I began to look at "Crime & Punishment" today and so far, it seems a bit bland. The Russian names used makes it really difficult to read and confuses me a little bit. I do believe that it exposes real human issues, however. Even though Raskolnikov went to school, he was still quite poor. Then we're introduced to Marmeladov, who shows how alcohol can ruin families and relationships. Many of the issues, such as poverty and alcoholism, that are discussed in this book are still very relevant to society today.
- Rafaella Gunz
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it's very interesting that you feel that way because i feel the same exact way! this book seems very blah to me, only because i know russian writers can be a bit boring. For me though what's a little easy is to understand the russian names and what not because i am russian. i also see some stereotypes outlined like alcoholism because in those times and even today alcoholism seems to go hand in hand with being Russian. But overall i agree with your journal!
ReplyDeleteI too agree that the beginning of Crime and Punishment was a bit bland. However, I think we must take into consideration that we are reading an English translation of a Russian literary work that exemplifies archetypal Russian values. Russian literature, fairly divergent from English, makes use of an older, more classical approach to composition, rather than English's more direct and forward advances. One of Dostoevsky's main intents in writing Crime and Punishment was to reveal the horrific circumstances Russian individuals had to endure (in relation to poverty). This is clearly still relevant to Russian society today as nearly 13% of all Russians are living below the poverty line.
ReplyDelete- Max