Consider the setting of chapter 1. Explain in detail aspects of the setting including weather, emotional temperament, etc. How does this contribute to the tone of the novel?
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In the first chapter of Crime and Punishment Raskolnikov was not exactly the most cheery man you would ever meet and he was very reclusive in his ways. He hated to be around people and seemed to have slight psychological problems because he always talked to himself which I believe this adds to the novels tone because when you have a psycho acting guy in the story you know there's a good chance something's going to happen and it isn't good usually. With his weird attitude he creates a dreary and dark tone from the start. Then, his home being so small and run-down along with his debt gives a hopeless feeling. Then the story moves him into the "stench" of his town which is just made worse by the hot July heat. This in itself makes for a horrible setting. Then you add in dark rooms, hopeless debt, and a reclusive guy it sounds like your about to have a serial killer be formed that for some reason I have the feeling wants to kill the old woman and steal her money out of her lockbox, but that's just my suspicions. So all in all we have a very dark and demented tone that you know is just waiting to change into creepy really soon.
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wesley hughes
3/1/2013 11:13:53 pm
I forgot also, what is up with all the yellow in the old woman's house? If I remember right isn't yellow the color of the flowers people bring to funerals or something? If that is right that old woman's house I would think would symbolize a place of death or something, but I'm not totally sure that's right. So inform me if I am correct Mrs. Hulsey please.
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Angela Hatchel
3/1/2013 11:56:51 pm
Dostoevsky first introduces Raskolnikov. Raskolnikov was in "an overstrained irritable condition, verging on hypochondria." (pg. 5) He then goes on to the street and it is there that he is "acutely aware of his fears." (pg. 5) By Dostoevsky's description of Raskolnikov, Raskolnikov seems like an interesting person. Raskolnikov begins to talk to himself as he says that, "I am talking too much. It's because I babble that I do nothing. Or perhaps it is that I babble because I do nothing.." (pg. 6) With him talking to himself, most people would think automatically that he has psychological problem but I beg to differ. Talking to himself might be a way that he expresses himself and gets his thoughts going but it is quite questionable at the same time. All that Dostoevsky has described so far in chapter 1 has contributed to a dreary tone especially when he describes that "nothing could be seen but her little eyes (the woman), glittering in the darkness." (pg. 8) Now I'm hoping the dreary tone picks up into a more happier one as the novel progresses but if it doesn't, it wouldn't surprise me as the novel is called "Crime and PUNISHMENT."
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Laurel Bell
3/3/2013 09:00:22 am
This novel's setting makes me want to jump into the tub and take a bath! Ugh, it's so grimy and filthy; it radiates an impoverished nation. However, the imagery paints an incredible picture! Well not incredible. The slums aren't incredible, but the imagry helps me envision it perfectly. "The heat in the street was terrible... the airlessness... that special Petersburg stench" (pg. 6) transports me directly to a Russian street. It exudes a moroseful and despondent tone. There hasn't been glimmery of sunshine yet.
I have to agree with Wesley and Angela. Raskolnikov is one interesting cat. And I sense a bit of pyschological instability too. He doesn't like to be around much company. In fact, he "dreaded meeting not only his landlady, but anyone at all." (pg. 5) It's safe to say he is not a social butterfly and possesses introverted qualities. But what emits a mental imbalance are his constant conversations with himself. I'll admit, I talk to my self occasionally, but he has surpassed occasional. "Yes, my hat is too noticeable... It looks absurd and that makes it too noticeable." (pg. 7) Whatever the case, he seems to be highly intelligent and street smart young man!
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Clara Grace
3/4/2013 11:19:59 am
The novel is introduced "on an exceptionally hot evening day in July." (pg. 5) Summer represents a time for a new life. Yet, in this setting much like the fatal day in The Great Gatsby, this heat proves to be uncomfortable and stifling. Raskolnikov seems to move through life unwilling to make a difference. He walks the streets "successfully avoiding" (pg. 5) all he meets. He is dressed in rags, unsuitable for even the poorest people. He is in an "over strained irritable condition." (pg. 5) This is a parallelism to the summer. Too much heat can leave a person in a horrid mood and state of mind; wanting only to escape to a cooler place. Raskolnikov's thoughts seem very jumbled, yet when he does speak, it is clear that he is an educated man, hiding under the false pretenses of a beggar.
The picture of Russia is presented in the filth of the streets, where "a drunken man" (pg. 7) is being dragged off and the "unbearable stench from the taverns" are filled with men who "completed the revolting misery of the picture." (pg. 6) This beginning chapter sets up an abrasive and rash tone which creates a suffocating atmosphere. In this, the reader feels the haphazard nature of Raskolnikov and the slyness that resides within him.
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Jacora Smart
3/4/2013 12:47:40 pm
Crime and Punishment starts off with a very dreary, dismal setting which frames the somber tone of this story. The narrator describes on a “hot evening early in July” how he is “crushed by poverty (and)… anxieties…” (pg. 5) The heat of the day parallels the heated despair the narrator is suffering within his personal life. These descriptions have a smoldering effect on the reader which further contributes to the stifling tone of the novel. A hint of irony is shown also when the narrator exhibits a somewhat baffled tone when he experiences “a happier frame of mind…” (pg. 12) The irony is found in the fact that the happiness, an emotion that is generally viewed to be vied for and positive, is grotesquely foreign to the narrator. It is uncommon and somewhat unsettling for the reader to realize that the narrator is buried so deeply in the murkiness and depth of his negativity that experiencing happiness “was also not normal" for the narrator. (pg. 12) How is this possible? Why would the narrator have an opposite reaction to a positive emotion? The details and obscure emotions embedded in Crime and Punishment’s first chapter ensures a tone that is somewhat haunting to slowly, almost seethingly, grasp the reader’s attention.
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Molly Williams
4/7/2013 12:03:06 pm
The imagery used to express the setting, sets the tone as well, by visually placing the reader in the novel itself to show you what is happening. Such as in the beginning, the dreary setting of the dusty town, and Raskolnikov dressed in rags sets the tone of the hardships in life. I have realized that everything that begins off with detailed images I can expect to see the shift in tone or even visualize myself what is about to happen. Others may think of the sharp images to be more of a confusing addition to the book, but I believe this is where Dostoevsky's brilliance begins, because he uses a physiological structure that actually helps your mind connect with what is coming directly from his mind, like we are sitting where he was when he began to write. The details help to create a fresh image of what is happening, making what he writes more personal because even though the book is older, it feels like I am in the book with the characters if that makes sense. (: