Crime and Punishment

Fyodor Dostoevsky · 1866

Ten questions on plot, characters and themes. Take it free. Pass 7 of 10 to ace it.

Question 1 of 10

Who is the protagonist of the novel?

Porfiry Petrovich, a clever police investigatorRodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, a poor former student living in a tiny rented room in St PetersburgDmitri Razumikhin, a cheerful student friendArkady Svidrigailov, a wealthy widower

Question 2 of 10

Where is the novel set?

Moscow, in the years after the Crimean WarSt Petersburg, in the heat of a long summerA provincial town in central RussiaParis, in the 1860s

Question 3 of 10

What crime does Raskolnikov plan and commit in the early part of the novel?

He robs a bank in the city centreHe murders an old pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna, with an axe, and also kills her sister Lizaveta, who walks in on the sceneHe poisons his landladyHe fakes his own death for the insurance

Question 4 of 10

What theory does Raskolnikov use to justify the crime, in his own mind?

That all property should be redistributedThat he is a religious avenger acting for GodThat certain 'extraordinary' people are entitled to step over moral law for the sake of a greater goal — a Napoleon-like exceptionThat he is mentally ill and not responsible

Question 5 of 10

Who is Sonia (Sofia) Marmeladova?

Raskolnikov's sisterA wealthy patronThe gentle daughter of a drunkard, forced into prostitution to support her family, who becomes Raskolnikov's confidantePorfiry's wife

Question 6 of 10

Who is the investigator who circles Raskolnikov throughout the novel?

Porfiry Petrovich, a shrewd magistrate who plays a long psychological game with himRazumikhin, who acts as undercover policeLuzhin, an old family lawyerMarmeladov, in the days before his death

Question 7 of 10

Who is Svidrigailov in relation to Raskolnikov's family?

His uncle, who supports him financiallyThe disturbing man who employed Raskolnikov's sister Dunya as a governess and tried to seduce herHis former tutorA bookseller in St Petersburg

Question 8 of 10

What ultimately happens to Svidrigailov?

He marries Dunya and reformsHe is exposed by Porfiry and arrestedHe shoots himself, in front of a witness, on a bridge at dawnHe escapes abroad and is never seen again

Question 9 of 10

Who finally convinces Raskolnikov to turn himself in?

His mother, on her deathbedPorfiry, in a final confrontationSonia, who urges him to confess publicly and accept his sufferingRazumikhin, his loyal friend

Question 10 of 10

How does the novel end?

Raskolnikov is executed in St PetersburgRaskolnikov is sentenced to hard labour in Siberia; Sonia follows him there, and in the closing chapter a slow spiritual awakening begins in himRaskolnikov escapes Russia and is last seen in ParisRaskolnikov is found innocent at trial

0 of 10 answered