Joshua Cohen Commentary on Part 2 Chapters 2, 3, and 4: Why Does it Have to be so Confusing?

          In this week’s reading, the number one theme is confusion and general madness. During the reading, I had absolutely no clue what was going on, and to be honest, I was starting to feel the stress that Raskolnikov was feeling because of the way the chapters were written. The pacing of the words were quick yet sporadic and I had a hard time following what was happening, just like Raskolnikov was. Personally, I find this effectiveness to be brilliant, like before, and how the author was able to capture the mind of Raskolnikov as though he were trapped in a cage while he was running about trying to get rid of the evidence of his crime. He goes so crazy, in fact, that he literally passes out and generally loses control over himself. At this point in the story I have no idea what is going on, whether what he is describing is in his head or real. Both points have validity in my head, but neither one makes much sense. On the one hand, Raskolnikov could be going crazy due to the guilt he feels for the crime and has entered a state where he is imagining everything that is occurring to him. The whole investigation and his actions might just be his mind running rampant as he tries to make sense of what is happening. This would make sense as it would be a repetition of how he tried to justify himself earlier through all his actions, and this is just an embodiment of his justification. He could be imagining the fact that the doctors are visiting him and basically talking about the investigation of the murder, quite conveniently, so that Raskolnikov has a blow by blow discussion of what is happening. Yet, this would not make sense if it is all in his head because there are still figures from before the incident that seem to be acting normally and there is proof of things still occurring outside of this room/Raskolnikov’s mind such as the money from his mother. So if this is not just in his mind, this could be justified as a further punishment for Raskolnikov’s crimes that he has to suffer through as he watches his friends and family slowly unfold the truth while he just sits there, lying to them and to himself about the crime. I feel that this is going to be more painful, again, than if he were just caught in the first place, because he is going to be painfully aware of the punishment that others might receive due to his actions. But, I still do not know enough to make any sense of what is what and who is who in this story, so I guess I will just have to wait.