Preview

Links Between Crime and Punishment and a Doll's House

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1343 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Links Between Crime and Punishment and a Doll's House
There are many links between Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and A Doll's House, by Henrik Isben. Each character goes through many ironic situations. Throughout both of the works all three types of irony are used. In this essay irony is going to be used to link the two works together. Dramatic, situational, and verbal irony are going to be used to link the two works together.<br><br>Dramatic irony is used throughout Crime and Punishment. The reader knows that Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov killed the pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna, and her sister, Lizaveta Ivanovna. A quote to support this is,<br><br>"He took the axe right out, swung it up in both hands, <br><br>barely conscious of what he was doing, and almost without effort, almost effort, almost mechanically, brought the butt of it down on the old woman's head." (Dostoyevsky 114)<br><br>No one in the novel knows who killed the pawnbroker and her sister except for Raskolnikov. The police officer, Porfiry Petrovitch, suspects that Raskolnikov killed the pawnbroker and her sister but he cannot prove it.<br><br>The reader also knows that Luzhin puts money in Sofya Semyonovna Marmeladov's pocket when she is not looking. After Sofya, whose nickname is Sonia, finishes talking to Luzhin she leaves. Sonia has no idea that Luzhin has put money into her pocket. Raskolnikov's friend, Andrei Semyonovitch Lebezyatnikov, was present when all of that takes place. "All of this was observed by Andrei Semyonovich." (Dostoyevsky 460) Luzhin goes to a reception for Sonia's father, Semyon Zakharovitch Marmeladov, and announces that Sonia is a thief. Sonia immediately denies the accusation. Luzhin tells her to look in her pocket. Sure enough the money that he was missing was there. Luzhin wants Sonia to marry him but she does not love him. Luzhin plans to blackmail Sonia into marrying him. Lebezyatnikov steps in to save the day when he says, "I saw it. I saw it.... And even though it's against my convictions, I would be

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Crime and Punishment

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Punishment is defined as the infliction of a penalty for an offense. The novel Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky took place in St. Petersburg, Russia, mid 1860s. The main character, Raskolnikov, committed the murder of a pawn broker and her sister which he became ill with guilt. He is accused as the murderer but denied it until the end where he eventually confessed and was sent to Siberia. In the novel, Raskolnikov had an unbearable amount of guilt, faced punishment by imprisonment, and gave his heart to God for forgiveness. Conflicts he was put through helped illuminate the meaning of the novel: For all crimes, there will be punishment.…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment centers on Raskolnikov, a man who chooses to murder a common pawnbroker while he struggles with guilt, alienation, and pride. The choice to commit murder creates a division between Raskolnikov and society because he violates the moral laws governing society. In Crime and Punishment, the rift between Raskolnikov and society is both alienating and enriching for his character and demonstrates Dostoevsky’s opinion of an individual’s place in society.…

    • 899 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The novel “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky centers around the character Raskolnikov, his murder of two women, and the subsequent consequences he faces. William Faulkner’s short stories “Barn Burning” and “A Rose for Emily” deal with similar topics, such as the nature of what can be considered immoral, and the overall effect that these immoral actions can have on a person. The protagonists of each story deals with the consequences of moral transgressions, but it is shown that the true nature of their character extends beyond what is quantifiable by their actions alone. By using ambiguity, conflict, and characterization, “Crime and Punishment”, “Barn Burning”, and “A Rose for Emily” provide a commentary on the uncertainty that can…

    • 1279 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel, Crime and Punishment, riddles its characters with physical, sexual, and psychological violence. Thomas C. Foster asserts in the chapter “More than it’s Going to Hurt You: Concerning Violence” of How to Read Literature like a Professor that no violence exists for its own sake; Rather, violence is useful in contributing to the novel’s overall message. Crime and Punishment is powerful demonstrating the control of conscience, guilt and otherwise, over the life of man. Quite typically violence erupts due to a sick combination of id and ego. The relationship between Semyon Zaharovitch Marmeladov, a town drunk of St. Petersburg, and his children and spouse, Katerina Ivanovna, is built upon a myriad of violence catalyzed by guilt. This relationship is the quintessence of lives tyrannized by guilt resulting in a vicious circle of ferocity.…

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    People often judge others based on physical appearances, such as what they wear or how they style their hair. The style and condition of their home and room can also reveal their character, as homes are the place where people spend most of their time. In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel titled Crime and Punishment, translated by David McDuff, the author includes descriptions of rooms to influence the reader’s interpretation of the characters. Specifically, Dostoevsky reveals the characters by describing the furnishing and size of the rooms of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, the protagonist, Sonya Marmeladov, the prostitute, Alyona Ivanovna, the pawnbroker, and Porfiry Petrovitch, the police inspector. In Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky reveals…

    • 1310 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Doll's House Analysis

    • 1871 Words
    • 8 Pages

    1. Two examples of literature that share the theme of relationships are William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” and Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll House.” Although there is a love relationship between Emily Grierson and Homer Barron in the story “A Rose for Emily,” a deeper relationship exists between Emily and the town she lived in. An unsound relationship between the town and Emily is seen throughout the story. We learn about the connection between the town and Emily in the first line of the story as the unnamed narrator tells us “When Miss Emily Grierson died, out whole town went to her funeral” (516). We also learn in the first line that the town had different feelings towards Emily and the men and women…

    • 1871 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, the protagonist in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment is a penniless Russian ex-student who undergoes a psychological breakdown which lead to him committing the murder of his landlord Alyona Ivanovna and her sister Lizaveta Ivanovna. In the novel the numbers two, four and eight represent Raskolnikov’s attempt to achieve redemption. While the ages of Raskolnikov and Sonya, Raskolnikov’s love interest, reveal the current mental state and relationship between the characters. Also, the small amount of pension which Raskolnikov’s mother, Pulkheria receives indirectly affects Raskolnikov. The use of specific numbers in relation to age, details, and financial status correlate with the different psychological…

    • 1407 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Landlady and Crime & Punishment are titled specifically so the authors can introduce and link the themes of the text. Dahl deliberately used the vague title ‘The Landlady’ to evoke the reader’s interest. Before the story begins we are already curious to know who this female character may be and what she is capable of. The title ‘The landlady’ serves a strong relationship with the plot of the story. Ulman used the title ‘Crime & Punishment’, which makes the reader assume that the genre of the story is crime, but this is not so. There is ‘crime and punishment’ in the narrative, but it is metaphorical.…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The two sharply contrasted settings in Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky are symbolic of how turbulent Raskolinikov’s mind becomes after he murders Alyona Ivanov. In the bustling and disgusting Saint Petersburg, Raskolinikov has to suddenly battle the guilt that comes with Alyona’s demise yet once Raskolinikov confesses to his crime and serves his sentence in the lonely and removed Siberia; his mind relaxes. Similar to The Stranger, most of Crime and Punishment takes place during the summer, when the hot sun muddles Raskolinikov’s mind as it did to Meursaults’s. While Meursault uses the sun as an excuse to why he committed murder, Raskolinikov tried to justify his actions to Sonya; but ultimately Raskolinikov definitely comprehended his own guilt and spent most of the novel attempting to ease his shame.…

    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” often alludes to the still-blossoming ideas of moral relativism, especially concerning a conversation that acts as a precursor to Raskolnikov's crime. Within this dispute between two men in a bar, they discuss a woman, Alyona Ivanovna, and her sister Lizaveta: one states that the world would be better off without Alyona, who continuously beats her sister and “wearing out the lives of others”, and the other states that there is a natural order to the world. The man against Alyona declares, “A hundred thousand good deeds could be done and helped, on that old woman’s money….kill her, take her money… would not one tiny crime be wiped out by thousands of good deeds?” (Dostoevsky, 67). In this, we see two sides to one’s moral compass: one harvests the idea that the killing of Alyona is completely justified due to the fact that she is greedy and spiteful towards others, especially her kind, gentle sister.…

    • 909 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Nobody, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in contrary direction at the time.” (Laurence Sterne) In Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, it is this exact miscalculation that leads the protagonist Raskolnikov (Rodya) to his ultimate mental, physical and social demise. Similarly, the theme of the novel directly correlates to Sterne’s quote, as Dostoyevsky delves into the psychology of a criminal, centering the novel on a murder and its after-affects on the transgressor.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A Doll's House Thesis

    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages

    First of all, I would like to state that you have a great start here. I think that you are doing great with the analysis. The thesis statement is clearly defined, making the argument very clear throughout your essay. I think you essay stays very focused on the agreement made in the thesis. The way you summarized the song “Goodbye Earl” is very well written, of course “A Doll’s House” summary needs a bit more information but you stated that already. I think you should make another paragraph comparing and contrasting both the song and the play. I believe adding that paragraph it will make readers have a better understanding of your side of argument. There are a few spelling and grammar errors made throughout your rough draft.…

    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen, portrays a young married woman, Nora, who plays a dramatic role of deception and self-indulgence. The author creates a good understanding of a woman’s role by assuming Nora is an average housewife who does not work; her only job is to maintain the house and raise the children like a stereotypical woman that cannot work or help society. In reality, she is not an average housewife in that she has a hired maid who deals with the house and children. Although Ibsen focuses on these “housewife” attributes, Nora’s character is ambitious, naive, and somewhat cunning. She hides a dark secret from her husband that not only includes borrowing money, but also forgery. Nora’s choices were irrational; she handled the situations very poorly in this play by keeping everything a secret. The way that women were viewed in this time period created a barrier that she could not overcome. The decisions that had the potential to be good were otherwise molded into appalling ones. Women should have just as many rights as men and should not be discriminated by gender; but they should also accept consequences in the same way without a lesser or harsher punishment.…

    • 3445 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment is a psychologically charged novel in which the primary element that plagues the protagonist, Rodion Raskolnikov, is not a person but rather an idea; his own idea. Raskolnikov has an unhealthy obsession with rendering himself into what he perceives as the ideal, supreme human being, an übermensch. Raskolnikov forms for himself a theory in which he will live purely according to his own will and transcend the social norms and moralities that dominate society. Raskolnikov suggests that acts commonly regarded as immoral are to be reserved for a certain rank of “extraordinary” men. Raskolnikov’s faith in his theory is put to the test when he meets a man that is utterly amoral, seemingly unrepentant, and the very epitome of his “extraordinary” man, Arkady Ivanovitch Svidrigaïlov.…

    • 1409 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Dostoyevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment the main character plots and carries out the murder of an old woman who has a considerable amount of money in her apartment. After killing the old women, he steals her money and argues that she was a malicious women; useless to society and herself. He goes on to state that the old women’s life causes no happiness to her or to others. For the old women’s money; the main character argues that if found after her death, the money would only fall into the hands of chisellers anyway, whereas he would use it to pay for his education. In terms of main stream society, Dostoyevsky’s main characters’ action more likely than not wouldn’t be proven ethically justifiable, but according to the moral standard of Utilitarianism the reason behind the main characters plot can be justifiable whereas the concept of Wickedness purposed by Stanley Ben clearly states the main character actions where evil and unethical.…

    • 614 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics