Essay Prompts for Crime and Punishment

All of these prompts plus the A.P. prompt are mandatory.

To aid you in your reading of Crime and Punishment, you might want to refer to the Crime and Punishment and Dostoevsky links on this blog.



Crime and Punishment Essay #1:

“No Place to Turn”; page 10 (Norton Edition)

Due January 13th on turnitin.com; however, you may turn it in any time before January 13th. 

On page ten in CRIME and Punishment, the motif of hopelessness, of “no place to turn” is introduced. The motif of utter spiritual loneliness tolls throughout the passage as Raskolnikov, this strange isolated youth sits in a tavern with a pathetic, broken down old drunk who pours out the sordid details of his life. 

Please write a minimum 500 word analysis of how the story of Marmeladov and his daughter is an example of the Utilitarian Theory and of its failure. (Refer to the upload on the blog regarding Mills and Bentham and the “Utilitarian Theory”.)

Crime and Punishment Essay #2:

“The Motif of Yellow” 

Due January 13th on turnitin.com; however, you may turn it in any time before January 13th. 

Please write a minimum 250 word analysis of the color yellow and how it is used in CRIME and PUNISHMENT. Reference when it is used to describe a person, a place or an object and the symbolic, metaphoric meaning of its use. Please read up to page 53; Part 1; Chapter 6.

Crime and Punishment Essay #3:

“The Nightmare of the Beating of the Mare” 

Part One; Chapter Five; Pages 46 - 50 (Norton Edition)

Due January 13th on turnitin.com; however, you may turn it in any time before January 13th. 

Please write a minimum 250 word analysis of Raskolnikov’s nightmare of the torture and killing of the old mare. Be sure to analyze how each component of the dream - the mare, the little boy, the little boy’s father, and the drunken owner of the mare - may be seen as an aspect of Raskolnikov. 

Crime and Punishment Essay #4:

“The Soldier and the Student”; pages 53 - 57 (Norton Edition)

Due January 13th on turnitin.com; however, you may turn it in any time before January 13th.

Please write a minimum of 250 word analysis of page 53 – 57, the scene in the tavern of a conversation, overheard by Raskolnikov,  between a student and a soldier about the wretched old pawn broker. Analyze how this relates to the Utilitarian Theory. The Utilitarian Theory is that one can use a mathematical formula to determine and guarantee a society's happiness: the happiness of the many can be gained at the expense of the few. There are also elements in this scene which relate to Raskolnikov's growing superstitions regarding the signs and omens he sees exhorting him to take the bold step into becoming the “Ubermensche”. 

Crime and Punishment Essay #5:

“Delirium”; 

Due January 20th on turnitin.com; however, you may turn it in any time before January 20th. 

Minimum of 500 word analysis. 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 Svidrigaylov commits suicide.  What does Dostoevsky seem to be saying about Raskolnikov and the idea that he is an ubermensche? What does Dostoevsky seem to be saying about the character of both Raskolnikov and Svidrigaylov? Do these character’s delirious states support or refute Nietzche’s ideas of the ubermensche? Why or why not? Give supporting details from the text. 

Crime and Punishment Essay #6

“Katerina” 

Due January 20th on turnitin.com; however, you may turn it in any time before January 20th. 

Minimum of 500 word analysis.  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. Examine Katerina’s fate - how much of her fate is a result of her decisions (free will) and how much of her fate is beyond her control?  Does the fall of Katerina prove or disprove the effectiveness of the Utilitarian Theory. Give specific examples of where it’s proven or disproven. Who steps in after Katerina’s death to help the orphans? Why is this ironic? Do you believe this person’s decision to help the family entirely altruistic? Why or why not? 

Crime and Punishment Essay #7

“The Cross” 

Due January 20th on turnitin.com; however, you may turn it in any time before January 20th. 

Minimum of 250 word analysis.  Examine the symbolism of the cross, specifically the scene in which Sonia gives Raskolnikov the cross, which ironically once belonged to Lizaveta, and when she sends him to confess and urges him to bow down and kiss the ground in humility at the crossroads. 

Crime and Punishment Essay #8

"Svidrigailov's Suicide" 

Please read carefully the following prompt and then write a well organized essay which examines Dostoevsky’s use of imagery, symbolism and motif to create the internal landscape of the character.

A thick milky mist covered the city. Svidrigaylov walked along slippery, greasy, wooden pavement towards the Little Neva. His mind still held the illusory vision of its waters rising in flood during the night, and pictured Petrovsky Island, the wet paths, the soaking grass, the dripping trees and bushes, and at last that one bush...In an effort to think of something else, he looked disapprovingly at the houses. The avenue was empty of cabs and passersby. The little bright-yellow wooden houses, with their closed shutters, looked dirty and dejected. The cold and damp were penetrating his whole body and making him shiver. Occasionally, he came across signs outside little shops and market-gardens, and he conscientiously read each one. The wooden pavement had come to an end, and he was passing a large stone building. A dirty, shivering cur, with its tail between its legs, crossed his path. A man in a greatcoat lay, dead-drunk, face down on the pavement; he passed him and went on. A tall watchtower caught his eye on the left. “Bah!” he thought. “This is a good enough place; why do to Petrovsky? At least, there will be an official witness...” He almost smiled at this new idea and turned in S. street. Here stood the large building with the watch tower. Near the big closed gates a little man, wrapped in a soldier’s grey greatcoat and wearing a copper helmet that made him look like Achilles, was leaning his shoulder against the wall. He looked with sleepy indifference at Svidrigaylov as he approached. His face had the eternal expression of resentful affliction...etched on (his) face. For a short time the two, Svidrigaylov and Achilles, stood contemplating one another in silence. At length Achilles decided that it was out of order for a man who was not drunk to be standing two yards away and staring at him without a word.

“Vell, vot do you vant here already?” he asked, without moving or changing his position.

“Nothing, brother. Good morning to you!” answered Svidrigaylov.

“So go somevere else!”

“I am going to foreign parts, brother!”

“Foreign parts?”

“To America.”

“America?”

Svidrigaylov took out the revolver and cocked it. Achilles raised his eyebrows.

”Vot now, this is not the place for jokes!”

“Why shouldn’t it be?”

“Because it isn’t.”

“Well, brother, it doesn’t matter. It’s a good place...If you are asked, say I said I was off to America.”

He lifted the revolver to his right temple.

“But you can’t do that here! This is not the proper place!”

Achilles, whose eyes had been growing rounder and rounder, started forward.

Svidrigaylov pulled the trigger.

**********

Crime and Punishment Essay 

The Epilogue

The Prompt for the Epilogue:

In the epilogue of CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, Raskolnikov has a disturbing dream in which the worlds’ people are infected with a virus. Discuss the significance of that dream as it pertains to the theme of CRIME AND PUNISHMENT. Discuss also the symbolism used by Dostoevsky in the Epilogue to reveal Raskolnikov’s transformation; for example, the time of year this dream occurs, Lent and Easter, Sonia’s illness and subsequent reappearance. Could Sonia’s reappearance be analogous to Lazarus’ story in the Bible?