Crime & Punishment

[tvaleri]

We are using Tapestry of Grace Year 3 and I'm a bit concerned about my almost 15 yo daughter reading Crime & Punishment. I've not read the book and honestly, don't know if I'll have time to. Any thoughts? Comments?

TIA,
Teresa

[Karenciavo]

What are your concerns?

[momofkhm]

ETA:

Somehow I read the title wrong! We have not read this book.

[tvaleri]

Thank you for the reply. My concerns stem from reviews I've read on amazon, the library, etc. that the book almost has a "Criminal Minds" appeal in that the main character commits a commit a brutal double murder then we are taken on a journey through his mind as he thinks through his actions. Not sure how explicit the descriptions are. Concerned about the quality of the literature. Garbage in, garbage out, kwim?

Thanks again,
Teresa

[plimsoll]

It's been many years, since I read it, but...

It's more about how he justifies the crime to himself, his inner turmoil, inner epiphanies, and the gradual twisting of his mind and morals until he believes he is not only justified but almost religiously obligated to perform the crime as a way of sacrificing himself for his own redemption.

Not at all lurid or filled with explicitly violent fantasies. This is great literature, not teen soft porn. You definitely don't have to worry about garbage in, garbage out. However, you may want to read the book yourself and engage your daughter in discussion about its many themes.

[Karenciavo]

It's more about how he justifies the crime to himself, his inner turmoil, inner epiphanies, and the gradual twisting of his mind and morals until he believes he is not only justified but almost religiously obligated to perform the crime as a way of sacrificing himself for his own redemption.

Not at all lurid or filled with explicitly violent fantasies. This is great literature, not teen soft porn. You definitely don't have to worry about garbage in, garbage out. However, you may want to read the book yourself and engage your daughter in discussion about its many themes.

:iagree:

If you don't have time to read it perhaps you could read sparknotes along with Framesworks, Poetics, the teacher's notes, and the literature SAPs in TOG.

[OLG]

My 14y/o ds read it along with the excellent course plans that Kolbe Academy provides in their literature course. The course plans detailed the Christian symbolism in the book and explained many of the aspects that "might" be considered "Criminal Minds". I read the book after ds and truly appreciated the guidance in the Kolbe plans yet I also saw the benefit of reading this "cold". The author (won't attempt to spell this correctly!) does a superb job of capturing the angst and machinations of thought of the main character both while a "free" man and when in prison. IT is a classic for good reasons!!

Mary

[LittleIzumi]

Concerned about the quality of the literature. Garbage in, garbage out, kwim?

Thanks again,
Teresa

Ack! Dostoevsky, garbage??? Be still my ringing ears ;). Dostoevsky is the best. I had an entire college course on just his works. Crime and Punishment is fabulous--Dostoevsky is great at work on the human psyche.

[tvaleri]

[QUOTE=LittleIzumi;1223279]Ack! Dostoevsky, garbage??? Be still my ringing ears ;).

:) I didn't mean Dostoevsky is garbage; but that the crime and some of the characters actions were not the best material :)

Thank you all so very much.


Teresa

[Kim in Appalachia]

and so many modern detective characters are based on the detective from that book. I loved reading it. I would have no hesitation having my 15 year old read it.

[moki4]

No reservations here. This is very much a psychological journey down a very dark, yet provocative road.
Read it for yourself, and you can discuss together!

[Carol in Cal.]

In an honors English class that was very good.

It's a book with a lot of Christian beliefs reflected in it, actually. I had a huge advantage in studying it because I could recognize them and the allusions to the Bible. It is an intensely moral book really. It does call for a lot of discussion as it is pretty dense. Russian novels are like that, you know!