"Crime and Punishment" Second-Half Test Review Questions

What, ultimately, facilitates Raskolnikov's psychological and spiritual rebirth?

A love for a human being, where any sacrifice is permitted. He loves Sonia as she loves him.

What is Luzhin's motivation for slander?

By exposing Sonia to be a thief, he will raise himself and the wisdom of his recent decisions in Dunia's eyes (278-279).

What does the narrator mean by "that special pride of the poor"?

Certain social rituals ad expectations are the great levelers. The destitute spend their last pennies to appear no worse than others, to avoid the criticism of the very people they want to impress (262-263).

What investigative trick does Raskolnikov claim he's wise to? What are some of the psychological tricks Porfiry plays to get Raskolnikov to lose his temper?

Common practice is to start off with something irrelevant to divert the person you are interrogating (like the comments about the "official apartment"), and then hit them with a crucial and dangerous question. He deliberately, and in a prolonged way, laughs in his face. He acts as if he's got nothing to interrogate him about, when both know Porfiry suspects him. Porfiry patronizes Rask: calls him old man, intelligent, says look at the articles you've published. Porfiry even gloats that he is always watching, has evidence, etc. Attacks Rask's ego and then he provides him with an alibi: you're delirious. He says a guilty man would hide things, but Rask confesses them (233-238).

What does Svidrigailov do that facilities Katherine Ivanovna's orphans being placed into better homes?

Destitute orphans are much harder to place than orphans who have some money entrusted to them.

What generally sets off Katherine Ivanovna's mad fits? What sends Katherine flinging herself onto Amalia Ivanovna?

Dissonance—anything outside of peace and joy, any slight failure or disappointment—sets her off. She is bickering with the landlady, back and forth, and Amalia mentions Sonia's yellow ticket (a sign of her position as a prostitute), which drives Katerina over the edge (264-271).

. How does Dunia demonstrate her strength of character in this chapter?

Dunia refuses to simply take Luzhin's word about Svidrigailov at face value—she challenges his sources. She pushes him to find out how dearly he estimates her, and she pointedly puts him in his place when he claims that he cannot be compared to someone so clearly inferior as her brother, who has been her whole life (209-210).

What does Svidrigailov consider his most potent weapon of seduction?

Flattery.

Once Raskolnikov has confessed to Sonia his guilt, what does she ask him to do in reparation?

Go to a crossroads, kiss the earth which he has defiled, bow down in all four directions, and announce his guilt.

What does Luzhin accuse Sonia of, and what evidence does he cite as support to his accusation?

He accuses her of stealing 100 rubles from his table. He cites her nervousness, her anxiousness to leave, her hands on the table, her social position and habits associated with it (272-273)

What ultimately gives Raskolnikov the courage to confess?

He attempts to once, but leaves after learning about Svidrigailov's suicide. He sees Sonia when he leaves, she gestures imploringly, and he turns back around and confesses.

What strange gesture does Raskolnikov perform in Sonia's room? What does it signify, and why does he do it?

He bows down and kisses her foot. He claims he has bowed down before all suffering humanity, and he does it to show her his estimation of her worth, as a suffering person, and not simply a prostitute doomed to perdition (223).

. In what complimentary ways does Porfiry set Raskolnikov up for the surprising twist in their third meeting?

He calls Raskolnikov magnanimous, that he admires him, that he's an ideological, decent person. He begins the whole meeting as complimentary and apologizing.

What gift does Raskolnikov present to Dunia, and what does he reveal about his past through this gift?

He gives her a portrait of his former fiance'. Claims he confided in her his thoughts about being extraordinary and the right to take a life. Tells us that his fiancé was a moral person as Dunia is.

Why, ostensibly, has Raskolnikov come to see Porfiry? What's his real reason?

He has supposedly come to make a statement about his lost pawned items. His real reason is to see how much the investigator really knows (231-232).

What does Rodion remark as strange about his visit to the police station?

He is completely ignored, hardly the behavior to be expected if one was a suspect (230-231).

In making the parallel about Luzhin and God's will, what surprising thing has Raskolnikov started to do?

He nearly asked Sonia, or some greater power, for forgiveness.

What criminal act does Dunia accuse Svidrigailov of committing? How did he commit it?

He poisoned his wife, killing her.

How does Porfiry explain away Nikolay's (also known as Mikolka) confession?

He possesses a childlike innocence, is easily impressionable (put up to things), has a religious devotion, and did it to take upon the suffering of another for a religious, artistic purpose.

. What two things does Raskolnikov promise will happen tomorrow? (302, 315)

He promises that he will be at the funeral feast tomorrow and that he will tell Sonia who killed Lizaveta.

How is Luzhin indirectly characterized early at the family meeting?

He refuses to greet or even look at Raskolnikov or Razumikhin. He loiters for the sake of appearance. He carries himself with "doubled solemnity," and somehow exaggerates his dignity by blowing his nose into a scented handkerchief. Everything he does suggests his inflated sense of self, his wounded pride, and his upper class station (204-205).

What parallel does Raskolnikov make between he and Sonia? (314)

He says that they are both damned as they have both done immoral things.

What other previous good deeds contribute to Raskolnikov's relatively light

He spent almost all his money helping a consumptive student, up until his death. He also took care of his old, invalid father from 13 up until his death. And he saved some children from a fire while getting burned himself.

How does Peter Petrovich attempt to help Sonia and her family?

He suggests creating some kind of collection to help. He mentions the money shouldn't be handled by Katherine, who seems to have no concept of need. And he gives Sonia 10 rubles on good faith.

What torturous idea about the future of Katherine's children does Raskolnikov suggest? (306)

He suggests that what if Katherine has to go to the hospital due to her illness, and what will happen to the children if she dies. He suggests that Polia might have to become a prostitute to earn money for the family then.

Why does Raskolnikov take ill?

He takes ill from obsessing over why he was in prison. He doesn't feel guilty. He feels he's wasting his wife, all over a mistake.

How has Raskolonikov gotten Razumikhin "drunk without any liquor"?

He talks him out of getting drunk, by mentioning that not only does Dunia know he loves her, but she will be able to return his love, if not already. And that he endorsed him to her.

. How does Svidrigailov convince Sonia to keep the money he gives her? What does he ask her to do for him, as a favor? (476)

He tells her the expense is really for staying with Raskolnikov—it will cost her money to follow him to Siberia. He asks her to tell Razumikhin to remember him.

How is Svidrigailov able to convince Dunia to join him in his apartment?

He threatens her brother's future if she does not come.

Porfiry makes two requests of Raskolnikov. What are they?

He wants him to confess, or, if he should seek to end his own life, to write a suicide note with a reference to the place where he hid the old woman's trinkets.

What does Svidrigailov offer to do for Raskolnikov? What are his motives? What must Sonia do to gain this assistance?

He will get him a passport and pay for him to leave the city. He offers to do the same for his mother, sister (himself), but not Razumikhin. He admits his obsessive love for her. He wants her to willfully give herself to him.

. Why does Peter Petrovich (Luzhin) call himself a fool? Why is Peter Petrovich so interested in ingratiating himself with the younger generation?

He wishes he'd been more generous. He'd hoped to "rescue" them with his purchases later, but in reality drove them off by their continued poverty. He thinks that by befriending progressivists/nihilists, he will eliminate the chance that they will "expose" him and ruin his career (251-252).

What special arrangement did Svidrigailov work out with Martha Petrovna, regarding his mistresses?

He wouldn't keep any one. He wouldn't leave her, or go anywhere without permission. She would let him choose from their maids, but wanted to be kept informed. He would never fall in love with someone of their own class. And if he ever really loved one, he'd tell her.

. What about his conversation with Sonia reminds him of the moment before murdering the old woman?

He's about to confess, he's made it clear that he will, he feels the awkwardness of the moment and the sense that there is no turning back now, he's already committed to the course and all that remains is to do it. Just as he felt with the axe out, standing behind the old woman—plunging headlong.

. What does Raskolnikov mean when he says, "I wanted to make myself a Napolean; that's why I murdered!"?

He's explaining his rationale at the time of the murder. He argues that Napolean, reduced to his circumstances, wouldn't let an old woman stand in his way to greater ambition. So to test his own degree of ambition, he chose her as his target. He reasons his poverty was crippling and self-perpetuating. She, a "louse," was a way to end this cycle of need without leaning further on his mother, who was near destitute herself.

Describe Katherine Ivanovna's mental state, according to Sonia. How was Sonia cruel to Katherine?

Her mind is mixed up, she's childlike. She beats Sonia on occasion. Righteous as a child is righteous—Katherine doesn't know people sometimes choose to not do right to one another, and she expresses this frustration by beating her head against the wall or striking her children. Sonya refused to give her a collar she'd bought from Lizaveta. "What good will they do you..." she said. And she regrets such cruelty, especially since for such a proud woman, to ask for anything was practically unheard of (220-222).

What parallel does Raskolnikov create to his own situation, to help Sonia understand his actions? What's the basic error in this parallel?

If she had known ahead what Luzhin would do, and if the consequences of inaction would be her family's ruin, whose life would she choose: Katherine's or Luzhin's? The error is it doesn't take into account the will of a divine being—it presupposes we have the right to choose who lives or dies.

. What's Sonia's connection to Lizaveta? What does she reveal about Lizaveta?

Lizaveta sold her the collars she refused to give Katherine Ivanovna. She also gave Sonia her Bible, and Sonia would read to her from it. She went to Lizaveta's service and claims Lizaveta had a sense of what was right and will see God (225-226).

Raskolnikov's dream of a great madness inducing plague parallels the advancement of what philosophy? How?

Nihilism, in that no institution is trusted, everyone is promoting their own self-interest and moral code, which leads to anarchy.

What are some things that contribute to Raskolnikov's nervousness?

Porfiry's constant pacing, like a bouncing ball. He questions everything he says for fear of implicating himself. He doesn't like being alone with Porfiry, a man he hates, and the stares they exchange fluster him (231-232).

What group is Andrey Semionovich Lebeziatnikov associated with? Give some examples of their ideas.

Progressives, or nihilists. He is against the institute of marriage and for a communal life and a liberal marriage (with many partners). He is for women's liberty and against individual acts of charity (256-257, 261).

What are some incriminating facts Porfiry knows?

Rask went to the apartment and asked about the blood and tried to get himself taken in (239

What is the symbolic meaning of the gift Sonia gives to Raskolnikov?

She gives him a cross, and she wears one as well. It is symbolic both of the heavy burden of sin they both carry, and their secret hopes for redemption as well.

. What does Sonia reveal in her response to Raskolnikov's suggestion of suicide?

She has contemplated it before. She holds off only to provide for her father's family (224).

. Why does Svidrigailov let Dunia go?

She hates him enough to kill him. He realizes she will never return his feelings for her.

How does Sonia treat Raskolnikov after his confession? What makes her treat him this way?

She is horrified, yet she feels devoted to him, and promises never to leave him. As isolated as she feels from her profession, she realizes he is more alone than she, and she sympathizes greatly with him. She loves him.

How do we know the story of Lazarus is important to Sonia? Why is it important to her, and why did Raskolnikov request that particular story to be read?

She recites parts by heart. The trembling and strength in her voice shows that it is important because it embodies what she believes: belief in God will overcome any obstacle, even death, much less the sin of harlotry. Raskolnikov hopes, in some degree, that he too can be redeemed, though he chooses it more for its obvious parallel to her own degree of religious faith in spite of her profession (226-228).

How was Sonia cruel to Katherine? (305)

She refused to give Katherine the collars and cuffs that Lizaveta gave to her.

Why has Katherine Ivanovna set her mind to taking revenge against her husband's former boss?

She thinks nobility should recognize and be charitably disposed to her own noble upbringing. She interrupted her husband's boss at a upper scale dinner, attacked him due to his indifference to her, and now she's decided her family will beg on the street corner beneath his window. She threw an inkwell at him.

How was Sonia able to ease or lessen some of the work expected of Raskolnikov in prison?

She took to sewing and dressmaking, and as she was just about the only one in town, was able to procure favors from her work.

How does Peter Petrovich Luzhin's comment about "never had the honor of knowing your dear father" deflate Katherine Ivanovna's raised ire?

She'd bragged a number of times (and let the story circulate) that her well-off and connected father was an intimate friend of Peter Luzhin's. She's crestfallen to hear this, as she (not in her wholly right mind) believed this story as well (271).

What has happened to Katherine Ivanovna and her family?

She's been thrown out of her apartment, and she has left her children alone to try and right this misdeed (281).

What had Raskolnikov been contemplating while walking near the Neva? (492)

Suicide.

Who ends up providing for Katherine Ivanovna's orphaned children? Besides charity, what other purpose does this "benefactor" have?

Svidrigailov. He offers 1500 rubles to each kid when they come of age, and to finance not only the funeral but the best orphanage for them. His purpose seems to be to make Raskolnikov beholden to him, and to somehow demonstrate to Dunia his goodness.

There are two locked doors within Sonia's apartment. One leads to the Kapernaumovs, but who lives behind the second door? Why is this important?

Svidrigailov. It is important because it enables him to hear Raskolnikov's entire conversation with Sonia, and lead to further complications in the plot.

. Sum up the two cases of suicide associated with Svidrigailov. How credible are these accounts?

The first case involves hearsay of Svidrigailov's involvement with a young girl's suicide. Luzhin admits the accusations surrounding Svidrigailov came from an untrustworthy German woman, but that doesn't stop him from scandalizing his potential rival. Apparently Svidrigailov's prurient advances were a contributing factor to the young girl's hanging. The other case was a servant of his, Filipp, who was also driven to suicide, according to Luzhin, because of Svidrigailov's "systematic persecutions" and "exactions." While these ultimately are rumor, we find out later in the novel that there is a kernel of truth to both stories, based on Svidrigailov's dreams and his ghostly visitations (207-208)

. What was Porfiry's original surprise? How has that surprise been negated?

The man who accused him of being a murderer the day before. It was a man who saw him at the apartment, asking about the blood. That same man apologizes to Rodion, apparently believing that Mikolay's confession is genuine and that he had slandered Rodion. It was negated by Mikolay's unrehearsed confession (248-249).

. Why doesn't Raskolnikov consider what he has done a crime? (493-494) If it isn't a crime, why does he think he deserves punishment?

The old woman wasn't a person to him. Blood is spilled over war throughout all ages. He deserves to be punished for failure to be extraordinary, for not carrying through with his design.

What do we learn about the work Razumikhin offered to Raskolnikov back in Part 2, Chapter 2?

The request for Rask's help was mere charity: Raz can translate German well enough on his own, and indeed has been planning to start his own publishing house for a while now (216-217).

Describe Sonia's role with the other prisoners: what does she do for them, and what do they consider her as?

They treat her as a mother figure, they laud her at every opportunity. She acts as a liaison between them and the world (their relatives, etc).

hat's the significance of the young girl in the coffin in Svidrigailov's dream? Consider her expression, and what information is given of her suicide.

This is the little girl he supposedly killed or driven to death. He had one of his affairs with her and for shame she killed herself

What terrible thought occurs to Sonia about Raskolnikov's earlier act of charity?

What if the money used for her father's funeral was blood money from her friend's murder?

What does Raskolnikov ask of his mother?

Would she still love him, even if he did something terrible? And to pray for him.

. Who turns the tables on Luzhin, and with what evidence?

lebeziatnikov, who saw the whole exchange of money, and Luzhin's slipping the bill into Sonia's pocket unbeknownst to her (276-277).