English11 Book Report (Finals)

English 11 Book Report

I. Introduction/General Information about the Book

Title: Crime and Punishment

Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky

Genre: Suspense Novel

II. Characters

Main Character:

The main character in the novel is Raskolnikov. He resides in Saint Petersburg and is mentally unstable. He is the son of Pulcheria Alexandrovna (mother) and the brother of Avdotya Romanovna (sister). In the novel, he murders Alyona Ivanovna, who is a pawn-broker and a money-lender. Though not part of the plan, he also kills her half sister, Lizaveta, when she appears on the murder scene.

Supporting Characters:

Sofia Semyonovna Marmeladova is the daughter of Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov. She is also called as Sonia or Sonya in the novel. Raskolnikov develops a relationship with her. Raskolnikov confesses his crime to her as the novel goes on. She was forced to become a prostitute to support her family financially.

Porfiry Petrovich is the detective who is responsible for solving the murders of Lizaveta and Alyona Ivanovna. Likewise Sonya, he tries to lead Raskolnikov into confessing his crime. Though he lacks evidence to point Raskolnikov into the murder, he is certain that he is the one responsible through the many conversations that they had.

Avdotya Romanovna Raskolnikova is the sister of Raskolnikov. She planned to marry Pyotr Petrovich Luzhin who was a wealthy and self-possessed man to save their family from financial deprivation. In the end, she chooses Razumikhin who is Raskolnikov's loyal friend.

III. Setting

The story took place at Saint Petersburg. It is where Raskolnikov committed his crime, met Sonya, and confessed what he did. His sister and mother followed him there.

IV. Plot

Raskolnikov, the protagonist of the novel makes a plan to murder and rob Alyona Ivanovna who is a money-lender and pawn-broker. His motivation to kill her comes from an instinct that he is predetermined to kill the old woman by some power. He then sneaks into her apartment and kills her with an axe. Lizaveta, who happens to arrive at the scene of the crime, also gets killed. He manages only to steal a small amount of money because he was shaken by what he did. He manages to get away from the place without being seen.

After the murder, he falls falls into a feverish state. He was so nervous of what he has done. He hid the things he stole from Alyona Ivanovna under a rock. He cleans his clothes from marks of blood from the crime.

Being bothered from what he has done, Raskolnikov wanders on Saint Petersburg. At that time, he meets Sofia Semyonovna Marmeladova.

In the mean time, Raskolnikov's mother and sister arrives at the city. Avdotya had been working as a governess for the Svidrigailov family, but was she was forced out of the position by Arkady Ivanovich Svidrigaïlov who was the head of the family. He was attracted to her physical appearance and spiritual values. But she left the family and chose Pyotr Petrovich Luzhin, a man of modest income and rank.

Raskolnikov meets detective Porfiry who is in charge of solving the murder case of  Alyona Ivanovna and Lizaveta. Porfiry is later convinced that Raskolnikov is the one responsible for the murder by their conversations. But because of lack of evidences, he cannot push him through the deed.

As the story goes on, Raskolnikov and Porfiry continue to meet. The protagonist's motives for the crime becomes exposed at this point. Later on, Raskolnikov struggles with the thought of confessing. He seeks for support from Sonya and confesses his crime to her. But Svidrigailov, who rented the room next to where Sonya and Raskolnikov are, overhears the confession that Raskolnikov had done. When Svidrigailov and Raskolnikov meet face to face, Svidrigailov confesses of his own crime - he killed his own wife.

Raskolnikov is now confused of what to do. Sonya told her to confess his crime to the authorities and Svidrigailov's testimony could put him to prison. At that time, Svidrigailov attempts to seduce Sonya and rape her. Then, he spends a night under complete confusion. Svidrigailov killed himself the next morning. Raskolnikov turns to Sonya again for help and she urges him to confess and clean his conscience. On his way to the police station, he meets the news about what Svidrigailov did. He thinks of it as a chance to get away with the crime but is again persuaded by Sonya to confess.

Raskolnikov was sent to Siberia where he is sentenced to penal servitude. Sonya follows him there.

V. Theme
Alienation from Society

Alienation from society is the main theme of the novel. It is shown that Raskolnikov's pride separates him from the society. He feels as if he is superior from the other people around him. After the murder he has committed, his isolation from the society heightens up because of the worry and the guilt that he is feeling.

The Psychology of Crime and Punishment

The "punishment" referred here in the novel is not the usual punishment that we associate to crime. Punishment here refers to the consequences that Raskolnikov faced after the murder - consequences like guilt, fear, and worry. The author did not focus on the effect of the murder but he focused on how Raskolnikov deals with the guilt. Dostoevsky seems to tell that actual punishment is less terrible than the anxiety of trying to avoid punishment. 

VI. Evaluation of the Book
On the list of the books to read, the first one that actually caught my eye was Love in the Time of Cholera. But then I tried to read this novel (Crime and Punishment) because it sounded like a title of a police procedural drama, which happens to be my favorite type of TV show. Forgive me for sounding so informal. Before reading the book, I looked for its synopsis on the internet and I actually found it interesting.
Reading it was a little difficult, like on times when I encounter new names (the names are not that easy to read 'cause they're Russian and there's a different pronunciation for them.) But the story was interesting enough to keep me reading. Two thumbs up!