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?

Evaluation

What happened at the funeral dinner in Chapter 2, and it what ways is it both symbolic and ironic?

Characterization

How may the reader's opinion of Lebeziatnikov change between Chapters 1 and Chapters 3 in Part V? What specifically happens to Sonia that reveals this other side of Lebeziatnikov?

Plot Development

Discuss what happens in Chapter IV when Sonia cries, "What have you done--what have you done to yourself?" How does this further the plot development?

Group 1--Evaluation

Why does Raskolnikov question, "what if Napoleon, for instance had happened to be in my place, and he had not had Toulon nor Egypt nor the passage of Mont Blanc to begin his career with . . .?" What are Toulon, Egypt and Mont Blanc in relation to Napoleon" (410 in 1987 translation)?

Plot Development

Discuss the shock Raskolnikov experiences at the end of Part V. What does this teach the reader about his character, and the other character's character development?