Characterization

Discuss Pyotr Petrovitch Luzhin's reaction to Lebeziatnikov in Chapter 1, and how this further develops the characterization of both men.

Group 1--Synthesis

What does the following sentence mean: "He, like everyone, had heard that there were, especially in Petersburg, progressives of some sort, nihilists and so on, and like many people, he exaggerated and distorted the significance of those words to an absurd degree" (359 in 1987 translation, about 339 in 1981 translation) and why does this alarm Luzhin?

Group 1--Synthesis

Discuss the system of "Fourier" and "the Darwinian theory" (361 in 1987 translation, about 340 in 1981 translation) and why they may have been judged sarcastically by Luzhin in the eyes of Andrey Semyonovitch Lebeziatnikov?

Synthesis

How does the question of the commune relate to Lebeziatnikov's characterization and the plot element of the altercation with Katerina Ivanovna further develop his characterization?

Compare and Contrast

Why is the story of Terebyeva in the book, and how does it relate to which characters?

Group 1--Evaluation

What does Pushkin have to do with the discussion of free marriage between Luzhin, and Lebeziatnikov after Sonia left in Chapter 1?

Analysis

With what is Pyotr Petrovitch Luzhin preoccupied in the last paragraph of Chapter 1, and why? What did Lebeziatnikov notice and why did he reflect on it later?