Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky help?

Question

So I've read the book and written two essays on it right now and I need help since my brain is somewhat fried by now and I can't remeber. I have to write about the periods where Raskolnikov is ill in the novel and what it metaphorically represents. He passes out a lot and is sick in bed for several days at one point, because the overwhelming guilt and fear of discovery are causing him mental and physical illness, am I right? Is there anything I'm missing that I could use?

Answer 1

I think you're definitely on the right track, especially with writing two essays.  I wouldn't be surprised if you know a great deal more about the novel than I'll ever know.  The most basic concepts of the novel are in two parts.  1.  The act of killing someone in their own home for no good reason.  2.  The Punishment of having to live with the grief of doing it and not so much as the lawful punishment of committing the crime.  

The Sparknotes (Don't know if you've looked at them) of the book has excellent Summaries and Analyses which would take up far too much space on this page.  So instead of very specifically answering your question I'd just like to point you to a good source containing great examples

Answer 2

He also is self-destructively generous, very strange considering that he was willing to resort to murder.  It has been a while since I have read, but I seem to recall a connection between his times of illness and the bizarre gifts.

Answer 3

There are a number of online study guides for Crime and Punishment, and quite a few other resources on the web that can help you with this novel.  Most of them have quite a bit of good information.  Have a look at these sites, and you should get some help with your work.  If you do a search for Crime and Punishment here in the Yahoo Answers search window you will find that quite a few questions have been asked here about this book, so that is another source of help.

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/crime/

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitN...

http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/c...

http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/t...

http://www1.umn.edu/lol-russ/hpgary/Russ...