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Study Guide for Crime and Punishment
Study Guide for Crime and Punishment
Study Guide for Crime and Punishment
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Study Guide for Crime and Punishment

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Fyodor Dostoyevsky's epic masterpiece "Crime and Punishment" is massive--dozens of characters, themes, subplots. If you are having trouble keeping track of whose who and what's what, then this book will help you.

The covers all the major plots, characters and themes and gives a chapter by chapter summary of the entire book.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherBookCaps
Release dateJan 13, 2015
ISBN9781310549250
Study Guide for Crime and Punishment
Author

BookCaps

We all need refreshers every now and then. Whether you are a student trying to cram for that big final, or someone just trying to understand a book more, BookCaps can help. We are a small, but growing company, and are adding titles every month.Visit www.bookcaps.com to see more of our books, or contact us with any questions.

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    Study Guide for Crime and Punishment - BookCaps

    Chapter Summaries

    Part I

    Chapter 1

    Raskolnikov—In Chapter 1, we meet Raskolnikov, a young student—tall, sensitive, and handsome, with fine features. But Raskolnikov was also dirt poor and had cut himself off from the world for some time. Shabbily dressed and with nothing to eat for the past two days, he managed to sneak out of his closet-sized attic room and past his landlady’s open door as he descended the five flights of stairs leading outside. Aside from not wanting to listen to his landlady’s chatter, Raskolnikov was way behind on his rent and couldn’t have paid even if he wanted to.

    Dark thoughts—But today, having successfully snuck out, Raskolnikov sensed something more like terror rather than his usual fear. He had been having dark, frightening thoughts, and though he dismissed them at first, they had recently taken on a new reality as they began to hatch into a plan instead of a mere fantasy. He became acutely aware of this when a drunk singled him out by his German hat—once fancy but now shabby and ridiculous—and Raskolnikov realized that he would need to replace it with something less obvious. Every detail had to be in place for his plan to work. Anything less could spell disaster.

    An unpleasant city setting; avoiding people—The Haymarket area of central St. Petersburg was known for its bars and brothels, and today the stench of the city in summer was intensified by the sweltering July weather. Navigating his way through these unpleasant circumstances, at once terrified and fascinated by his dark thoughts and the power they implied, Raskolnikov headed over to pawn one of his few possessions—his late father’s silver pocket watch—to a mean, suspicious old woman who lived in a tenement nearby. The streets were crowded, but in general Raskolnikov was oblivious to the people, preferring to avoid them. He couldn’t help noticing the intensity of his fear, and he wondered how he would handle it if his idle dark thoughts transformed into reality.

    Pawning his possessions; a keen observation—Alena Ivanovna was hardly welcoming when she saw Raskolnikov. Reminding him that he owed interest on his last pledge, she informed him that the items he brought were junk. The watch was not worth the four rubles he was asking. She would pay no more than one and a half, and she would dock the interest. Shocked, but feeling he had no choice, Raskolnikov reluctantly agreed and left with the one ruble and fifteen kopeks Alena Ivanovna gave him. As he was heading out, he pretended to casually ask about her sister’s whereabouts, though, in truth, he was never casual about anything. His mind was always active—observing, surmising, imagining. He noticed the faded yet spotless condition of her apartment and the specific jingle of her keys as she opened the drawers in the next room; and he guessed what those details meant: who kept the apartment so clean (probably Lizaveta, the old woman’s younger sister—certainly not Alena Ivanovna herself); which of the old woman’s keys belonged to which drawer or chest; the fact that no one else ever seemed to be there.

    Raskolnikov stops at a tavern for a bite to eat—Alena Ivanovna was not receptive to his question about Lizaveta. Why should that interest him? And so, Raskolnikov left, still accompanied by his dark thoughts, which had reached an intense pitch by the time he got outside. How could he even contemplate such a vile act? Filled with self-hatred, he continued walking, when he suddenly felt an urgent need for a cold beer, having had nothing for two days. He had never been in a pub before, but now he ducked down into a dark, dingy tavern. After some beer and a bit of bread, he noticed his thoughts clearing and his spirits lifting, but that in itself troubled him—that a bit of food could change his condition so easily. Still, he was feeling more sociable, so he looked around at the few men seated in the pub, all in various states of drunkenness and dozing, singing, or just sitting there in their anger or misery.

    Chapter 2

    A sudden desire to interact—Something had shifted within Raskolnikov—something deeper than just the obvious revival that came from having a bite to eat and drink. He was feeling more cheerful and friendly in spite of the rank and dingy setting, with its overpowering smell of liquor; and after a month of isolation and misery, he felt a strong desire for contact with other people. That did not, however, include most of the people in the room, whom he considered beneath him. But one man, a retired government clerk, had caught his eye, and the interest seemed to be

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