Here are the CRIME AND PUNISHMENT prompts. The due dates are listed. Please also go to the next blog posting because the final one is posted there.

Prompts
for CRIME AND PUNISHMENT


1. In a carefully constructed essay, examine the motif of delirium that Dostoevsky uses throughout the story. Note when and how it is used: after Raskolnikov’s commission of the crime, and before Svidrigailov commits suicide. Do these characters’ delirious states support or refute Nietzche’s ideas of the übermensche? Why or why not. Give supporting details from the text.

Essay #1 will be due on Tuesday, April 8th.


2. In a carefully constructed essay, examine the fall of Katerina, her illness, her disastrous wake for her husband, her family’s eviction, and the final scene in the street with her children. Does the fall of Katerina prove or disprove the effectiveness of the Utilitarian Theory? Give specific examples of where it’s proven or disproven. What role - if any - does Raskolnikov play in helping katerina? Who steps in after Katerina’s death to help the orphans? Why is this ironic?

Essay #2 wil be due on Thursday, April 10th.


3. Examine the symbolism of the cross in CRIME AND PUNISHMENT: specifically when Sonia gives Raskolnikov the cross which - ironically once belonged to Lizaveta - and when she tells him to bow down and kiss the ground in humility at the crossroads.

Essay #3 will be due on Monday, April 15th.

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