Entry 2- In part III, detective Petrovich adds another dimension to the hysteria surrounding Raskolnikov. Now, instead of just battling himself, Rodya has to deal with a police investigator who is good at what he does. Raskolnikov frequently thinks about whether or not the police suspect him as the murderer, and even his friend Razumikhin admits to thinking that the cops are onto him. It is as if Petrovich is playing mind games with him, trying to get him to snap. I liked the connection made between Raskolnikov's article "On Crime" and the murder. In the article, he says that some men are entitled to commit crimes. It's very possible that he includes himself as one of these men, and I think that Petrovich caught on to that. Also, I found it to be more than coincidence that Raskolnikov had a nightmare about Ivanovich living and laughing at him. This could be a sign of things to come, how she, although actually dead, will get the last laugh in the matter, as he will face a punishment that suits his crime.
Entry 3- In part VI, Dostoevsky shows that his characters are deeply-developed and multifaceted. Petrovich is supposed to be a hard-nosed detective, but he shows a lot of compassion and empathy towards Rodya. Raskolnikov, on the other hand, has a conflicting personality, in the sense that he feels terribly guilty for murdering two people and stealing the pawned items, but feels as if he is above the law and should escape with no punishment. I am convinced that Raskolnikov is trying his hardest to be the "superman" mentioned in his article, but he is too human to assume the role. It's as if he is caught in limbo, stuck between this monster-murderer who is better than everyone else, and a man who recognizes his wrongs and regrets and mourns his actions. Petrovich, too, has a human side, and he urges Raskolnikov to confess instead of just arresting him. He knows that guilt is destroying the suspect, and that Rodya is very close to cracking. He even offered to put in a good word to the judge. Petrovich believed that Raskolnikov was going to commit suicide, and I'm surprised that he didn't kill himself after all. If Rodya could take two lives so easily earlier in the story, why not his own when there seems to be no way out. It seems to me he values his life higher than the lives of others.
Murder is not necessarily a black and white issue. Is Raskolnikov automatically a monster because he has killed? Is he still a monster if he feels remorse for his crime? can we feel sympathy for Raskolnikov despite his being a murderer?
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In response to your third entry, i agree with you about how Rodya thinks himself above the law. In the book there were times where he was comparing himself to Napoleon. In addition he wrote that article that justifies some criminals because they were supposed to be future revolutionaries and geniuses.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you remember, there was a time when he was in jail that he felt he should be punished because he could not endure the torment after taking "the first step".
I agree with you Josh. Raskolnikov definitely values his own life more than others. His egotistical personality makes him mightier than anyone else. He classifies himself in the extraordinary group. This is a group that puts themselves at a much higher social level than the “ordinary” group.
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