Crime and Punishment
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Contains spoilers for the entire book.
Discussion topics
Topic 01 of 08
The theory
What is Raskolnikov's theory of 'extraordinary' people, and how much does it really explain his crime?
Keep the conversation going
- How much do poverty, pride and illness have to do with it?
- Is he trying to prove something to the world, or to himself?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.
Discussion topics
What is Raskolnikov's theory of 'extraordinary' people, and how much does it really explain his crime?
Keep the conversation going
- How much do poverty, pride and illness have to do with it?
- Is he trying to prove something to the world, or to himself?
Why does the killing of Lizaveta, unplanned, haunt Raskolnikov more than he expected?
Keep the conversation going
- How did the murder scene change the way you saw him?
- Why does he barely use what he stole?
How does Raskolnikov punish himself long before the law catches him?
Keep the conversation going
- Is his fever a sign of guilt, or of something else?
- Why does he keep returning to the scene and to the police?
Why does Porfiry choose to wait and talk rather than arrest Raskolnikov?
Keep the conversation going
- What does Porfiry understand about him that Raskolnikov does not?
- Did you see their conversations as a game, a kindness, or both?
What does Sonya give Raskolnikov that no one else can?
Keep the conversation going
- What did you make of the scene where she reads him the story of Lazarus?
- How can Sonya, who has given up so much, be the moral centre of the book?
In what ways is Svidrigailov a dark mirror of Raskolnikov?
Keep the conversation going
- Why does Dunya refuse him, and why does he let her go?
- What does his end suggest about a life without remorse?
How do his mother's and Dunya's sacrifices weigh on Raskolnikov?
Keep the conversation going
- What does Dunya's near-marriage to Luzhin show about money and dignity?
- How does Razumikhin's loyalty stand against everything else in the book?
Is the epilogue in Siberia a true redemption, or only its beginning?
Keep the conversation going
- Why does Raskolnikov still not feel remorse when he arrives there?
- What changes for him with Sonya at the very end?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.