Alex's Comment to Isa's Reaction

     Isa, I agree that Raskolnikov’s deteriorated mental state is caused by the paranoia of the police, however, did you notice that guilt does not play a part in the fragility of his psyche? His thoughts turn into muttering, which is witnessed by many who mistake him for a homeless man. Not only do the characters in the novel notice his delusional behavior, but he points it out himself. I understand why you might not think he is a lost cause, but I definitely feel like he needs a lot more than just realizing he is living the consequences of his crime to help this case. His lack of remorse is a huge factor in his sociopathic behavior, so I would not disregard that. Do you find it strange that Raskolnikov finds it hard to witness violence, yet he is able to murder and feel no remorse towards it? Taking this into account, it is hard for me to believe that he is not a hopeless cause. I see the correlation you made between witnessing violence and acting upon it. I am anticipating to see whether he will commit another crime or whether the novel will continue to express the corruption of his mental state. 

Part 2, Ch.1&2 Reaction

     Chapter one of part two initiates with the paranoid Raskolnikov being haunted by his crime. Overtaken by feelings of paranoia, I am wondering whether he feels any guilt towards the murders he committed in the previous chapters. He seems so engrossed in leaving everything completely spotless that he becomes physically ill and even questions if he has gone insane. Raskolnikov is so hardened by the murders that a crime such as refusing to pay the landlady seems trivial to him. When Raskolnikov is confronted by the police, I was surprised to see how well he kept it together. During the confrontation, we gained insight as to why Raskolnikov is living where he is. 

     It seems like he is reaching a breaking point in his mental state. Something about his past that has not been mentioned, is definitely playing a role in why left home, why he committed the murders and is a contribution to his personality as a whole. Being so out of touch with reality has caused him to become overwhelmed and non functional. Things that were of value to him, such as money or friends are no longer important; he seems to be deteriorated. After the encounter with Razumihin and throwing the money into the river, Raskolnikov has officially isolated his former life and the people in it. 

     He is so physically ill and paralyzed by his own paranoia that he literally passes out whenever he feels threatened. I think we are now witnessing the “punishment” to Raskolnikov’s crime. It is not so that he consumed by guilt, but it his own psyche tormenting him for it. 

Comment on Ryan's post

Ryan,

I also predicted that part two would start out just as it did. It is common for human beings to experience guilt after a crime has been committed. Although, I did not expect Raskolnikov to experience this to the extent that he did. I view him as someone who does not concern himself with his actions or how others see him. It is shocking to see this since it is the first time he has shown a concern for the way that people view him. I also noticed that he does not blatantly state that he feels bad about what he did. However, I believe that the illness he experiences is reminiscent of his guilt. His guilt has driven him to madness and this has lead to illness. 

I agree that Raskolnikov's sole concern is himself. With respect to this, he does everything in his power to conceal the evidence of the murder he has just committed. He even freaks out when he suspects that he has not completed the job in a satisfactory way. This delirium leads him to also believe that the police already suspect him. Like you said, it was definitely too soon for the police to catch him. This assumption was a direct result of his guilt that he feels but does not show. When he faints at the police station, he is interrogated because the police begin to suspect his guilt. This is another instance that reveals that the illness has everything to do with his guilt. 

Keri Shapiro 

Comment on Keri's Post

Keri,
I agree with you on the point that these chapters clearly demonstrate how much of an emotional toll these murders have taken on Raskolnikov. It's ironic that he, the killer, is experiencing such a range of feelings. It shows me that he isn't completely coldblooded. You mentioned that he is experiencing an immense amount of guilt. I agree that guilt plays a part in his unraveling emotions, but I'm not sure if it is all guilt. It could either be simply regret, or anxiety at being caught? I'm not really sure what is it, but I think it is a mixture of a whole bunch of emotions. Guilt could definitely be one of them, but I feel that this character inst evolved or sympathetic enough to feel that gut-wrenching, debilitating guilt you talked about earlier.

Part 2 (Ch. 1 & 2) Reaction

        Chapter one of part two begins with demonstrating the fragility of Raskolnikov's psyche. His thoughts are frantic and erratic as he tries to clear the evidence of his murder as well as paranoid about cops coming to search his room. He then wonders aloud if he's insane. I know I've said before that I think this character is unhinged mentally but hearing himself doubt his own sanity makes me think otherwise. There's no doubt that he has some mental problems, but the fact that he has the capacity to actually question if hes sound of mind shows me that he isn't a lost a cause. He also questions whether his "punishment" has already begun, so he knows the severity of what he has done. Many "psychopaths" often go on killing sprees, because aside from lack of remorse, they feel invincible and don't recognize that there will be some sort of consequence. Raskolnikov does in fact know that punishment one way or another is waiting for him, so I ,once again, do not think this character is a one dimensional sociopathic misfit.
             The beating of the landlady at the end of chapter two was sort of strange to read. I as the reader don't think Raskolnikov "hallucinated" the incident, but it was interesting to read that he felt he couldn't move at the sight. In fact, he curled into fetal position and was in horrific pain at the sight. Why? Obviously, it was a horrible scene to witness, but lets not forget, this man just killed two women brutally. Why is his reaction so pained and vulnerable? Is it just the result of a fragile state because of the guilt he feels from killing those two women? The sensation he felt at witnessing other's pain reminded me of the dream he had about the horse. But after being disgusted at the horse's pain, Raskolnikov woke up and committed murder. I hope he doesn't do another extreme act after seeing the brutal beating the landlady took.

Ryan's Response to Keri's Post

Keri,

While I agree with you that Raskolnikov is not thinking clearly, I do not believe that his mistakes were purposeful.  He seems to have a lack of energy, probably from his physical and emotional exertion from the night of the murders.  He intended to kill only the Alyona and used massive amounts of energy strategizing and preparing.  After he killed Alyona, her sister Lizaveta showed up and he brutally murdered her.  If that was not enough, in his haste, he left the door open and nearly was caught at the scene. I am not clear about your reference to illness- are you referring to his mental illness or his physical symptoms?  Personally, I do not find this is the cause of his failure to hide the items he took or make sure his clothes were free from blood.  I believe that the roller coaster  of emotions  he experienced and the decisions he made during the days that led up to the murders and during the events that followed wore him out to the point of exhaustion and led to his potentially disastrous errors.

Ryan Pearson

Part two: chapters 1 and 2 reaction

In the next section of "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky, readers see just how much guilt can play a role in the aftermath of a crime. Raskolnikov has just murdered two women and this begins to have a huge effect on him. He becomes ill and falls unconscious multiple times. What he most likely does not realize is that this directly correlates with the guilt he feels. I believe that he feels so guilty about his actions that he has driven himself to an inescapable stupor. It was shocking to see that in spite of this illness, Raskolnikov was able to walk miles and miles to and from the police office. When I am sick, I can barely get out of bed let alone walk a distance like that. In fact, I do not even know if I can walk that far in a perfectly healthy state. In this way, his proceedings were a complete anomaly to me.

Raskolnikov then finds himself making deliberate mistakes when it comes to hiding the evidence of the murder. He realizes that he has not concealed the blood stains as a result of his delirium. He ends up finding a way to properly conceal this evidence but I believe that this illness will drive him to later reveal the whereabouts of these items. Whether it be through someone else coming across them or him unconsciously telling the police, someone will eventually find these since in my opinion, he did not hide them very well. We will just have to see what happens in the upcoming chapters.

Part II Chapters 1 and 2 Reaction

Part II starts out like I thought it would.  Raskolnikov experiences a full range of emotional states as he worries about the murders and is consumed with whether or not he will get caught.  Telling, the one emotion missing is remorse as he never reaches the point of thinking about how horrific his actions were.  As we saw in Part I, Raskolnikov is primarily concerned about one thing:  Raskolnikov. Throughout chapter one he is consumed with making sure there are no real links or clues that he was responsible for the murders.  He frantically examines his clothes for blood stains and panics that his senses of self-preservation are failing him.  At one point he opines that he is starting an “insufferable torture” and is sure that his “punishment” is coming upon him.  When he receives a summons to the police station, I knew it couldn’t be for the murders-it was simply too soon.  I guess Dostoevsky wanted to inject into the story additional fragments about the poverty and economic struggles of Raskolnikov (and the people who live in St. Petersburg) and provide a reason for him to cross paths with the police.  While at the police station responding to the summons for his delinquent rent payments, he overhears two employees discussing the murders.  He struggles to leave but faints.  He becomes the focus of the attention at the police stations and is barraged with a series of questions. It seems an odd twist to me that Raskolnikov ends up at the police station for a rent dispute and becomes the suspect in the double murder. Anyway, I imagine that the upcoming chapters will concentrate on the police investigation and any links they develop with Raskolnikov.  Fairly straightforward reading this week.  

Ryan Pearson 

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