Summer reading Assigment: A Streetcar Named Desire Journal #1--Alyson

I was actually excited to have A Streetcar Named Desire assigned to us as a summer reading assignment, not only because I had already read it and seen the movie, but because I thoroughly enjoyed it. The entire plot is so captivating, the characters are so real, and everything is so easily imagined and visualized, making the reading experience completely different than that of C&P.

Since this is my second time reading the play, I tried forgetting everything I already knew about the characters, and tried getting new first impressions of them from the first scene. I never liked Blanche, as I found her very pretentious, fake, and materialistic, even from the first time she enters the play. When she sees Stella and Stanley’s home, it doesn’t match up to her high standards, and is thereby repulsed. She is a very judgmental character and, to agree with Biniyam, that is something I absolutely cannot stand in anyone.

Even before Blanche’s entrance, you get somewhat of a feel of Stanley and Stella’s relationship. Their playful and lighthearted interactions made me feel that they are really in love, but he is a bit too rough with her. From the first few scenes (and throughout most of the play), it is extremely difficult to pick up on Blanche’s character, like Raskolnikov, and I was entirely unaware of her intentions

Summer reading Assigment: Crime and Punishment Journal #1-- Alyson

I want to start by being perfectly frank; this novel is completely boring me. Not only is the language difficult, the story is just hard to follow. Usually I am able to push past the first few pages and eventually become so enthralled by a story, that I forget that I’m actually reading a book. This was certainly not the case. One thing that did interest me, however, was Raskolnikov’s character. His awkwardness, paranoia, and somewhat obsessive compulsive behavior really caught my attention (and reminded me of Holden Caufield!). I wanted to learn more and more about his past experiences and family life, to try to piece together why this man is the way he is. As sick as it may seem, I found his self-consciousness and discomfort slightly reassuring (in regard to me hopefully enjoying the novel…), because it made his character so lifelike, dynamic, and oddly enjoyable.

After reading a few people’s posts, many seem to be questioning Raskolnikov’s motives in regard to killing Alyona Ivanova. I like to think I understand (to some degree) where he is coming from, and hopefully I can shed some light…Since Raskolnikov was completely depressed and a bit psychotic, I feel like he was a ticking timebomb, bound to kill someone, or himself, at some point. That being said, Alyona seems to be a good fit for a futile murder, considering the fact that she is old, feeble, and has a lot of money (which Raskolnikov obviously needs). I also found it very interesting how she totally foils Raskolnikov.

One question I must ask is “What is the relevance of Marmeladov?!?” Although his story did evoke a lot of emotion in me, I feel like the whole section could have been removed and the only way the story would be affected is that the book would be shorter in length. What I did learn from his story is how sad and desperate many people’s lives were during that time. I also got a sense of that from Raskolnikov’s mother’s letter, especially how Luzhin requested marrying Dunya out of pity for their family’s poor situation. I felt that the letter really moved the book in somewhat of a direction, and I learned a bit more about Raskolnikov’s personal life, allowing me to further my understanding of his character.

Summer reading Assigment: Crime and Punishment Journal #3-- Alyson

As the book came to a close, I was still as bored as I was in the beginning. I hate book-bashing, because obviously there are things that I didn’t pick up on as I was reading, but it was such a slow read!

Personally, I do understand why this book is considered such a classic. Doestoevsky wrote a novel that transcends (and will continue to transcend) different cultures and time periods throughout human history, because he so straightforwardly wrote a story about the human condition. This novel can be translated into any time period and any society, because of the way Dostoevsky portrayed ordinary people’s struggles within themselves and within society. For example, Raskolnikov’s personal struggle with insanity as well as Marmeladov’s daughter having to sell herself to prostitution due to their desperate situation display very real issues that still occur today. I feel that is the true definition of a classic, not how much fun a book is to read.

Although I didn’t take anything from the story, per se, something did click in my mind. The story was about Raskolnikov’s actions and the consequences that followed…the basic idea that every action has a reaction-- i.e. crime : punishment :: action : consequence. That being said, I sadly didn’t enjoy the novel as a whole, and found it a very arduous and unreasonably lengthy read.

Summer reading Assigment: Crime and Punishment Journal #2-- Alyson

I wish I could understand Russian, because to me, if I could read the book in the way it was intended to be read, the language would probably be much more captivating. It’s like reading translated poetry; it just doesn’t read properly. I decided to look Raskolnikov’s character up, and I learned that “the name Raskolnikov comes from the Russian raskolnik meaning "schismatic".” (Thank you, Wikipedia!) Learning that tiny tidbit of information made me appreciate Dostoevsky’s cleverness and use of language, since it’s not as easily picked up on through a translation.


After the murders, Raskolnikov’s sick, depressed, heartless side seems to be showing up less and less, while his light-hearted, kind and generous side becomes more prevalent. I feel as if Dostoevsky is alluding to everyone’s personal fight against the devil, and throughout the entire novel so far, I picture Raskolnikov in that cliché, tug-of-war-like fight between the devil and angel on his shoulders. Even when he comes to Marmeladov’s rescue, I still feel as if he is doing a good deed solely to clear his conscious and look like less of a suspect in the murder case.

After being more than halfway done with the novel, I still feel no real sense of excitement or adventure, even though the story is about a murderer! By this point I shouldn’t want to put the book down, but it still feels like a chore, which is unfortunate because I wish I could appreciate such a classic.