Getting ready for Friday's essay

Assembly schedule Friday will make for a shorter period than I'd hoped for. Still, you'll have the entire time to plan and write your essay. Review your notes and bring them with you—you'll turn them in with your essay. Besides that, I recommend you re-read the last chapter of Part 6 (chapter 8) as well as the epilogue. And don't forget to bring your book!

Prompt for Monday, 4/27 — Deadline 8 p.m. Tuesday

In Heart of Darkness, Marlow's descriptions of Kurtz include the following: “a wandering and tormented thing”, someone whose words were like “phrases spoken in nightmares”, someone who “had no restraint, no faith”, whose “soul was mad”, someone who “struggled, struggled”. Think back to the nightmare-like atmosphere that suffused Heart of Darkness, then read again the description of Rodya's last dream (6 pages from the end of the novel, p. 547 P/V version, paragraph beginning “He lay in the hospital all through the end of Lent…” and ending with “…had heard their words or voices.” Both Rodion and Kurtz engage in interior battles fought between their inner goodness and their desire to “step over”, to be “supermen”. Crime and Punishment, however, ends with a powerful feeling of hope and redemption, whereas Heart of Darkness ends with impenetrable darkness. How can we better understand Raskolnikov's redemption through the tragedy of Kurtz? (As always,  support your opinions.)

Prompt and homework 4/23 — Deadline 8 pm Sunday

Homework: With the exception of Luzhin, most of the characters in the novel in one way or another are drawn to Raskolnikov. Some, like Razumikhin, Sonya, Dunya and Pulcheria, are devoted to him. Svidrigailov is fascinated by, and in his turn fascinates, Raskolnikov. Porfiry suspends his sardonic manner and professes a desire to help, even save, the young man.

Choose two characters and ascertain what it is that draws them to him. Come prepared with notes and marked passages to support your analysis.

Prompt:  Why does Raskolnikov reject his family's and Razumikhin's attempts to solace and comfort him? Why, when they are at their most loving, does he express his most virulent feelings of hatred for them? Support your opinion with specific examples/quotes.

Deadline for blog: Wednesday, 7:30 pm

Dear students,

So that I can read your comments before class, I'm setting the deadline you see above. I'll also be checking to see that you come to Thursday's class well-prepared for discussion. Crime & Punishment is just too big a novel for you to find passages on the fly during class. So, as I said in the earlier post, come to class with your notes along with marked passages. We'll have a much better time of it if you do. 

Prompt and homework -- 4/20

1. For class on Thursday: We will focus on the theories debated in the novel. Review the discussion between Porfiry and Raskolnikov about Rodya’s article (Part 3, ch. 5, 258-265 in Pevear/Volkonsky) as well as the conversation between Lebeziatnikov & Luzhin (Part 5, ch. 1, 363-371 P/V) and Raskolnikov's interior dialogue (near the end of part three, ch. 6, right before his dream about the old crone, 274-275 P/V).  Come to class with notes and passages marked.

 

2. Prompt: From the murders forward, Raskolnikov spins a web in which he is himself trapped. And he is, in his more lucid moments, well aware of the trap: he even says that he "turned spiteful . . . Then I hid in my corner like a spider."

Yet of all the characters, Porfiry is the one who seems most "spiderlike" as he skillfully maneuvers Raskolnikov during their encounters. Nevertheless, Porfiry also has keen insight into Raskolnikov. When he finally confronts the young man in part six, chapter 2, Porfiry tells Rodya: "Do you know how I regard you? I regard you as one of those men who could have their guts cut out, and would stand and look at his torturers with a smile -- provided he's found faith, or God"

Discuss what Porfiry means by these words. Notice that he does not say "faith in God", but "faith, or God" (part 6, ch. 2, 3 pages from the end of the chapter, 460 in P/V).

Prepare Yourself for the In-Class Essay on Monday

No blog prompt this weekend. Enjoy your time whatever you do, but don't completely neglect your thematic study of Crime & Punishment. Polish up your notes, too.  We're going to write an essay Monday, and notes are not only allowed but encouraged!

C & P prompt #4 & homework assignment

1. For the next class we will be focusing on Dostoevsky's treatment of women, particularly Sonya & Dunya. Come prepared with specific passages marked that shed light on these women.

2. Go to Part Three, Chapter One, about six pages in (202 in Pevear/Volkonsky) and find the paragraph that begins, "What do you think?" Razumikhin shouted, raising his voice even more. "You think it's because they are lying?" Read from the line, "I like it when people lie!" through about a page and a half, ending with "Pyotr Petrovich . . . is not on a noble path."

Deceit abounds in C & P, and Rodya seems to have more than a little Hamlet in him. What do you make of this dialogue with Razumikhin? How does lying lead to truth in this novel? Cite specific passages/details to support your ideas.

C & P prompt #3 & homework assignment

1. WELCOME BACK MR. DUNCAN!

2. For the next two or three discussions the focus will be on characters who serve as foils/doubles to Raskolnikov and/or as representatives of particular "types" or "theories". Without running to Google or Cliff's Notes or whatever your crutch of choice might be, choose a character who you think serves as a double or foil to Raskolnikov. Find a list of passages that reveal that character and be ready to support your reasoning (FYI: I have 17 just for Svidrigailov). Be sure to take down these notes and be ready for the discussion. As you will recall, Mr. Duncan will be collecting all your notes at the end of the unit for a truckload of points (no, we haven't decided how many) and evaulating your blog responses as well as your in-class participation.

3. For the blog: Discuss Marmeladov. Some critics say he serves as a type of foil to Raskolnikov, others that he is a representative of a "type", others that he represents a major theme of the novel. What do YOU think? Look again at the discussion with Raskolnikov in the tavern (ch. 2), beginning with paragraph 7: "My dear sir," he began almost solemnly, "poverty is no vice . . . " on through the point where they leave the tavern. As always, support your ideas -- don't make Mr. Duncan get out his hip boots to wade through your post.

4. p.s. For those of you out there who haven't finished reading the book and are winging it: Be scholars. You will discover great joy and form all kinds of powerful synapses in those massive brains by sinking your teeth into a novel with this depth. You short-change yourself, your classmates, and Mr. Duncan when you phone it in. This is our last big unit--be with us fully by Tuesday!

5. How about sending Mr. Puterbaugh a thank-you note for all the time he has devoted to you!

6. I'm sorry about Mr. Duncan's knees, but glad I had a chance to get to know you, if ever so slightly. -- Mrs. M

Crime & Punishment blog prompt #2 April 7

Why did Raskolnikov murder the pawnbroker? Support your responses with evidence from the novel please.

Crime & Punishment Prompt 1-- April 3

Use your computer skills and do some research about the history, design, climate, and topography of St. Petersburg. Why do you think Dostoevsky set this novel in this particular city?