CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

 The Poor Student

St. Petersburg, a hot July morning. The former law student Rodion Raskolnikov leaves his tiny, dilapidated apartment. Honestly, he doesn’t have much more than a wardrobe. Raskolnikov is overwhelmed by dark thoughts. He tries to avoid everyone he crosses paths with. He plans to commit a terrible act, which makes him feel bad. Two voices speak to him in his head. Should he do it or not? He walks through the dirty, foul-smelling streets of the city until his steps lead him to the house of the elderly pawnbroker Aliona Ivanovna. With suspicion and hypersensitivity, he examines every detail of the porch and the woman’s home. The pawnbroker, sly and stubborn, only wants to give him a ruble for his watch, even though he expected to get at least four. However, he avoids arguing with the old woman and leaves with the money she offers him.
A Friendly Drunk
Despite his shyness, Raskolnikov enters a tavern. A dirty drunk talks to him. His name is Marmeladov. He tells Raskolnikov and his mocking listeners his sad life story: shortly after his wedding, he started drinking and was fired from all his jobs because he couldn't put the bottle down. His wife forced their eldest daughter into prostitution so that the family would have something to eat. A few days ago, Marmeladov got a good job and managed to raise enough money for his wife and children, but that same night he took the money and spent it on alcohol. Now she has been missing her home for five days. Raskolnikov takes the nice drunkard home.

The nightmare
After a restless night, Raskolnikov receives a letter from his mother. She informs him that her sister Dunia will be marrying Councilor Lujin. Raskolnikov is not very happy with the idea, as he believes that his sister is selling herself to a rich man whom she does not love, only for material reasons. He goes back to bed and wakes up shortly afterwards drenched in sweat. He had a terrible nightmare: he dreamed that, as a child, he had to watch as a couple of drunken peasants beat a horse to death. Later, on the way to the market, he happens to hear that the moneylender’s sister will not be visiting her the following night. Then, a flash of hope appears with this unique opportunity.

The crime

After a long and exhausting sleep, Raskolnikov wakes up the next night and sets out to carry out his plan. He is going to kill the moneylender and steal her money, but he doesn't want his emotions to overwhelm him; on the contrary, he intends to act in a logical and rational manner. After all, for him, the murder of this person, whom he considers a nuisance Unfortunately, it is not a crime. He goes to the old woman's house, which earns him the entrance. While the woman looks carefully at the silver cigarette case that Raskolnikov has given her, he extracts the axe he has brought and kills the woman. Between nervous and contained, he takes the key from the dead woman from the chest that is in the next room. In it, he finds several gold chains, watches and other pawned objects. At that moment, he hears footsteps: Lizabeta, the sister of the dead woman, enters the room. Raskolnikov throws himself on her and kills her as well. Now, he panics and escapes through the window.