Crime and Punishment and Metamorphosis and Reality

Dostoevsky's novel certainly touches briefly with my big question; Rodya's paranoia illustrates how one's uncertainty can afflict the mind. He make himself physically sick in believing that he has been discovered. As the novel moves through his punishment, he seems to become more stable, but continues to have incredibly realistic dreams; as Rodya believes his vivid dreams are real, so does the reader. Dostoevsky even layers multiple dreams in one scene, I believe. Additionally, Svidrigailov has a dream near the end of the novel in which he shelters the poor girl. Svid's dream culminates in his suicide. Rodya's illness and paranoia ends with his confession, yet he is still uncertain why he has confessed. Rodya eventually realizes that he is not a superman/extraordinary man, thus he needs Sonia's love. Finally Svid and Rodya become more sure of their realities, but I am not sure if Svid's suicide definately illustrates this; one can never know what will happen next and with Svid's suicide, he relinquishes the possibility of ever finding out what his life could contain. I do find it ironic, though, that Rodya's "realization" comes in the epilogue which could have been omitted completely. If the epilogue had been excluded, I think Crime and Punishment would apply more to my question. This is because the novel, lacking an epilogue, would have much less closure and the reader would mull over Rodya's confession in his mind: Did Rodya confess because of his love for Sonia? Does Rodya even love Sonia? What propels him to continue the confession despite his lack of desire to be redeemed?

I just thought of something else; as my motif was water, I found that water seemed to be prevelant as an agent of reflections and how one perceives themself. If water is ever-changing, always rippling and flowing, how can we ever be sure of what is inside of ourself? If water is the reflection of clarity within our own mind, we can never come to one conclusion and stay there: water may be still one day, and ripple or flow the next. I apologize if my memory of the text is slightly rusty.


If Crime and Punishment doesn't reflect upon my big question, Kafka's Metamorphosis certainly does. Gregor's situation is quite peculiar and one must question if the situation is genuine. Does Gregor's metamorphosis represent the transition of modern man from a "higher" animal to a "lower" animal? Though the reader finds Gregor's situation curious, I find it interesting that he is quite detached and not troubled by his situation. He only seems to care about his needs more and more as his transformation continues until he decides that he is a burden for his family in the end; expanding upon this it is interesting that Gregor was once the sole provider for his family and now he is the burden. If this is all part of a mental vision on Gregor's part, how can Gregor or the reader tell? How can we distinguish Gregor's position and possibility? We can't. Anything is possible, so Gregor can either be in dire need of mental help or physically an insect. I don't think we can tell what our reality is.


P.S. Mr. Kleeman- If this is late, I apologize; sometimes I cannot hear in the back of the classroom and I pushed it into the farthest corner of my mind during finals until I finally recalled the assignment after my brain felt a little less crammed. Happy birdwatching as always!