Article biblical motives in crime and punishment. Literature project "Biblical motifs in the novel F
Project structure: 1. Introduction. About our project. 2. Orthodox Dostoevsky. 3. Novel “Crime and Punishment”. Sonya Marmeladova and Rodion Raskolnikov are the main characters of the novel. 4. Biblical words and expressions in the novel. 5. Secrets of names. 6. Biblical numbers in the novel. 7. The contact of the plot of the novel with gospel motifs. 8. Conclusion. Conclusions. 9. Applications.
“Reading Dostoevsky is, although sweet, tedious and hard work; fifty pages of his story provide the reader with the content of five hundred pages of stories by other writers, and in addition, often a sleepless night of painful self-reproach or enthusiastic hopes and aspirations.” From the book of Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) “Prayer of the Russian Soul.”
“... Sodom, sir, the ugliest... um... yes...” (Marmeladov’s words) “You pigs! The image of the beast and its seal; but come too!” (from Marmeladov’s words) “...to marry the current meat-eater... immediately after the Mistresses...” (from Pulcheria Raskolnikova’s letter to her son) “It’s hard to climb Golgotha...” (from Raskolnikov’s thoughts) “... two crosses: cypress and copper” “She, without a doubt, would have been one of those who would have suffered martyrdom, and certainly would have smiled when her chest was burned with red-hot tongs... and in the fourth and fifth centuries she would have gone to the Egyptian desert and lived there for thirty years, eating roots..." (Svidrigailov about Duna)
The contact of the plot of the novel with biblical motifs Icon The Appearance of Jesus Christ to Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection “Whoever constantly reads the Divine Scriptures (in the simplicity of his heart) and stands by their streams, even if he has no interpretation, absorbs great benefits through his roots.” St. John Chrysostom
Conclusion - Outside of Orthodoxy, it is impossible to comprehend the writer’s works. - Without religion, human life is meaningless and impossible. - The novel shows how faith enables a person to solve moral problems. - The author introduces biblical words and images, which in the novel become symbols and guidelines for the reader.
"Crime and Punishment"
“Crime and Punishment” is one of F. Dostoevsky’s ideological novels, permeated with the ideas of Christianity. Biblical motifs give the novel a universal meaning. Images and motifs from the Bible are subordinated to a single idea and are grouped and semicircle of specific problems. One of them is the problem of the fate of humanity. According to the modern writer, society is correlated in the novel with apocalyptic forecasts. The image of the Bible is transferred to the vision of the heroes. Thus, in the epilogue, the novel painted a terrible picture: “... I dreamed in my illness that the whole world was doomed to fall victim to some terrible unheard of and unprecedented ulcer...” If you compare this description with the Apocalypse, you can notice the obvious similarity of the description of the end of times and Raskolnikov's vision in hard labor. This description helps to understand the author’s warning about the terrible abyss of spirituality to which humanity can fall by ignoring morality.
Therefore, the theme of spiritual rebirth in the novel is connected with the idea of Christ. It is no coincidence that Sonya Marmeladova, during her first visit to Raskolnikov, reads to him the story of the resurrection of Lazarus: “Jesus said to her: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, although he dies, will live. And everyone who lives and who believes in Me will never die.” Sonya hoped that this would encourage Rodion, blinded and disappointed, to believe and repent. She thought like a deeply religious Christian. After all, the path to forgiveness and to spiritual resurrection lies through repentance and suffering. That is why she advises Raskolnikov to surrender to the authorities, just to accept suffering in hard labor for the sake of purification. The hero does not immediately understand everything; at first he even fears that Sonya will annoyingly preach to him. She was wiser. They were both resurrected by love. Raskolnikov himself turns to the Gospel, trying to find answers to his questions there. The most painful thing about them is the question of justice in the world. In the novel, Marmeladov tells the then completely different Raskolnikov that “the one who took pity on us all and who understood everyone, he is the only one, he is the judge,” will take pity on us. It was he who spoke about the second coming of Christ, because he believed that after lawlessness and injustice the Kingdom of God would come, since otherwise there would be no justice.
So, Dostoevsky’s philosophical concept is the spiritual rebirth of man through love and compassion for man and the whole society, through the preaching of Christian morality. And in order to present this concept as best as possible, the writer wrote the most famous plots and motifs of the main book of Christianity - the Bible - to his work.
problems of a literary work, they are embodied in general types or are extraordinary personalities, minor characters create the social background against which the action of the work develops, etc. But F. Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment” is a truly unique phenomenon in the Russian world literature. Importantly, this novel contains the image of St. Petersburg - in which events take place.
The attentive reader had the opportunity to notice that the image of St. Petersburg stands out in one way or another in many works of Russian literature. Let us recall Pushkin’s poem “The Horseman,” in which the city of St. Petersburg is actually a separate character. There would be no St. Petersburg and Gogol’s “Petersburg Tales” known to us. Why does this city attract writers? Why exactly does he help them reveal the themes and ideas of the works? What themes and ideas are revealed through the image of St. Petersburg?
How does a new city arise? People begin to settle in a certain place, the village is completed, enlarged... But this was not the case with St. Petersburg. It is known to us as a man-made city, built in the swamps by order of Peter I. During his treatment from diseases contributed to by the climate, and from hard work, many people died, in fact, this city is on bones. Straight streets created artificially, majestic and small buildings... All this leaves no living space for the existence of the common man. That’s why the heroes of Pushkin’s “The Bronze Horseman” and Gogol’s “The Overcoat” are dying in St. Petersburg. This city with its own, cruel and chimerical soul... Phantom City... Monster City...
In the novel “Crime and Punishment” the realities of St. Petersburg are reproduced with topographical accuracy, however, they often acquire symbolic meaning, becoming part of it. In the novel we see a different Petersburg (not those majestic fashionable buildings) - the city reveals its terrible bottom, the place of existence of morally devastated people. They became like this not only through their own shortcomings, but because the phantom city, the monster city, made them like this.
“through and through” full of cruelty, injustice, non-existent morality.
In hell). The symbolism in the depiction of the city is important - the sickly yellow colors recreate the current state of the heroes, their moral illness, imbalance, and intense internal conflicts.
“scenery” is a realistically and symbolically loaded place of action. St. Petersburg is precisely such a city-symbol in the novel “Crime and Punishment.” Analyzing the meaning of this image helps to better understand the deep content of this novel.
To the question "the role of biblical motifs" in the novel "Crime and Punishment" asked by the author Anastasia Kuznetsova the best answer is “Crime and Punishment” is one of F. Dostoevsky’s ideological novels, permeated with the ideas of Christianity. Biblical motifs give the novel a universal meaning. Images and motifs from the Bible are subordinated to a single idea and are grouped and semicircle of specific problems. One of them is the problem of the fate of humanity. According to the modern writer, society is correlated in the novel with apocalyptic forecasts. The image of the Bible is transferred to the vision of the heroes. Thus, in the epilogue, the novel painted a terrible picture: “... I dreamed in illness that the whole world was doomed to fall victim to some terrible unheard of and unprecedented ulcer...” If you compare this description with the Apocalypse, you can notice the obvious similarity between the description of the end of times and Raskolnikov’s vision in hard labor . This description helps to understand the author’s warning about the terrible abyss of spirituality to which humanity can fall by ignoring morality.
Therefore, the theme of spiritual rebirth in the novel is connected with the idea of Christ. It is no coincidence that Sonya Marmeladova, during her first visit to Raskolnikov, reads to him the story of the resurrection of Lazarus: “Jesus said to her: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, although he dies, will live. And everyone who lives and who believes in Me will never die.” Sonya hoped that this would encourage Rodion, blinded and disappointed, to believe and repent. She thought like a deeply religious Christian. After all, the path to forgiveness and to spiritual resurrection lies through repentance and suffering. That is why she advises Raskolnikov to surrender to the authorities, just to accept suffering in hard labor for the sake of purification. The hero does not immediately understand everything; at first he even fears that Sonya will annoyingly preach to him. She was wiser. They were both resurrected by love. Raskolnikov himself turns to the Gospel, trying to find answers to his questions there. The most painful thing about them is the question of justice in the world. In the novel, Marmeladov tells the then completely different Raskolnikov that “the one who took pity on us all and who understood everyone, he is the only one, he is the judge,” will take pity on us. It was he who spoke about the second coming of Christ, because he believed that after lawlessness and injustice the Kingdom of God would come, since otherwise there would be no justice. So, Dostoevsky’s philosophical concept is the spiritual rebirth of man through love and compassion for man and the whole society, through the preaching of Christian morality. And in order to present this concept as best as possible, the writer wrote the most famous plots and motifs of the main book of Christianity - the Bible - to his work.
We are accustomed to the fact that in literary works, important images are the images of the main or secondary characters, that is, the people who act in the work. Through the characters, the main problems of a literary work are revealed, they embody general types or are extraordinary personalities, minor characters create the social background against which the action of the work develops, etc. But F. Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment” is a truly unique phenomenon in Russian world literature. Importantly, this novel contains the image of St. Petersburg - in which events take place. Why does this city attract writers? Why exactly does he help them reveal the themes and ideas of the works? What themes and ideas are revealed through the image of St. Petersburg? In the novel we see a different Petersburg (not those majestic fashionable buildings) - the city reveals its terrible bottom, the place of existence of morally devastated people. They became like this not only through their own shortcomings, but because the phantom city, the monster city, made them like this. Depicting St. Petersburg, F. Dostoevsky deliberately symbolizes this city. The square and the steps of the houses (which necessarily go down: down, to the very bottom of life, in the long term - to hell) acquire symbolic meaning. The symbolism in the depiction of the city is important - the sickly yellow colors recreate the current state of the heroes, their moral illness, imbalance, and intense internal conflicts.
Biblical motifs in the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment".
Topic: Biblical motifs in the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment".
Goals:
in debunking Raskolnikov's theory;
in understanding the images of heroes;
analyze the novel “Crime and Punishment” through the prism of Holy Scripture;
show what role biblical motifs play in revealing the overall concept of the work:
develop the ability to select from a novel and correlate with biblical verses, drawing certain conclusions;
to form a humanistic worldview of students;
create an emotional mood that allows each student to openly express their point of view;
to cultivate moral and moral qualities through the spiritual perception of the heroes of the novel.
Equipment:
Portrait of F.M. Dostoevsky V.G. Perova;
“Christ in a sheet” I.N. Kramskoy;
Painting by I. Glazunov “In the warehouse”;
Roman F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment";
Bible;
Slide show;
Eidos - outline;
Case – summary;
Illustrations for the novel in each “case” for comparison with the biblical illustration on the slide.
Lesson type: lesson - research.
Method: partly - search.
Epigraph:
“To humanize the gospel teaching is the most noble and completely timely task.”
N.S. Leskov
During the classes.
Teacher:
“Crime and Punishment”... The novel has been read, but the fireworks of thoughts do not allow me to calm down. Yes, Dostoevsky’s novel is some kind of whirlwind of events, confessions, scandals, murders. A grain of sand taken from a tornado is insignificant. In a tornado he is knocked off his feet. And the problems raised by the writer in the novel are far from being grains of sand: responsibility before God for your life and the lives of those around you, life and death, good and evil, faith and unbelief. And collected together, they, like a tornado, explode our consciousness, awaken our conscience, appeal to reason, convey to everyone the Christian idea, the idea of salvation and true love.
Today we have an unusual lesson. Instead of reporting and analysis, we will seek the truth. Truth, as we know, is born in dispute. But!.. It is also in the Bible. “Your word is truth,” said Jesus Christ, turning to God. (John 17:17)
Let's try, with the help of the Bible, to better understand the meaning of the novel and the significance of the problems raised in it. It was the Bible that Dostoevsky considered “the book of humanity.” This thought is the epigraph of the lesson: “To humanize the gospel teaching is the most noble and completely timely task” N.S. Leskov.
independent work with critical literature
analysis of specific situations;
brainstorm;
discussion.
But before proceeding to the study, consider two pictures:
portrait of F.M. Dostoevsky by artist V.G. Perova;
“Christ in the Desert” by I.N. Kramskoy.
Student:(the teacher also takes part in the description of the portraits)
Look carefully at the painting by I.N. Kramskoy “Christ in the Desert”, 1872. Christ, having been baptized and hearing the voice of God from heaven about his messianic purpose on earth, goes into the desert and there for 40 days, without food, remains in complete solitude. He reflects on his purpose - to save humanity from sin and death.
Teacher:
What do you think is the semantic center in the picture?
The hands of Jesus are clenched painfully, as if He is trying to bind together the world, earth and heaven.
Before us is a drama: the transformation of a person into a messenger of God, who must suffer for people.
Student:
Now look at the portrait of F.M. Dostoevsky, written by V.G. Perov. What do these two seemingly different paintings have in common? Hands! In Dostoevsky they are also compressed. To the point of pain. The same concentrated look. And there is pain for everyone, a desire to save. And he sees salvation in the spiritual rebirth of man. So, we see, looking at the portraits, that Jesus Christ and Dostoevsky have one goal - to save humanity.
Teacher:
Guys, I’m afraid to divert your attention from the novel, but, nevertheless, I want to show you another painting by I. Glazunov, “In the Warehouse.” Old abandoned church. On the left wall is a fresco depicting Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. In front of the fresco, in the center of the picture, there is a huge stump and an ax stuck into it for chopping meat - an executioner's ax. And on the right hangs a butchered, bloody carcass of an animal. The temple is turning into a meat warehouse, how scary! It’s even worse when the temple of the soul turns into a warehouse. This is incompatible: the temple of the soul, the ax and blood (you feel a connection with the novel). This should not happen, warns the author of the picture. It shouldn’t be, Dostoevsky pleads. It shouldn't be, but it was...
To recover from the shock after seeing I. Glazunov’s painting, let’s listen to music and talk about what we will do in class.
We work using the case study method (the guys are familiar with his technology:
independent work with critical literature;
analysis of specific situations;
brainstorm;
discussion;
result).
By the end of the lesson, we must find out whether murder can be justified in any way? To answer this question we will take into account personal opinion , author's opinion, Bible point of view (because the Bible is true) and Criminal Code of Ukraine .
You will express your personal opinion by answering the questions in the questionnaire:
Yes;
No;
I find it difficult to answer.
Is it possible to justify killing someone?
Everyone has a questionnaire sheet. The assistant will calculate the results.
In each group, select:
coordinator (work organizer);
secretary (distributes case materials, records results);
rhetorician (announces the results of the study).
With more students there may be more “roles” in the group.
The teacher gives a general task to the students:
who is this?
how did you determine?
Write the character's name on the back of the illustration.
The case contains an illustration depicting one of the characters from the novel.
From package No. 1, take out the printed name of the hero. Did it match yours? Paste it in the lower right corner of the illustration.
Packet No. 2 contains questions for discussion. Once you get them, get to work. In case of difficulty, open the 3rd package: there is a set of “documents” - critical, additional literature that will help in the discussion.
Students, having familiarized themselves with the content of the “case,” discuss the problem and make a “resolution.” If you have difficulty, you can get help from a teacher. You can use the second type of help: guys from other groups can suggest their solution. For the answer they receive a token (maybe two, if the question is complex or the answer is original). At the end of the lesson, for the largest number of tokens - 10 points, those with fewer - 9 points, etc.
Students spend 5 minutes distributing roles and solving the problem.
Teacher:
So, we know why Raskolnikov committed the crime.
When was the first crime committed on earth?
(On the screen there is a slide “The Murder of Abel”)
Group 1 is working.
Contents of the “case”:
Read Bible verses.
What is the parallel to the biblical story in the novel?
(Raskolnikov also commits an unnatural, sinful act - murder).
3. What is the role of the biblical episode?
(The Bible says: God does not want the sinner to die, but to turn him and live forever. For Cain's crime, there was not punishment, but a call to repentance, but Cain did not repent and remained a criminal forever. And Raskolnikov’s story is the path to spiritual rebirth - through repentance).
4. There are several biblical lines about the punishment of Cain, and 5 chapters about the punishment of Raskolnikov. Why?
(It is not difficult to remain a criminal without repentance. And Dostoevsky wants the reader, having gone through the path of suffering and repentance with Raskolnikov, to understand that the murder of one person leads to the suicide of humanity, to the dominance of evil forces on earth, to chaos and death. I understood and did not take this path).
(The guys give their illustration “Raskolnikov kills the old money-lender” to the assistant. He attaches it to the board to the left of the portrait of Dostoevsky with the novel “Crime and Punishment.” And the illustration “The Murder of Abel” is to the right of the image of Jesus Christ and the Bible - 1st parallel ).
Teacher:
Guys, do you remember the story of the fall of our ancestors?
On the slide, the “Serpent” tempts Eve.
Group 2 is working.
Read the Bible verses Genesis 3: ….
2. How does Eve justify her sin to God?
(“The serpent” (Satan)… he deceived me, and I ate (Gen. 3:13).
3. What is the parallel of this biblical story in the novel?
(Raskolnikov also justifies himself at the end of the novel, explaining one of the reasons for the crime: “The devil led me to commit a crime”).
4. What is the lesson of comparison?
(Dostoevsky shows: it is easy to find an excuse for your sin; it is even easier to shift your sin onto another. It’s hard to imagine what will follow; it’s scary to live through these consequences. Adam and Eve remained the source of sin. And Dostoevsky gave Raskolnikov a chance to atone for his sin).
Teacher:
Slide Mary Magdalene is a sinner.
The 3rd group is working.
Case contents:
1. Read Luke 7:36*38 from the Bible about the sinner.
2. What character is the biblical sinner associated with? Why?
(With Sonya Marmeladova. This is the most attractive image in the novel. But Raskolnikov considers her a great sinner: after all, she also transgressed the moral law).
3. Read the continuation of the story of Mary Magdalene. 17:39,47,48,50.
(“The Pharisee who invited him (Jesus Christ) said to himself: “If he... knew what kind of woman is touching him, because she is a sinner.” Jesus Christ answered: “... her sins, although many of them, are forgiven her, t .because she showed a lot of love." Then he told her: "...Your sins are forgiven...Your faith has saved you").
4. How does the story of the biblical sinner help us understand why Sonya, who broke the law, was forgiven, but Raskolnikov had to suffer for forgiveness?
(Sonya breaks the law out of love for her loved ones. Thanks to love and faith, she deserves forgiveness).
CONCLUSION: just as in the Bible Mary Magdalene goes from a fallen woman to a righteous woman, so in the novel Sonya goes the same way.
Assistants attach illustrations to the novel near the portrait of Dostoevsky; biblical illustrations near Kramskoy’s painting.
Group 4 is working
Slide “The Raising of Lazarus.”
Case contents:
1. Read John 11:1,2,17,23,25,39,41,43,44.
2. Which words from this legend are core?
(John 11:25 “I (them) – resurrection and life. Who shows up in me faith, even if he dies, will come to life»).
3. Who reads Raskolnikov’s legend about the resurrection of Lazarus? Why?
(Sonya wants Raskolnikov to be forgiven through faith in God).
4. What does this legend have to do with the novel?
(It echoes the fate of Raskolnikov. The main character’s room is likened to a coffin. And Lazarus was in the crypt (coffin). Sonya reads about Lazarus on the 4th day after the crime. Lazarus resurrected on the 4th day. And Raskolnikov was there all 4 days "dead" and essentially lying in a coffin, and Sonya came to save him.
The Word of God has great power. Raskolnikov believed. He repented in his heart. “Everything in him softened at once, and tears flowed. As he stood up, he fell to the ground. He knelt down in the middle of the square, bowed to the ground and kissed the dirty ground with pleasure and happiness.” Yes, those who were not afraid to commit sin should not be ashamed of repentance!)
CONCLUSION: through repentance, through true faith, even a sinner can be reborn.
Teacher:
Guys, our lesson is coming to an end. What did this lesson teach us?
Appreciate life, your own and others.
In any critical situation, turn to the Bible as the source of TRUTH.
Reject any violence and do not look for justification for it.
The novel has been read, but impressions, thoughts, and perhaps questions remain with us. Perhaps something remains unclear until the end. But the thought is awakened. And this is the main thing.
Perhaps later you will read the novel again and understand how deep this work is. And it cannot be different, since it echoes the Bible, and there are many more biblical analogies in the novel than we talked about today in class. The rest is up to you...
The teacher draws attention to the eidos - a summary drawn up on the board based on the lesson materials.
Don't kill! Ref. 12:13 “When I choose the time, I will bring justice to justice”!
A person should not replace the law and court. For premeditated murder, the Criminal Code of Ukraine provides for punishment of up to 15 years in prison or life imprisonment.
Personal Dostoevsky Bible Criminal Code
We are trying to go to God, to build churches, but not everyone has done the main thing - we have not cleansed our souls, we have not repented before everyone and everyone before everyone. Not everyone washed the blood from their souls. But temples are not built on blood. And yet we took a step. A step towards purification, towards happiness. Go to him.
Lately, people have begun to talk and write more and more about religion, about faith in God. In our literature lessons at school, topics related to biblical motifs and images in works of art began to appear. The ideas of Christianity permeate the work of many outstanding writers. The works of Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky are filled with biblical legends and images. And this is no coincidence, because the Bible talks about good and evil, truth and lies, how to live and die. No wonder it is called the Book of Books.
While reading Dostoevsky's works, I noticed that they are filled with various symbols and associations. A huge place among them is occupied by motifs and images borrowed from the Bible. Thus, in the novel “Crime and Punishment,” Raskolnikov dreamed in his illness that the whole world was condemned to be a victim of some terrible, unheard-of and unprecedented pestilence. “Professor of the Antichrist” Lebedev prophesies about the end of times.
Dostoevsky introduces predictions and myths into his works in order to warn humanity, which is on the verge of a global catastrophe, the Last Judgment, the end of the world. The hero of the novel “Demons” Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky, rethinking the gospel legend, comes to the conclusion: “This is exactly like our Russia. These demons coming out of the sick and entering the pigs are all ulcers, all uncleanness, all demons and all the devils that have accumulated in our great and dear patient, in our Russia, over centuries, over centuries!”
For Dostoevsky, the use of biblical myths and images is not an end in itself. They served as illustrations for his thoughts about the tragic fate of the world and Russia as part of world civilization. Did the writer see the paths leading to a healthier society, to a softening of morals, to tolerance and mercy? Undoubtedly. He considered the key to the revival of Russia to be an appeal to the idea of Christ. The theme of the spiritual resurrection of the individual, which Dostoevsky considered the main one in literature, permeates all of his works.
One of the key episodes of Crime and Punishment is the one in which Sonya Marmeladova reads to Raskolnikov the biblical legend about the return of Lazarus to life. Raskolnikov committed a crime, he must “believe” and repent. This will be his spiritual cleansing.
The hero turns to the Gospel and, according to Dostoevsky, must find answers there to the questions that torment him, must gradually be reborn, move into a new reality for him. Dostoevsky pursues the idea that a person who has committed a sin is capable of spiritual resurrection if he believes in Christ and accepts his moral commandments.
Faith is also spoken of in the legend of Thomas, which appears in The Brothers Karamazov. The Apostle Thomas believed in the resurrection of Christ only after he saw everything with his own eyes and put his fingers into the wounds from the nails on the hands of Jesus. But Dostoevsky is convinced that it was not a miracle that made Thomas believe, for it is not a miracle that causes faith, but faith contributes to the appearance of a miracle. Therefore, the writer argues, the rebirth of a person occurs not under the influence of some external mystical miracle, but thanks to deep-seated faith in the truth of Christ’s feat.
Christ is not just a biblical image in the works of Dostoevsky. The writer deliberately endows Prince Myshkin in the novel “The Idiot” with the features of Jesus. In the novel The Brothers Karamazov, Ivan Karamazov sees the coming of Christ. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."
These moral principles are professed by many of Dostoevsky’s characters who have embarked on the path of spiritual rebirth. The main moral principle of happy people, according to Dostoevsky, lies in the following words: “The main thing is to love others as yourself...”
Spiritual rebirth through compassionate love and activity - this is Dostoevsky’s philosophical concept. And to reveal it, the author uses myths and images borrowed from the Bible.