Literature Analysis #1

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to the elements of plot you've learned in past courses (exposition, inciting incident, etc.). 
      -In the novel Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky tells a story of a very poor man named Raskolnikov who lives in St. Petersburg, Russia. Despising Alyona Ivanovna, an old pawnbroker, he decides to kill her. He battles with himself psychologically because of his bad deed. Surprise visits of his mother, sister, and sister's fiancé make his psychological battle even worse. 
      After killing the ladies, Raskolnikov becomes very ill and requires assistance of a doctor. As suspicions of him being the murderer begin, he becomes so ill that he can't even sleep well because of horrible nightmares.  His whole life is changed in an instant.
      Raskolnikov keeps quiet of his crime and suffers greatly because of it. His head becomes so messed up that he didn't think that what he had done was wrong. Many people do find out about the crime, and this doesn't help with his illness at all. Throughout the novel he suffers from not confessing to the crime.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches (Why did your author choose to write about this topic, person or event?).
      -The theme of this novel is that being alone with no one to count on can hurt you. In the beginning of the novel, Raskolnikov is alone and very sad. He has so much hatred for Alyona Ivanovna and has no one to talk about it. His mind loses it and he eventually kills her. Although his mom and sister come to visit him, he can't talk about his troubles of the murder with them. These thoughts are kept inside him and he becomes ill . It is not until he meets Sonya that he can finally talk to someone of the murder but by then things are way out of hand.
      Fyodor Dostoyevsky  decided to  write about this because he had had an ugly 2 years. His brother and wife died  and  was deep in debt.  He needed to pay the bills so he asked an advance on an unwritten book which is Crime and Punishment. Unlike his other failures, this book was a hit. This novel reflects what was going in Dostoyevsky's mind at the time.

3.     Why did you choose this book?  What about the book appealed to you the first time it came to your attention (and how did it come to your attention)?  What about the book made you want to keep reading once you began?
      - I was going through the reading list and came upon this book. I read on Google that it talked about a person committing a crime. I really like mystery books and people trying to find out who did the crime so I picked this book. In the beginning, this book had me so lost. I had no idea how this was going to be a mystery book but as soon as it started talking about Raskolnikov thinking about how to murder the pawnbroker, it grabbed my attention. I didn't expect that Dostoyevsky would go in such detail how twisted Raskilnikov's mind was so that also made me keep on reading.

4.     Did you find the book realistic?  Did you make any connections between people/events you read about and people/events in your own life?  Why or (if you didn’t) why not?
      -I did find this book to be very realistic. I still remember the nightmare Raskilnikov had about the man constantly hitting Alyona Ivanovna's body with the axe and laughing. This freaked me out but also reminded me of my nightmares. I used to be extremely scared of clowns and I remember the awful dreams I had about them. I was very spooked and I can just imagine how Raskilnikov would feel if he were alive. The characters were very well detailed with their emotions and specific ways they would react to things. They felt very real to me.

5. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
      - I feel that the author's tone was  very dark and scary. Throughout the novel there isn't really a point where things are happy and the sun is shining. It's just filled with spooky events. For example,  when Raskolnikov enters Alyona Ivanovna's house, you can literally feel the dark setting of that event as he is about to pull out the axe and kill her. Another event that expresses this is when Raskolnikov has his nightmare. You don't realize that it's a nightmare until the end so you think that that's actually happening to him. One great example was when Dounia is locked into the room by Svidrigailov. It was so creepy because you think Svidrigailov is just a nice guy but that soon changes. Matters get worse and Dounia pulls out a gun and Svidrigailov is not very scared as if accepting death. All of these events have an eery sense to them and I felt that it was like that all throughout the novel.

6. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques (figurative language/symbolism/imagery/ allusions, etc.) you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers (include page numbers). 
      1)Simile: "She was gazing in stupefaction at her murdered sister, white as a sheet and seeming not to have the strength to cry out."(Dostoyevsky 65)  The simile is used to show how scared the sister was when she saw her dead sister.
      2) Allusion: "It was like this: I asked myself one day this question- what if Napoleon, for instance, had happened to be in my place, and if he had not and Toulon nor Egypt nor the passage of Mont Blanc to begin his career with.." Raskolnikov wants to compare himself to Napoleon to justify his crime (find a loophole) This shows that he thinks outside of the box.
      3)Repetition: "everlasting darkness, everlasting solitude, everlasting tempest around him..."(Dostoyevsy 127) Repetition is used to exaggerate the ocean.
      4)Situational Irony: "Fear gained more and more mastery over him, especially this second, quite unexpected murder."(Dostoyevsky 65). I thought that Raskolnikov was just going to leave but then he encounters the sister even though she had left.
      5)Personification: "Fear gained more and more mastery over him, especially this second, quite unexpected murder."(Dostoyevsky 65) The author describes fear as a person who masters the character when in reality it can't do that.
      6)Symbolism: "Let me bless you and sign you with the cross"( Dostoyevsky 405) The cross is suppose to symbolize the main character's confession and forgiveness.
      7)Symbolism: "he unbuttoned his coat and freed the axe from the noose" (Dostoyevsky 63) The axe is suppose to symbolize a Russian revolution since in this time they used this a lot
      8)Flashback:"He dreamt he was back in his childhood in the little town of his birth" (Dostoyevsky 45) The author does this flashback to connect the murder to his childhood memories
      9)Foreshadowing: "He had become so completely absorbed in himself and isolated from his fellows that he dreaded meeting, not on only his landlady, but anyone at all"( Dostoyevsky 1) The author is foreshadowing how  lonely Raskolnikov really is.
      10) Simile: "He suddenly heard steps in the room where the old woman lay. He stopped short  and was still as death"(Dostoyevsky 65) This simile exaggerates how alarmed Raskolnikov was to hear sounds and to show how fast he stopped making noises
CHARACTERIZATION

 1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization.  Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?
      -One example  of direct character characterization is Raskolnikov as a skinny very badly dressed man. The author approaches him as this so you can see that he has really nothing to live for and is very poor. This is left so I can see how killing the lady wouldn't really affect his life in a super way like his lifestyle.  Even though he was the murderer, I still had sympathy for him because he came from extreme poverty. Another example is the man in Raskolnikov's nightmare. He had a big coat and seemed suspicious. The author does this so Raskolnikov can follow him and you feel a sense of suspense. This character really spooked me out because of that scene in the room with him hitting the lady with the axe.
      -One example of indirect characterization is the way Dounia's fiancé talks. He tries to talk all sophisticated since he comes from wealth. The author does this so you really can tell how much of a jerk  he is and how later Dounia will understand this and dump him. I really did not like this character because of the way he acted to Dounia and her mom. Another example is the war Ilya Petrovich talks. He has a strong voice and you can tell that he tries to trick Raskolnikov into confessing to the crime. The author does this so you can tell that he is that character that is trying to catch the  main character "on the act". I actually did like this character because he isn't really a bad guy but that one person Raskolnikov must watch out for.

2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character?  How?  Example(s)?
      -The only really part that I see that the author changes syntax or diction to focus on a character is when Dounia's fiancé arrives. The talk becomes more sophisticated and the author points that out by using Raskolnikov's mind by him thinking that he is trying hard just because he has money. Raskolnikov's gets irritated by him and they end in bad terms.

3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic?  Flat or round?  Explain.
      -I think that the protagonist is dynamic. He does confess to the crime in the end but I don't really think that the book ended with him thinking that what he had done was wrong. He confesses  because that's the right thing to do but his thoughts on the murder are relatively the same. I see Raskolnikov as a round character because he is so complex in his mind. He wants to be a Napoleon and to him that's what justices his crime. All throughout the novel we get a sense of how his mind works and I see that it's not really normal and is not like any other person.

4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character?  Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.
      -After reading this book, I do feel like I have met a new person. Not only did the author tell me how Raskolnikov looked like and thought, but I read it as if I were him. I read what he thought and it felt like as if I was reading the mind of someone. I fully understand that he was very complex and somewhat ill. "I believe I am not wandering. I believe it's reality," he thought.'(Dostoyevsky 97). Here, you catch a glimpse of how Raskolnikov is not sure of what is going on is real or not. The realistic dreams he's had has made him think if it's real or not. I know how is mind works so even if he is a fictional character, you can say I've "met" Raskolnikov.

ENDURING MEMORY
       -The one thing that I expect to remember is that loneliness is not pretty. All my life I have been so close to my parents and I know that I can count on them. Reading how Raskolnikov had to battle with himself since he couldn't really talk to anybody got me thinking how lucky I am. Even though my family may make me mad, I'm still super lucky to have them. In the letter Raskolnikov's mom sent in the beginning, she wrote that they hadn't talked for 2 months by letter. They had no contact what so ever. This does affect Raskolnikov in which he becomes ill from his head and mind. The closest to a mother figure is Nastasya and only because she brings him food because she is servant of the landlady. I would not prevail with my studies and life if I didn't have my family like Raskolnikov .