Crime and Punishment – Mehreen Bhatti

Crime and Punishment – Mehreen Bhatti
Journal Entry #1: As I began to read Crime and Punishment, I noticed there was something unusual about Raskolnikov’s character right away. He is intellectual with pride yet seems like he has mental issues. He separates himself from society. Besides the fact that he is poor and dresses in rags, I think that the neighborhood he is living in affects his separation from society because it makes him not want to interact with people and this leads to him thinking about inhumane things. As I was reading the author portrayed some suspense that made me want to continue reading without stopping. I was desperate to find out what Raskolnikov was planning to do. When I realized his hatred for the pawnbroker I knew he would do something evil. I did not see the need to kill the pawnbroker. This is where I said to myself that Raskolnikov was mentally ill. He felt that killing the pawnbroker and who ever got in his way would be better for society. He was only going after Alyona and it was selfish of him to kill yet another harmless person, her sister Lizaveta.
Journal Entry #2: Razumikhin is a good friend to Raskolnikov who is determined to help him no matter what. I feel like he is too much of a good friend to him. He is living in the same conditions as Raskolnikov and still manages to be humane to everyone. I feel as if in the beginning of the story, Raskolnikov saw himself as superman; somebody unstoppable with pride and power but after he committed his crime he felt guilt for what he did and that destroyed the view of himself being a superman. Also Raskolnikov is different from everyone in a way because poverty in this story seems to bring families together but he alienates himself from his family. He scolds his sister because he thinks she is marrying Luzhin to help her brother financially and he rejects a job offer from Razumikhin. I felt bad for Nikolai, the workman who was a suspect of the murders because he confessed even though it was not him. He was hoping to find an easier way out of his accusation and he thought confessing would help.
Jounral Entry #3: In the last part of the book, a lot of good and bad things happen. Katerina goes crazy and dies after she danced in the street and begged people for money. She died because she was suffering so much. I was delighted to read that Raskolnikov confessed to Sonya of the murders because one confession would lead to another and he would soon confess to the police like he ended up doing. He is given a cross by Sonya that I think represents his way to recognition of committing the sins he committed. In the end I was glad to know that Raskolnikov begins to stop separating himself from humanity when he realized that he is in love with Sonya. This made me realize that the truth always comes out and when you do something bad it will lead to guilt which will lead to confession but in the end relief and freedom from whatever evil act that is made.