I agree with both of my partner’s, Gabriel and Madie, on their opinions for chapters 4-6 of Crime and Punishment. All three of us felt that these chapters added an immense amount of suspense and thrill to the story. I enjoyed reading Gabriel’s analysis of Raskolnikov’s reaction to his mother’s letter. Gabe mentioned.that Raskolnikov reacted the way he did due to his exaggerated sense of pride. While I did not assume Raskolnikov to be the arrogant type as I read through this scene, this idea does make sense and it adds another quality to Raskolnikov’s complex character. I also agree with Gabe when he says that despite Raskolnikov’s tremendous amount of pride, he still showed positive characteristics by portraying his compassionate and selfless side. Moreover, I agree with Madie and her idea that Raskolnikov’s dream generated from subconscious thoughts telling him not the commit the murder. In addition, at the time of the dream, the reader was unaware of the details regarding Raskolnikov’s horrible crime. The dream foreshadows the horrific events that will soon take place and demonstrated how hesitant Raskolnikov was to follow through with the crime. Chapter 6 is the first time that Raskolnikov’s awful crime is described. The narrator states how Raskolnikov planned to kill and steal from Alyona Ivanova, the pawnbroker, after developing a strong hatred for her when they first met. Aside from explaining that a few rare coincidences convince Raskolnikov to commit the crime, Dostoevsky does not acknowledge the protagonist’s real motive for murdering Alyona. Raskolnikov accepts that nothing and no one can force him to kill the pawnbroker and therefore, tries to justify the crime he is about to commit by blaming it on a matter of circumstances. It almost felt as if Raskolnikov was trying to evade his responsibility for the crime by blaming it on external forces. At this point in the novel, I am highly convinced that Raskolnikov will follow through with the murder. However, he is a conflicting character who’s actions have surprised me before, so I am excited to see how the story will turn out.

-Alex