What Is Poverty's Effect On Raskolnikov

Eden Zheng
December 11, 2013
Leah Wilson
IB English 11A, Period 8
Poverty’s Effect on Raskolnikov
In western traditional writing, various literary devices convey a distinct message on the novel. For example, point of view, imagery, and symbols all contributes towards a motif or overarching idea. In the novel Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky uses domestic imagery, the setting of the home, and the setting of the story itself, Saint Petersburg to reveal the oppressive forces of poverty acting up Raskolnikov. This is accomplished through the settings of the bar, Raskolnikov’s house, and the school outlining the harsh environment the citizens and the protagonist that is acting upon them. The domestic imagery of the clothes illustrates
the impact of poverty on the main character and the consequences for the way Raskolnikov dresses. The setting of the novel as a whole conveys Raskolnikov’s delirious state of mind that is constantly at works. These three factors when working upon each other shows the weight of the sense of poverty of Raskolnikov and the various problems he faces because of it. Raskolnikov’s appearance throughout the novel changes mainly the clothes he wears. In the beginning of the novel, he was described as, “badly dressed that even a man accustomed to shabbiness would have been ashamed to be seen in the street in such rags” (2). The way that Raskolnikov is dressed is depicted as against social norms.
The author includes an understatement describing that the citizens in the area dress better than Raskolnikov and the fashion that he dresses is absurd to them. As we know from the beginning of the novel, Raskolnikov is under large amounts of debt that is constantly compounded. The issue with that is he is
required to use money on food and necessity while sacrificing the renewal of clothes and paying the debt.
As a result, he is crippled more because of the impending debt and the need to get new clothes. Raskolnikov’s physical characteristics are described as “exceptionally handsome, above the average in height, slim, well-built, with beautiful dark eyes and dark brown hair” (2). He is described with various positive traits, but when you closely at the various factors that are against him it is not as highly looked upon. He is described as “slim,” and slim in generally is healthy, but the situation that Raskolnikov is in is not. His slim is more of a malnourished as a result of his various circumstances against him like debt, alcoholic, and anti-sociality. This slim is rather unpleasant and could create problems in the future with only small amounts of food. He is also described as “well-built” and the connotation that goes with it is strong or burly, but when one is malnourished or doesn’t have enough to feed himself and his family, they will lose enough weight that they only have muscle and little to no fat. And this leaves the impression of “well-built.” After Raskolnikov murders the
pawnbroker and he returns back to his apartment, he is “dressed in entirely new clothes, he looked at the money lying on the table, and after a moment’s thought put it in his pocket” (122). This situation describes Raskolnikov using the surplus money that he acquired from the pawnbroker to purchase new clothes. This is to fulfilled the early challenge that he was not meeting social norms because he lived in an area of town that was consider more middle and upper class. As a result that he didn’t repay for the debt and instead used it for his own good. The concept of fitting social norms overshadows the possibility that he might lose his home. The debt is now ignored even further and Raskolnikov now has to think of a possible way to obtain more money to repay the debt. This overall thinking is pressed against Raskolnikov’s mind to the highest priority and prevents various actions. These two factors of clothing and physical appearance conveys the fact that Raskolnikov is constantly at the struggle to move up the social ladder and repay his debts, but visual imagery is not that only device that conveys this. Domestic Imagery also illustrates a similar purpose. Raskolnikov visits multiple places. He goes to a police station, home, and prison. While in his home, Raskolnikov describes the items in his living room are as “on a broken chair stood a candle in a battered copper candlestick” (246). The description of the candle in Raskolnikov is in a dying condition. It senses that Raskolnikov has to make due with what he possesses. The reader can infer that he can’t replace it because he is under overleveraged. The description of the chair is broken. This conveys the idea that Raskolnikov can only be in his bed. If guests were to visit him they would not be able to sit down because the chairs are in feeble condition. Even if the candle and the chair are the only things in this quote that is referred to as broken or decaying, we as the reader can inferred that other items in his house is in similar condition. His room is also described as “yellow wallpaper; small; poor. Linen: "clean and dirty, bundled together" (23). This is the description of Raskolnikov’s room. It is rather dirty. The problem that it imposes on Raskolnikov is that he is constantly sick in the novel. He experience headaches, fevers, and loss of hungry. This can be traced back to the environment where he lives and sleep. It is not clean which leads to a prone to illnesses. The size of the room tells the reader the financial position Raskolnikov is in. He lives in a small room that has very few furniture and is still dirty. Linen is generally looked as a low class type of fabric. The area where he sleeps and lives is really harming and is not good. The color of the wallpaper tells us the reader that Raskolnikov is rather unhygienic because he refuses to clean his home. This is all a result of this impending debt that he cannot repay back. When Raskolnikov returns back to his house to hide any evidence, he experiences “complete stillness in his room. Not a sound came from the stairs. Only a big fly buzzed and fluttered against the windowpane. It was unbearable at last” (217). The author uses auditory imagery to convey how silent the room is. Dostoevsky does this to create the idea that even though Raskolnikov is under debt and needs to acquire money, he physically can’t. Raskolnikov is restricted on the actions that he can accomplish without getting suspected. Poverty prevents Raskolnikov from getting rid of the animals in his rooms and makes the house more comfortable. The domestic imagery demonstrates the concept that the effects of poverty have crippled Raskolnikov’s ability to expand, clean, or refurnish his home. While the domestic imagery and physical imagery conveys how poverty directly affects Raskolnikov, the setting of the novel also clarifies how poverty affects the Raskolnikov through the novel. Saint Petersburg is describes as “The heat in the street was terrible: and the airlessness, the bustle and the plaster, scaffolding, bricks, and dust all about him, and that special Petersburg stench […] all worked painfully upon the young man’s already overwrought nerves” (2). The town is described as unbearable to those unaccustomed to the town. In addition, the town is rather old and not modernizes to the time it should be. This creates the town prone to deaths and illnesses cause it is rather close. The town on the outside doesn’t look like it is poor, but with the look on how the various buildings look, the reader can see the result of poverty has on the citizens in the town. When Raskolnikov is put prison, the location of the confinement is “one of the administrative centers of Russia; in the town there is a fortress, in the fortress there is a prison” (415). The prison is described terribly and intimate people. This area is rather frightened to the citizens of the lower class. It also prevents Raskolnikov from doing any actions while he is there. The author in this novel uses various devices to convey how poverty acts like a force preventing Raskolnikov from freedom. These devices such as domestic imagery, physical imagery, and setting amplify the idea at hand. Although these devices might spark the idea that poverty is oppressive force upon Raskolnikov, it acts differently based on character to character. This is a key point because Sonia poverty acts a motivation tool rather than an oppressive one.

Works Cited
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, Constance Garnett, and Samuel Kostman. Crime and Punishment. New York: Amsco School Publications, 1970. Print.