Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881)

 Born: Moscow, Russia; first novel, Poor Folk (1846), examining the psychological effects of poverty,
was an overnight success.1847: became involved in a utopian socialist group; arrested in 1849; subjected
to a fake execution; Instead, sent to a Siberian prison for four years; wrote The House of the Dead (1860–
62) based on his experiences in prison; 1866: A gambling addict; owed huge debts; forced to complete a
novel, The Gambler; Crime and Punishment (1866); his greatest novels besides Crime and
Punishment: The Idiot (1869), Demons (1872), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880)

Crime and Punishment

 Psychological Novel: Probes the psyche of a young man with a good heart whose mind is infected by evil
ideology; Point of view: third person omniscient serialized in 1866 The Russian Messenger before being
published in book form.
 Summary: Life is going badly for a young man who lives in a shabby attic apartment of a five-story house
in a working-class district of St. Petersburg, Russia. His name is Raskolnikov—Rodion Romanovitch
Raskolnikov, or Rodya for short; Deep in debt; cannot afford to continue his university education; cannot
pay his rent; landlady, Praskovya Pavlovna, decides to report him to the police.
 Raskolnikov had made some money tutoring; gave that job; no presentable clothing; his fragile health;
shifts all of his attentions to a 60-year-old pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna, who makes money from the
misfortunes of others, including Raskolnikov; goes to her apartment; offers her an old silver watch on a
steel chain; She agrees to give him 1½ rubles; but deducts interest he already owes her; ends up with only 1
ruble and 15 kopecks; he is not there to sell the watch but to observe her and her surroundings one more
time as part of a rehearsal for murder; in the way to home, meets a drunken man, Semyon Zakharovitch
Marmeladov, strike up a conversation; Marmeladov has financial problems; has a consumptive wife and
three stepchildren, along with a daughter of his own, Sonia; Sonia (Sofya Semyonovna Marmeladov) has
turned to prostitution; Raskolnikov helps the staggering Marmeladov return to his house; The scene in the
poverty-stricken home saddens Raskolnikov; leaves money behind
 Back at the apartment, opens a letter from his mother, Pulcheria Alexandrovna Raskolnikov, informing him
that his sister, Dounia (Avdotya Romanovna Raskolnikov), plans to marry a man named Pyotr Petrovich
Luzhin; both coming to St. Petersburg for the wedding; knows that Dounia plans to marry this Luzhin
fellow for his money so that she can provide for her mother—and help Rodya out of debt; has a dream;
takes as a sign that he should abandon his plan to kill her; nevertheless continues to plot against her. Why?
Raskolnikov's Theory First, he wants her money to help his family and others in need; Second, wants to
prove to himself that his ―extraordinary man‖ theory is correct; had explained this theory in an article sent
to the Periodical Gazette; yet to be published; contends in two types of men in the world, ordinary and
extraordinary; The extraordinary ones, like himself, are superior humans who have the right—nay, the
duty—to violate the law, under certain circumstances, in order to benefit humankind; An extraordinary
man even has the right to commit murder if the act will result in benefits to the unfortunate. The article, of
course, does not reveal that Raskolnikov himself is planning murder.
Over and over again, thinks the murder through; pawnbroker is little more than a bloodsucker who cashes
in on the misery of the destitute, it would be no crime to kill her and use her money to benefit otherothers;
demonstrate, too, that he is an extraordinary man; finds out that the pawnbroker will be alone on the
following evening; Her feeble-minded sister, Lizaveta, will be out
On the designated night, goes to the pawnbroker’s; commits the deed, driving an axe into pawnbroker’s
skull; grabs her purse; finds a box containing valuables and loads his pockets; Unexpectedly, Lizaveta
returns; no alternative but to kill her too; Moments later, someone rings the doorbell and tries to enter, but
the door is locked from the inside; two men at the door. One leaves to find the caretaker, and the other
stays to watch the door; returns to his apartment with his loot.
The following morning, ill; receives a summons to appear at the police station; at the police station,
discovers the summons is for the back rent he owes; signs a pledge to pay 115 rubles to his landlady;
overhears a discussion of the murders; faints. When he comes to senses, wonders whether he aroused
suspicion.
Hides Loot: takes it to a courtyard, where he hides it under a large stone; Police won’t be able to charge
him because they won’t be able to find any incriminating evidence; visits a university friend, Dmitri
Prokofitch Razhumihin, who also has suspended his education for lack of funds; Noticing immediately that
Raskolnikov is ill, feels his pulse; Raskolnikov pulls away, saying in broken sentences that he has come to
see whether Razhumihim knows of tutoring work for him but adds that he doesn’t really want tutoring
work. He is making no sense. Suddenly, he gets up and decides to leave.―Then why the devil have you
come? Are you mad, or what?‖ "Well, then, I came to you because I know no one but you who could help .
. . to begin . . . because you are kinder than anyone--cleverer, I mean, and can judge . . . and now I see that I
want nothing. Do you hear? Nothing at all . . . no one's services . . . no one's sympathy. I am by myself . . .
alone. Come, that's enough. Leave me alone." Returns home; lie ill;
Next morning: the landlady’s servant, Nastasya, a good friend of Raskolnikov, is in the room with a
bearded young man Razhumihim; announces that he is a messenger with money—thirty-five rubles—from
Raskolnikov’s mother; At first, Rodya refuses the money but, on coaxing from Razhumihim, accepts and
signs for it. Later, Razhumihim and Nastasya get him soup.
In the following days, when Razhumihim and the doctor return to check on him during his convalescence,
Dounia’s fianceé, Luzhin, visits Raskolnikov to inform him that his mother and sister are expected in St.
Petersburg in a few days; Raskolnikov accuses Luzhin of taking advantage of his sister. Because she is
poor; says that Luzhin plans to use his wealth to maintain control over her and use her as he wishes. Luzhin
leaves in a huff.
Discusses the Murders: during recovery, Raskolnikov follows news of the murder investigation closely.
At the Palais de Cristal Restaurant, runs into a police clerk named Zametov, a friend of Razhumihim;
When they discuss the murders, Zametov opines that it was the work of an amateur. Raskolnikov, taken
aback, describes the modus operandi as it actually happened and even tells what he would have done with
the loot if he had committed the murder. ―You are a madman,‖ Zametov says. Then Raskolnikov says:
"And what if it was I who murdered the old woman and Lizaveta?" Zametov turns white for a moment,
seeming to believe that Raskolnikov is the murderer. Then he rejects the possibility as utterly absurd.
Leaving the restaurant, comes across a crowd gathered around a man who has been run over by a carriage:
Marmaledov; Raskolnikov tells police he knows the man; will pay for a doctor to attend him, they carry
Marmeladov home and set him down; Two of Marmeladov’s small girls, Lida and Polenka, are terrified.
His wife has Polenka fetch Sonia; A short time later, Marmeladov dies in the comforting arms of Sonia.
Raskolnikov gives 20 rubles to his wife; leaves his name and address with Polenka, who hugs him before
he leaves; Now feels good about himself; will forget about the old pawnbroker and the murder
investigation; will get on with his life; Excited, he goes to see Razhumihim, who is entertaining guests;
feeling a bit faint; accompanies him back to his apartment.
Raskolniknov’s sister and mother are there; a joyful reunion, he collapses onto the floor. Mother and
daughter are greatly alarmed; recovers and reassures them that he is simply getting over an illness; tells
Dounia of his angry encounter with Luzhin; does not want her to marry him on his account; She reacts with
dismay. Razhumihim calls the mother and daughter aside; asks them to excuse his friend’s behavior, which
he says is due to his illness; becomes fascinated with the attractive Dounia, who is tall and beautiful.
Visitors Call The following day, Raskolnikov is good; Sonia appears. In the presence of so many people,
feels extremely shy; explains that she has come to extend her family’s thanks to Rodya for his help and to
ask him to attend the funeral in the morning and a lunch afterward.
Later, Raskolnikov talks alone with Razhumihim about the murder investigation; tells him, he had pawned
various items, including a ring and a silver watch; police might regard him as a suspect; asks his friend
whether he knows the chief investigator on the case, Porfiry Petrovitch; he indeed knows him, for he is a
relation ;Rodya then asks for advice: Should he go to the police station to disclose this information,
showing that he has nothing to hide—or to Petrovitch? Razhumihim says the latter, and they decide to go
to see Petrovitch at that very moment.
At this point, a great cat-and-mouse game begins between Petrovitch, rotund and good-humored, is a wily,
highly competent detective with piercing eyes and Raskolnikov; tells Raskolnikov that he was expecting
him; What is more, he says, he already knows what items Raskolnikov pawned, that he has been ill, that he
encountered the police clerk Zametov, and that he helped the Marmeladovs. But the coup de grâce is that
he read the article that Raskolnikov wrote for the Periodical Review; Raskolnikov is dumbfounded on two
accounts: First, was not aware that his article had been published; Second, Petrovitch knows so much about
him; he will be considering Raskolnikov a prime suspect; Petrovitch says he was intrigued by a central
thesis in the article: that extraordinary people—people with superior intellects—have the right to commit a
crime; Raskolnikov says he believes that, yes, but only under when there are no legal options to remedy a
problem. ―I simply hinted that an 'extraordinary' man has the right . . . that is not an official right, but an
inner right to decide in his own conscience to overstep . . . certain obstacles, and only in case it is essential
for the practical fulfillment of his idea—sometimes, perhaps, of benefit to the whole of
humanity.‖ Napoleon, for example, waged war but was admired by millions, Raskolnikov notes.
Raskolnikov further explains that ―if the discoveries of Kepler and Newton could not have been made
known except by sacrificing the lives of one, a dozen, a hundred, or more men, Newton would have had the
right, would indeed have been in duty bound to eliminate the dozen or the hundred men for the sake of
making his discoveries known to the whole of humanity.‖ Petrovitch questions him further about this idea,
with Razhumihim occasionally interrupting to ask whether his friend is serious about his strange ideas.
Then Petrovitch says, ―When you were writing your article, surely you couldn't have helped, he-he!
fancying yourself . . . just a little, an 'extraordinary' man. . . .‖ ―Quite possibly,‖ Raskolnikov says with
contempt.
Back at his apartment, Raskolnikov gets some needed sleep but has a disturbing dream in which he is
striking the pawnbroker. But no matter what he does, she does not die. In the evening, receives a visitor,
Arkady Ivanovitch Svidrigailov who had sexually harassed Dounia when she was a governess in his
household, but his wife, Marfa, mistakenly thought Dounia had made a play for her husband; fired her,
then attempted to ruin her reputation with gossip; Later, when she discovered Dounia was innocent,
attempted to make amends; even introduced Dounia to Luzhin; Not long afterward, Marfa died of an
undisclosed cause and left 3,000 rubles to Dounia in her will; It is possible that Svidrigailov murdered
Marfa; wants Rodya to help him get back into the good graces of Dounia and offers to give her 10,000
rubles to help her get rid of Luzhin; Svidrigailov defends the way he behaved with Dounia, saying he loves
her and has her best interests at heart; But Raskolnikov refuses to cooperate, saying ―We dislike you. We
don’t want to have anything to do with you.‖
Dounia Rejects Luzhin Meanwhile, Dounia has an argument with her other suitor, Luzhin, and breaks off
with him. Raskolnikov, his mother, and Razhumihim—who has been lavishing his attentions on Dounia—
are all extremely pleased with this development. Later, Raskolnikov—under severe pressure because of the
 murder investigation—sees Sonia, whose mother has recently died; tells Sonia that both of them are ill-
fated creatures; commiserate, and at his request she reads a passage in the Bible, the story of Lazarus;
The next morning, Raskolnikov reports to Petrovitch at 11 a.m.—as Petrovitch had requested—with
information about the watch Raskolnikov had pawned. When they discuss the crime, the clever detective
says all he needs to do is observe his suspect—and let the suspect know that he is being observed. ―And
he'll keep circling round me, getting nearer and nearer and then--flop! He'll fly straight into my mouth and
I'll swallow him, and that will be very amusing, he-he-he!" Raskolnikov becomes uneasy and asks
Petrovitch point blank whether he suspects him of the murder. ―I will not allow myself to be tortured,‖
Rodya says. ―Arrest me, search me, but kindly act in due form and don't play with me! Don't dare!"
Without answering Raskolnikov's question, Petrovitch dismisses him but says he will need to see him
again. Shortly thereafter, Raskolnikov confesses the crime to Sonia, telling her about his extraordinary-man
theory. It doesn’t register with her. But she says she will stand by him and urges him to confess to the
police.
At his next meeting with Petrovitch, the detective says Raskolnikov is the type of man who would have
committed the crime. If he confesses, the courts will be less harsh with him. But Raskolnikov withholds his
confession. Meanwhile, Svidrigailov has been giving money away—some to Sonia, some to another
family. The next morning he shoots himself.
Raskolnikov sees Sonia one more time. She gives him a cross to wear. Then he goes to the police and
confesses. Because he was considered mentally incompetent at the time of the murders and because people
testify about his good acts, receives just eight years in prison in Siberia. Sonia follows him.
Razhumihim marries Sonia. Raskolnikov’s mother dies of an illness. And, after Raskolnikov is released
from prison, he and Sonia begin a new life together.
 Themes: No one is above the law; A human being consists of a Hyde and Jeyll; Success in life requires
hard work and righteous living; Love is loyal; No one is beyond redemption; Foolproof plans can quickly
become foolhardy; Suffering brings illumination; Alienation from society; The Idea of Superman;
 Symbols: Attic Apartment; July Heat; Pawned Ring, watch; Illness; Seven Hundred Thirty Steps; Cross

Bepsi Sidhwa
 Pakistani-American Novelist; Born: 1938; Parsi Zoroastrian Parents; Polio patient; born in Karachi, shifted
to Lahore; currently resides in Huston;
 Awards: Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) Award, (1991, Pakistan's highest national honor in the arts);
Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writer's Award (1994); Mondello Prize (Premio Mondello for Foreign
Authors) for Water (2007); Inducted in the Zoroastrian Hall of Fame (2000) She worked as a secretary for a
Destitute Women and Children’s Home in Lahore; also a part of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto’s committee on women’s development
 Works: The Crow Eater (1980); The Bride (1983); Ice Candy Man (1988); Cracking India (1991); An
American Barat (1993); Water: A Novel (2006).
The Crow Eaters
 Autobiographical novel; Black Comedy;
 Summary: Faredoon Junglewalla, nicknamed as Freddy, was a strikingly handsome man with a soft and
pleasant voice. When he died at sixty-five he attained the distinction of being listed in the 'Zarathusti
Calendar of Great Men and Women'. In his youth he had come to Lahore with his wife, daughter and
mother-in-law as a penniless man.
In Lahore, he started a store and soon established himself as a successful businessman. His manly bearing
and soft-spoken manners quickly found their way into Punjabi hearts. But there has always been a thorn in
his flesh. It was his mother-in-law, Jerbanoo, who was a constant source of worry for him. She did
everything to disturb him.
Sick of her, he visited a mystic who asked him to bring a strip of her hair. When Freddy tried to cut her
hair, she woke up and slapped Freddy in the face. Freddy actual intentions could not be known at that time
however he remained successful in frightening her. Sensing the sensitivity of matters, Putli stopped the
tyrannies of her mother and took over the charge of home. Now Jerbanoo found another point to bother
Freddy. She would often initialize the topic of death and talked about that till Freddy began to feel awed
and frightened.
An insurance officer visits the Parsi community in Lahore. Freddy too gets his valuables insured with him.
Later he hit a plan to win the insurance money. According to this plan, Freddy saves the valuables of his
store in a warehouse and sets fire to his store to claim for the insurance money. He remains successful and
gets a handsome amount from the insurance company.
After the episode of fire Jerbanoo changed and stopped creating problems for Freddy. In Freddy's presence
she was as quiet as a fat little mouse. Years went by. Freddy expanded his business. As opportunity
beckoned, he dabbled in a variety of trades. After getting the money from insurance company, he had never
looked back.
On a hot summer morning, Freddy finds some salt in the drinking water. It was an indication that someone
from the family wanted to get married. He made inquiries from his elder son, Soli and daughter, Yasmin.
But both were not interested in marriage at that time.
 However, soon his other son, Yazdi approaches him with the desire to marry his class fellow, an Anglo-
Indian girl, Rosy Watson. Freddy could not allow him marrying outside the community. So he clearly
refuses to allow Yazdi to marry Rosy.
Yazdi, who is shown as an over-sensitive boy is upset at the decision of his father. Later when he finds that
Rosy is a part-time prostitute, his world staggers and he turns into an overly generous boy who wants to
leave every luxury and is eager to spend everything on beggars. He takes his share from the family money,
leaves home and gets himself busy in spending the monthly profit on beggars.
From a Brahmin Gopal Krishan, Freddy learns that his elder son, Soli will die in three months. The news
worries Freddy very much. He does everything to escape the tragedy but remains unable to change the fate.
Soli dies at the said date.
This changes Freddy altogether. He starts to take interest in religion. The whole responsibility of business
falls to the shoulders of Billy who is a thrifty and miserly person. Billy has been conscious about money
right form the days of his childhood.
An advertisement is printed in the newspapers to find a match for Billy. Out of hundreds of letters received
in response of the advertisement one from Easymoney's is selected and Billy goes to Bombay with his
mother Putli and his grandmother Jerbanoo to see the girl, Roshan. In Bombay, Billy falls in love with
Roshan's sister Tanya. After a mild twist in the story, marriage between Billy and Tanya is settled and both
are married in a grand luxurious style.
The Junglewallas leave Bombay four days after the wedding and take with them all of considerable
luggage of Tanya while the married couple goes to Simla for honeymoon. In train Billy and Tanaya read
their congratulation telegrams. Some of them were very interesting.
After honeymoon when Billy and Tanya arrive Lahore, they are taken to a new house which is gifted by
Faredoon to the newly we couple. A staff has already been engaged. Billy has tears of gratitude in his eyes.
The house is furnished with essentials. Putli has thoughtfully left the selection of those things a woman
likes to choose for herself to Tanya. Tanya's luggage has been unpacked and arranged, and ornamental
articles have been placed on show in the drawing room.
Putli and Jerbanoo make problems for Tanya who at last complains Freddy about them. Freddy, as a result,
announces to take Putli and Jerbanoo to London for a six month visit. In all their life, Putli and Jerbanoo
have been impressed by their English rulers. But when in England they see them as a common men and
women, all their ideals about them shatter and break.
Jerbanoo takes a revenge of this breakage from Mary, the wife of their host, Charles P. Allen. She taunts
her, pokes her nose in every matter of her and soon makes it unbearable for her entertain them. By and by
things get worse and they have to leave the house of Allen and to shift into a hotel.
In Hotel, too, Jerbanoo creates a fuss by unlawfully taking bath in the balcony. The man living under
Jerbanoo's room complaints to the management and they in turn go to Freddy. At this Freddy decide to
return to Lahore.
Tanya has had a hard time during the absence of Putli and Jerbanoo. She is pregnant once again. This time
she gives birth to a boy. Freddy sees in this boy the image of his dead son, Soli. This event brings on the
last phase of Faredoon's life. He loses his sense of challenge and striving and is content to leave the entire
management of his business to Billy. He devotes himself to altruistic deeds, holding audience in his office
room. In the month of June, at the age of sixty-five Faredoon falls ill. He knows his days are over and his
end is near. In the last scene he tells his children that if the country faces a partition, they will side with the
rulers and the object of their lives will always be to obey the rulers and find the ways of their survival.
 Theme: Class upward mobility; Superstition; Parsi culture