Dostoyevsky Literary Devices- Crime and Punishment and The Idiot

1
DostoyevskyLiterary Devices- Crime and
Punishment and The Idiot

• Ben Horner

2
Tone Crime and Punishment

• Book often shifts tone
• frantic and confusing (prior to and directly
  after murders)
• Intimate (during Raskolnikovs conversations with
  his mother
• Hopeful (Raskolnikovs confession and rebirth)

3
Tone - The Idiot

• Straight-forward
• Hopeful, with some pessimistic views-people can
  be inherently evil
• Shows eventual failure

4
Imagery- Crime and Punishment

• The Neva serves to reflect Raskolnikovs life
• he must cross it to find freedom
• it is calm-as his life may one day be
• Raskolnikov often relies on water to cleanse him
  and as he falls further into delirium the less
  effect the water has
• Stagnant water during Raskolnikovs fourth dream
  represents his inability to escape his insanity
• Final delirium shows Raskolnikov sitting along
  the Neva- finally at peace

5
Imagery-the Idiot

• Uses imagery to describe characters
• their complexions generally appeared to have
  taken on the colour of the fog outside.,
• grey, fiery eyes

6
Voice Crime and Punishment

• Raskolnikov is primary focalizer-
• His point of view is adopted by third person
  narrator
• Much of the book can be seen as Raskolnikovs
  monologue
• Dialogue also plays a key role in moving events
  along and revealing motives
• Dostoyevsky also gave the reader insight into
  Raskolnikovs dreams

7
Voice - The Idiot

• Communicates much of the book through
  conversation
• Lacks any major plot-narrator plays diminished
  role as a result

8
Irony - Crime and Punishment

• Sonia is a prostitute but also helps Raskolnikov
  find salvation
• Raskolnikov only finds freedom once he has been
  sentenced
• Raskolnikov thought he was making the world a
  better place by killing Alyona Ivanovna

9
Irony The Idiot

• Only irony was found in fact that Prince Myshkin,
  the only truly positive character, eventually
  fails