Outline for Term Paper Essay
1.Historical setting during the writing of the book
a.
Tsar Alexander II
i.
His reforms released twenty million serfs, which caused a major restructuring of Russian society
ii.
He lifted the state censorship, which allowed for the expression of political and social thought
b.St. Petersburg
i.
At the time it was an economic powerhouse within Russia, aside from being the capital
ii.The novel focuses on the much more negative side of St. Petersburg, the crimes and whatnot
2.General outline of the book
a.
Setting
i.General climate
1.Most of the book takes place in the summer which adds to the tension in that it is almost unbearably hot
2.The city is a wretched place and a source of all violence, greed and crime throughout the story
ii.Houses and residences
1.All the homes in the book are cramped, frantic and are generally places of violence and chaos
2.The biggest example is Sonia’s house, where there is constant chaos and the idea of trying to live is nearly impossible to raise a family
iii.Raskolnikov’s room
1.It is said that Raskolnikov’s small and cramped room is the main source of his psychological problems
2.His room does not offer any sort of privacy or respite, seeing as it is constantly being visited by people and never fully closed
b.
Characters
i.Raskolnikov
1.Raskol, the root of his name means “schism” or “split,” which would really explain many of his actions throughout the book
2.The main part of his character that I will be focusing on is his actions that he takes towards being a good citizen, or his “generosity”
3.He donates his money to those in need and does the right thing with the girl in the beginning of the book, yet every single time he does something, he immediately questions why he did it and almost regrets it.
4.He is very multi-faceted, as is shown by his name, almost to the point where he is almost more than bi-polar and is constantly changing his perception and his mind
5.Some of his actions are similar to the ideas expressed in “notes from the underground” in that he is very much against current norms/religious views, especially prevailing moral principles as is evident in his murders
ii.Sonia
1.She is generally shy and quiet, which is somewhat expected given her current position
2.The one part of her character that cannot go without saying is her prostitution, she is forced into prostitution by her family and her desire to help others
3.That is also an important part of her character, she is a very caring person and has to make a multitude of sacrifices in order to care for her family
iii.Svidrigailov
1.He is basically the single bad guy in the book, his character is basically the worst character in the book
2.He is completely unfaithful to his wife, he sleeps with his servants, tries to rape Dounia and is a confirmed child molester
3.Yet before he kills himself, he helps out Raskolnikov and Sonia to find a place to live in Siberia and gives them some money to do so
3.Outline for thesis
a.General Thesis question: Are Raskolnikov’s acts of kindness and generosity out of selflessness, or is he trying to benefit from them.
b.Thesis Statement: When considering the way Raskolnikov acts one can determine that his acts of generosity were out of a general need to feel in control over the suffering of others, even though his split personality contradicts itself against this statement.
c.Main supports for thesis statement:
i.The dream about the beaten horse
1.During Raskolnikov’s dream about the horse that is beaten to death, he feels the most dread in the fact that he is helpless to try to help the horse, and this dread is what allows him to finally decide to kill the pawnbroker
2.The murder of the pawnbroker was, in a way, Raskolnikov’s attempt to help people who are suffering, especially since the pawn broker was known to beat her sister, therefore Raskolnikov thought he might go and help
3.Yet, there are other justifications that Raskolnikov used in order to make the decision, mainly being the fact that he thought that everybody else hated her just as much as he did. Therefore, he thought, it made sense to rid society of such an evil, yet he lost control and ended up killing the one person he set out to help.
ii.His Napoleonic desires
1.Raskolnikov seems to have a desire to have control over people, to belittle others, as is clearly evident in his theories that he wrote in his paper, the theory of great men
2.With every time he helps someone, one could interpret that he is getting a rise out of the fact that he is in some way controlling them, making them reliant upon him, and most importantly, elevating himself above them in the social ladder
3.He wants to be able to prove that he is different and therefore better than everybody else because he reaches over many of the societal bounds and expectations placed on people, for example, his willingness to kill to justify his goal, as he specifically stated in his paper.
4.There are even specific examples inside the text where Raskolnikov referenced to Napoleon as a perfect example for his thesis on ‘great men’ and other examples where he portrays Napoleon as a very praise-worthy man. Also, Raskolnikov uses Napoleon as a type of person, not so much as a name,
iii.
His respect for Sonia’s desire to help her family
1.He and Sonia seem to get together so well because of her constant desire to really help her family and the fact that she sacrifices so much to keep her family alive
2.Sonia basically is the only character that truly sees the good side of Raskolnikov, and he does not recognize this directly and honestly treats her like crap, until he has been cured of his incessant grumpiness after going to prison
3.Sonia’s perspective on Raskolnikov can be seen in multiple ways, it could be cited to show that Raskolnikov was truly good in his heart in these actions, or it can be used to show that Raskolnikov only liked her because she would put up with him and that she benefitted him by giving him an outlet. But, as are most of the things in this book, the relationship between the two is heavily multifaceted.
