Joshua Cohen's Reaction to Chapters 3 and 4

In Chapter 3 we find out a lot more about Raskolnikov through his relationship to his mother. The letter from his mother tells of how his mother acts and hints at certain aspect of their relationship, for one, it is obvious that Raskolnikov really loves his mother and is grateful for the letter. By the end of the letter Raskolnikov is furious about the fact that his sister is going to marry a business man in order to live in comfort and possibly save Raskolnikov from poverty. The fact that Raskolnikov thinks that this is completely unjust and that his sister is making a sacrifice for him shows his idea of justice and how he does not feel that others should sacrifice their happiness to let him live comfortably. In the next chapter, we see an instance of how Raskolnikov rescues another person from the vice that exists in the world when he saves the drunk girl from the man on the street. Raskolnikov notices that a young girl has been tricked into getting drunk and has been taken advantage of, while another man is going after her to take advantage of her as well. The fact that this disgusts Raskolnikov more than his poverty, to the point where he is willing to pay an officer to get the girl a cab, shows that his hate for unjust punishment and the dark aspects of his society is his main goal. This seems to be foreshadowing that Raskolnikov might use any power he has, with possible detriment to himself, to saving those who do not deserve the situations they are in. This will most likely apply to the situation of his sister and her marriage.