Crime and Punishment: Chapter One
We all know that the beginning of the book, "Crime and Punishment," moves rather slow. But, there is only one issue brought forth in this chapter, and that is the revelation of the main character, Raskolnikov, who is depicted as an extremely proud, contemptuous, emotionally detached character in somewhat of a "semi-delirious mental state of mind; in fact, the reason he remains somewhat "detached" remains to be an important question throughout the rest of the novel.
Question: what is the conflict depicted in this first chapter? Is it Internal of External? What is the conflict all about?
Question: what is important about the character, Alyona Ivanovna? Is there a distinct difference between the two characters that are depicted in this chapter, i.e., Raskolnikov and Alyona Ivanovna?
Question: what is important about Raskolnikov's innocence? Does the author first display him as an innocent person? Why? At what point in the chapter is his innocence lost or questioned? Does it have anything to do with his entering the Tavern?
There is an extreme degree of paradox between the main character and the way he dresses as compared to the people he sees, who are mainly dressed in the same sort of clothes as he is dressed in. This has an important bearing on the character's thoughts about the people who live in shabby apartments and other domains throughout the novel, but moreso in the first chapter. Does this have anything to do with the character's feeling of contemptuousness?
In this first chapter, the narrator states that the main character, Roskolnikov, "had fallen into a state of nervous depression akin to hypochondria." Within this realm of the character, he generally 'avoids other people.' Why is this important, or is it important?. This most likely has something to do with the fact that he remains to himself particularly throughout at least this chapter and that he explains his thoughts through either other people, or through the narrator. This makes the novel that much more difficult to follow and understand.
Question Why did Roskolnikov "need" to steal the "stuff" from "the old lady?" Was there a need specified in the first chapter?
There are some interesting facts about Roskolnikov: His name is also Rodya and Rodka, as "nicknames." The name, in Russian, actually means "schismatic" or "divided," and the name is derived from the Russian word, raskolnik. It's interesting, I think, to note that while "Rodya" is a proud, tall indivdual with good looks, he lives in a rather delapitated environment, and he walks around the city in a set of rags. But for the fact that he is a "former" student, and he no longer has any lessons to provide to other students, he is about 4 months behind in his rent, which also explains why he lives in the situation in which we find him in the first chapter.
