fast and Razumikhin explains what had just happened. His attitude towards the new clothes was unexpected and out of the ordinary. Normally people would have been pleased to have new clothing after wearing rags for a couple of years.

            In the first chapter of part III, it is no longer just Raskolnikov’s friends who are worried about his present state but also his family members. When his mother and his sister first appear at his apartment, they are shocked to see him gazing off at nothing. His sister starts to cry at his appearance. It almost seems as if they know something is wrong with him and he has changed for the worst. Zosimov explains to Raskolnikov’s mother and sister that Raskolnikov seems have an obsession of some sort. His obsession, according to Zosimov, is the reason for his present condition.

Part II and Part III: 1-2

    As the story continues, Raskolnikov’s guilt increases and causes his “illness” to worsen. He is plagued by paranoia and deliria since the murder of Alyona and her step-sister. Instead of a physical punishment, Raskolnikov receives a mental punishment that slowly eats away at him.  He tends to sleep for more than six hours at time and is constantly forgetful of conversations he had just had or of recent events. But the murder is the one event that he cannot forget.
            In the first chapters of Part II, we are introduced to Raskolnikov’s only friend from the college, Razumikhin.  Razumikhin plays the role of Raskolnikov’s foil. He does not pity himself, look down on others, and he works hard to earn money.  Razumikhin does not seemed bothered by the fact that he is poor and has to wear second hand clothes while Raskolnikov does not handle his financial state well. In Part II, Razumikhin is portrayed as the caring best friend who only wants to see his friend gain his strength. He offers Raskolnikov  money in return of translations and he goes out and buys Raskolnikov new clothes with Raskolnikov’s money. Throughout the novel, only Razumikhin  Raskolnikov’s mother address Raskolnikov by his first name, Rodya.
            At this point in the book, I have noticed that Dostoyevsky goes into great detail when characterizing. Raskolnikov pays very close attention to the details of others and there is nothing left unturned when he is done examining that person. This gives Raskolnikov more characterization but it also shows how talented Dostoyevsky is. Through the characterizations I have a clear picture of how each character is suppose to look like and how he or she acts.

            By the end of part II, we learn that Raskolnikov’s family is expected in St. Petersburg in a couple of days. In part II, his mother and sister arrive to his apartment in shock. In the first chapter, Raskolnikov is not happy with his family’s presence and rudely orders them to leave at once. Razumikhin, who is somewhat drunk, confesses to Dunya, Raskonikov’s sister, that Luzhin is unfit for her. The two women are frightened of Razumikhin. He comes off intense and insists that the doctor will watch over Raskolnikov if they leave the apartment. It was strange to see Razumikhin telling Dunya that her fiancé is unfit for her. He is not her brother or her father and should not be making that type of comment. It is pretty obvious that Razumikhin has taken a liking for Duyna pretty quickly when he gets jealous that the doctor compliments her.

Chapter 5 - 7

  As the story continues, Raskolnikov’s digression toward insanity ensuing from the guilt of the murder he committed intensifies. Raskolnikov’s guilt seems to be growing so large that I predict that he, himself, will be the cause of his own demise. Every time somebody mentions the crime, Raskolnikov nearly indicates himself with his obvious nervousness and lack of composure over the matter. Specifically, on a visit to the crime with Zayotov, he gets so heated that he almost confesses to the crime. Then when he talks with the painters in old landlady’s apartment, he seems to be in an almost dazed state unaware of what he is saying and asking. This chapter continues to show Raskolnikov losing things that once provided  him with a small sense of sanity. Marmeladov’s death seemed to be a big blow for Raskolnikov, but then seems to provide him with a strange sense of satisfaction when he leaves the family money and a promise of future aid. This seemed to be an attempt to make himself feel some sense of redemption from the guilt of the murder. This obviously wears off toward the end of this part of the story as Raskolnikov collapses from intoxication. His demise continues to appear inevitable. 

Comment on Mikaelas

Wendell Pfeffer

Comment on Mikaelas – October 28

            Mikaela brings some great valid points from her latest reading of the novel. Mikaela I agree that it is incredibly strange that the police have accused the painter for the murder instead of Raskolnikov. Raskolnikov was sick the day of the murder and he is acting rather strange. I disagree when you state that no one “else seems to think that something is mentally wrong with him” and that it is only physical. There were many incidents that people questioned why he looked and acted so strange. I know that you haven’t read this part of the story yet but in the later stages of the novel Raskolnikov has a conversation with Zamiotov, he works for the police station. Raskolnikov brings up the murder of the pawnbroker and proposes an idea of what he would do if he were the one responsible. While he does this he turns pale and becomes really nervous and as a result Zamiotov becomes suspicious. His physical appearance did play a roll but his mental state had an even greater influence, the way he phrased his sentences and acted rather awkward are what caused Zamiotov to become suspicious. Also if I someone committed a murder why would you even think about bringing it up, I understand that Raskolnikov is paranoid but he has to pull himself together if he is going to have a slight chance of getting away with it.  In the end you predicted that Dostoevsky “is trying to add more and more pressure onto Raskolnikov until he will actually burst.” Actually it turned out differently, Raskolnikov is cured from his sickness because he helped try to save someone’s life – Marmeladovs. He leveled off his guilt with a good deed he committed himself into doing. I predict that Zamiotov will accuse Raskolnikov of the murder because of the conversation they had together at the crystal palace. 

Reaction: part 2 - chapter 4-7

Wendell Pfeffer

11/1/13

Reaction: Crime and Punishment

            Raskolnikov continues to show great signs of remorse towards the crime he committed. Before he was in bed delirious and unable to interact with the people around him, but now he is conscientious and fully aware of his surroundings.  Although he is attentive Raskolnikov is to paranoid to think about other things that don’t touch on the subject of the murder. The incident with Luzhin really demonstrates this factor as Raskolnikov uncontrollably insults him for absolutely no reason. He ultimately forces him, Razumikhin and the other people in the room to leave him alone. Raskolnikov is trying to find a way to coup with his guilt; right now he is unable to do so which is causing him to go crazy. He tries to go for a walk but ends up finding himself in the crystal palace talking to Zamiotov. While he talks to this man, Raskolnikov tries to make himself sound innocent but instead does the complete opposite. He kept on re-introducing the topic of the crime and proposes an idea of what he would do if he were the one responsible. He even turns pale which causes Zamiotov to become a little suspicious. I understand that Raskolnikov is facing a tremendous amount of guilt but he has to pull himself together if he doesn’t want to get caught. I believe he can get away with the murder but he has to act casual. I think that Raskolnikov will be caught in the future because of the conversion he had with Zamiotov, it will bite him back in the butt. But beside the current events that just happened, Raskolnikov has finally managed to set himself free when he unsuccessful tries to save Marmeladov's life. The fact that he did something good makes him believe that whatever he did wrong in the past is okay. He has shrugged off his guilt. Raskolnikov even tells himself that his “life had not gone out with the old woman’s”. He has finally overcome his guilt and is ready to move on.