If Crime and Punishment were a contestant on a version of American Idol that fostered competition between works of literature rather than pop singers ... well, I'd probably watch it. Anyway, how would it do? Compare it to another great work of literature you've read, providing justification for a "winner" in terms of literary success. (This is admittedly rather silly and less than useful, but I'd be interested in what you have to say here ...)
22 comments:
Considering my limited literary experience at this point in my lifetime, I think the only work that would be appropriate in contending Dostoeyevsky's Crime and Punishment is Shakespeare's Hamlet. Although I love the other classics (The Great Gatsby, The Canterbury Tales, etc), their overall structures differ too drastically from Crime and Punishment to be able to compare them fairly.
Crime and Punishment and Hamlet share many similarities. Raskolnikov and Hamlet are both highly developed characters, as Rodya's intense inner monologues mirror Hamlet's thought provoking soliloquies. The men toy with action, inaction, and the temptation to "play God." Rodya and Hamlet eventually prove themselves capable of murder. Due to their personal transgressions as well as to the poor conditions of various external environments, they endure constant suffering and contemplate suicide. The overall rotten state of Petersburg parallels that of Denmark.
With that in mind, a competition between Crime and Punishment and Hamlet would come down to the endings of each work. This is where the epilogue saves Dostoeyevsky. People like closure and uplifting endings, and this is exactly what is achieved by the final line of Crime and Punishment. To leave off on "the gradual renewal of a man" is much more pleasing than to leave off on death, as in Hamlet. Shakespeare's play is Stephen King-like in that he kills off almost all of his main characters in the final scene. This is a cheap way of concluding a work and takes away from the magnitude of its other components. Crime and Punishment would therefore be Russia's Idol.
okay um i'd love to see a dostoevsky orwell showdown. that would be sweet. both 1984 and crime and punishment are psychological novels and really take some actual thinking on the reader's part to fully comprehend. i pronounce george orwell's 1984 the winner. though both require intellect, 1984 requires a lot more political theory knowledge and historical background than crime and punishment. most people can read crime and punishment and get maybe half of what's going on. with 1984, most people could only understand the "big brother is watching you" part of it and be completely lost at all other points in the novel, especially the ending. so therefore, 1984 triumphs all. the end.
Very original Mr.C.
Crime and Punishment would deffinately hold it's place in the top but I believe although the plots differ extremely, The Great Gatsby would still be right up there. The Great Gatsby is so much easier to follow compared to the perplexing thoughts of Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment. I believe that you do not have to have a complex plot in order for the book to be great literature as I have stated before in a previous blog. For me the Great Gatsby would win in the showdown because it is more interesting to me, this choice is clearly just my opinion. Fitzgerald's symbolism is incredible and the way he targets the true materialistic ways of the American is something that many can relate to. However, when pleading Crime and Punishment's case,you could say that the constant struggle that Raskolnikov faces adds more to the plot because of his situation. Both stories are excellent stories and also two completely different stories but I would crown The Great Gatsby the all around winer.
Well, as Lauren said, I haven't really read too many literary masterpeices, so let me just pull out William Falkner's "As I Lay Dying" since no one else has(or will) mention it. Personally, I enjoyed "As I Lay Dying" (I'll abreviate it AILD) more than CP, but in terms of literary success, CP probably wins. Both novels exeptionally psychological; AILD was narrated completely in the minds of its characters. CP is just more easliy understandable; in AILD, its impossible to tell what's going on half the time because the storyline is constantly clouded over by the inner thoughts of the characters. CP would win due to its complexity: the "fresh air" theme, the constant "rebirths", the number of counterparts in the novel. Unlike CP, AILD uses very little apparent symbolism. AILD only proves to be meaningful if the reader can make sense of all the seemingly mindless jibber-jabber. Unless all of the characters are carefully analyzed, AILD may just be a frustratingly tedious read. So i'd have to say that in terms of complexity, clarity, and satisfaction, most readers would prefer "Crime and Punishment." I sill like AILD more though.
I also have limited experience, but I would definitely pit Crime and Punishment against Huck Finn -- because i think Huck Finn is my favorite book of all time. And in this case, i think that I would ahve to pick huck finn over CP. while CP is a really great book, i think, and has so many interesting concepts attached to it...Huck finn uses just as many great concepts in so many fewer pages. They are similar in the fact that a bunch of separate "stories" work together. for example, the shipwreck and the family that huck stays with with the romeo and juliet lovers, and then his aunts house at the end. CP has rask's family (mom and sister) and then the Marmeledov family, and SVid.
but Huck finn is so short that every single word seems purposeful and emotionally-filled. And there are so many great ideas that it encompasses and so many symbols that extend throughout the entire book (like the river).
These two agaisnt each other would be very interesting, however, becasue they are so different and yet you can find so many similarities. Huck is going agaisnt society's ideas just like rask. Exceot we see Huck as a hero and rask many ppl dont see him as a hero. But i still like huck finn for this.
In this Literature Idol show, Crime and Punishment would do very well seeing that it is thought provoking, unique, and exciting. Yet, I don't know if it would come out on top. The winner would probably be The Catcher in the Rye. This book is a timeless tale of a boy that is coming of age, an adventure that most readers can relate to since everyone experiences that time period in their life. Crime and Punishment is a great story, but it isn't as relateable. Very few people understand from personal experience the madness that comes after they kill someone nor have they tried prostitution nor have they hurt the reputation of an innocent girl to regain a wife they see as an object. Holden's mentality is something comforting because we understand his emotions. It would probably also win due to its appeal to younger readers and those are the types of people that vote in shows like American Idol. It also is a good read for older generations because they still can empathize with the journey Holden goes through since they were in his shoes at one point. Crime and Punishment requires a more mature reader since the elements of it take a lot of pondering and insight. Overall, even though Crime and Punishment is a phenomenal work of literature, I think The Catcher in the Rye would triumph.
First of all I think the show would be cancelled within the first 30 seconds, but that's just me. Haha.
But I believe that Crime and Punishment would make it to the top five. I would have to say that there are deffinitely a lot of great books out there, unfortunately I do not know all of them, but I think Crime and Punishment would make it pretty far in the "competition".
I think it would come down to Shakespeare vs Shakespeare for the top three spots, number four could be 1984 by George Orwell, or even Lord of the Flies, and Crime and Punishment would be fifth. For one, two, and three, it would be close but a very tough showdown. Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, oh my! I would have to put them in that order too. I do not know much of Macbeth but I know that if Shakespeare wrote it, it deffintely must have made an impact. Joyce's Dubliners I would put in the top 10, along with Mark Twain's Huck Finn.
But the aspect of the show that would really be interesting to me would be the judges. Come on think of this, Mr. Cianflone, Mr. Alaimo, Miss Winkler, and of course the special guest judge, Mike Salerni. That is deffintely a show I would tune into now. Two Simon Cowell's, a more intelligent Paula Abdul, and the best literary critic of all time, it would deffintely beat the "showdown" in the real American Idol. HAHA.
I don't think that anyone would watch this show. Like Mr. Cianflone has mentioned in class there are people that only watch American Idol to make fun of the less than talented auditioners. If the show was based off of great literary works, it would be about something that is already successful. People wouldn't be watching a story in the making. It would be a debate, more of a lecture, which I think would turn off people from watching the show. I think that if Crime and Punishment was competing a great literary work that might be able to match it would be Othello. The tricks that Iago plays on Othello's mind are similar to those that Raskolnikov creates in his own mind. The writing styles are different however, so C&P would probably win. I think that one not so famous piece of literature that could do well is Grendel. This story is written in steam of consciousness and explores how the monster feels about his crimes to Beowulf. I personally liked Grendel better, and would vote for it instead of C&P.
I think that Crime and Punishment would be near the top, qualifying for the finals rounds against other great works such as Huck Finn, The Great Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye, and To Kill a Mockingbird, oh and of course Hamlet. It would beat out things such as The Canterbury Tales and Great Expectations. I agree with Kristen, I am partial to Huck Finn, also one of my very favorites but agreeing with her they are very very different though if it is popularity contest Russians would vote for their own, Crime and Punishment, but I would certainly vote Huck Finn. To Kill a Mocking bird is another favorite of mine and I think that is has very powerful lessons that apply to everyday people's lives making it a good candidate for winning. Crime and Punishment has very great lessons if you are considering or have committed a crime but there are many people who have done neither, however every day of our lives we are faced with how to treat those around us, especially those of another race or ethnicity. Therefore I think To Kill a Mockingbird is a strong contender for first place.
first of all HaHa mr. cianflone changing idol to idle real cuite. The book that i would choise to battle against Crime and Punishmant would be the Diary of a Crush series by Sara Manning. okay just joking that's what i'm reading right now.
The novel i would truly choise to battle C&P on this crazy version of American Idol would be Catcher in the Rye. i know this was already mentioned twice but i still would have to pick it.
Catcher in the Rye has a very simalar main charicter to that of C&P. Both of these two charicters are large givers Holdin and Rodya both give back even if they hate them-selfes for it latter or just get upset when they are not aprishiated. They both also are the "crazy" type. Both of these charicters transgress moral law to the extreme. in the begining of class we did that ditto ranking imoral actions and prostitution was not that far up there for us but i would ventor to say that most people would think quite lowly of prostitution even if the person did not go through with it. so Holdin may be almost as naughty as Rodya.
However in the end i think that Crime and Punishment would lose because American idol is based off of the votes of the American public and i think that even though the american public is inteligent they would rather read and vote for a book that is more easily understood. So our winner is Catcher in the Rye.
I know a lot of people have previously mentioned Catcher in the Rye but that would definitely get my vote too. Although Crime and Punishment ranks at least in the top 5 I would have to say that Catcher in the Rye takes the number 1 spot. The main characters seem to have the same kind of internal thinking going on and both stories are viewed through their eyes and what they perceive. I mean Holden didn't murder anyone but you have to admit he was a bit crazy. I haven't read many great literary works in my short lifetime (all of them being read for school) however Catcher in the Rye is easily one of my favorites. It's much easier to comprehend than Crime and Punishment which I'm sure would make it enjoyable to others having to choose between the two. I think that if these two novels were battling it out on Mr. C's new show Catcher in the Rye would probably get more votes just because its an easier read and therefore more people have probably read it than C&P. Let's be honest how many Americans out there are reading great literay classics in their free time? And if they are, i doubt theyre watching reality shows like AI.
One of my favorite works of literature (that would earn a "fantastic" by simon cowell) is The Great Gatsby. And if compared with Crime and Punishment, The Great Gatsby would win. On the audition of Crime and Punishment, Simon would say "A solid novel, though at times it makes me want to sleep. However, the conflict between Raskolnikow and himself (his morality) does come off strongly, leaving much room for interpretation. At it's high points, it grabs the reader's attention (for example the part where Raskolnikow is running from the house after murdering the pawn broker, or the part where Sofia is blamed for stealing the money), though there are a limited number of high points." And when The Great Gatsby auditions, Simon would say "Bloody fantastic read. My favorite work of literature yet. The theme of the American Dream comes off strongly through the novel, as does the clash between 'old money' and 'new money'. There are countless symbols to play with and interpret, such as the green light, the eyes of Dr. T.J Eckleburg, and the valley of ashes. Astounding." The Great Gatsby would be the winner.
It's hard not to choose the same novel to compete against Crime and Punishment, because we've all pretty much read the same books and we all have a limited literary experience, as Lauren mentioned. I would have to go with Catcher in the Rye, because I loved reading the novel. I would put Crime and Punishment in the ring with Catcher in the Rye because they both enter the minds of their main characters, and analyze an important event in their life. While Crime and Punishment is about conscience based on a murder, and Catcher in the Rye is about coming of age and entering the adult world, they both excellently examine the mental workings(?) of their characters. Both authors do an outstanding job of putting themselves in the characters places. The characters appear to be real after reading both of these books, and I think that is what conritbutes to both of their literary sucesses. Not to mention the fact that they both go over incredibly vital lessons/issue that people face everyday. I don't know if I could even decide who would win because they both have excellent themes, and are well written. After a huge show-off, I would go with Crime and Punishment only because it has the upperhand with its theme of conscience. The novel could serve as a warning to people who want to committ crimes in the future. So, the theme, has more value than Holden's struggle with adapting to the life of an adult.
Or, actually, now that I'm in the middle of thinking about this post, I would also choose Crime and Punishment to go against The Scarlet Letter because they both deal with conscience. Both characters comitt a huge sin, and the plot in both stories is the mental journey they go on in order to deal with their conscience. They also both get punishments from their crimes, but in the end, they redeem themselves. It would be a perfect competition. I'm thinking Scarlet Letter would win because of the intricacy of the symbolism, and just the overall scandal it's about.
Honestly I cannot believe I am responding to this post...but here it goes anyway. If one novel were to battle Crime and Punishment, I believe it would be The Canterbury Tales. Both novels are studying human behavior in different situations. Crime and Punishment follows Raskolnikov after he murders the Pawnbroker, and The Canterbury tales follows many different characters through their religious journey. in the end I would grant The Canterbury Tales the win, because it was truly an innovation in writing, and honestly I believe the public enjoys that book much more than Crime and Punishment.
In both Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Chronicles of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, theres a presence throughout the novels of ecological pressures. This leads to the committing of murders by Raskolnikov and the Vicario brothers.
I believe that the Vicario brothers' approach to murder and Raskolnikov's approach are so different that their moods as a result of the murders are much different. For example, the Vicario brothers immediately take action, openly, to resolve Angela's honor, while Raskolnikov plots for months in advance and, although the murder is a public service, his ultimate goal is to explore his theory of 'immunity to law for the extraordinary'.
Both of these books illustrate how we as people are afflicted by society. it helps us by supplying the basic necessities of life, but also controls many of our actions by giving us traditions and laws to test.
Chronicles of a Death Foretold would win this Russian Idol because i can see that the twins
don't really want to kill Santiago. Yet because of the unwritten rules of society, they are forced to revenge the loss of their sister’s virginity.
But in Crime and Punishment,
Raskolnikov is just testing his place in society by killing the pawnbroker.
I think that this is an interesting prompt. One work that I think would be able to compete against "Crime & Punishment" is "The Decameron". Both works attempt to capture human nature (and in a sense, the human condition) but in different manners. While C & P resorts to using Raskonikov's murder, The Decameron uses adultery, "erotic desires", and human treatment of others as a means as capturing human nature. Overall, if competing in Russian Idol as a competition between works of literature, I think that The Decameron would win because it addresses a broader audience, and so, it would interest a lot more people. On the other hand, C & P seems to have a more limited scape in terms of interesting all types of readers. And if you don't necessary look at the substance (which often happens on these types of reality shows), C & P's cover is a bit dark/shady in comparison to The Decameron's :)
Though Crime and Punishment is definitely one of the greatest works of literature, but I did not entirely enjoy the book. Books with slightly similar themes, but much more enjoyable in my opinion were the books Frankenstein and 1984. All three books deal with issues of human morality, though they go about it differently. Crime and Punishment deals with morality by making its main character question the commonplace morals and the commonplace ethics and challenge them to see if they can possibly hold up under scrutiny, or if "great men" truly are above those morals. Frankenstein asks the question of how moral is it to give life to the lifeless and how does one deal with it once it is born. Meanwhile 1984 deals with the question of alternative morals in a society that values conformity and control of the population to the extreme. Of these three books, I would say that I most enjoyed 1984 for the simple matter that I enjoy dystopian novels and the Oceania of 1984 was much more of dystopia than Dostoevsky's St Petersburg or Shelley's Europe.
As most other people have said Crime and Punishment would do really well on this show due to its style of writing, its emphasis on human choices, its ideology on sinning, and more. The book would definately make it to one of the last rounds.
However, i feel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn would definitely be the number one competition for Crime and Punishment. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn brings out the ideas of loyalty, perseverance, and dedication. It also shows human nature at its best yet roughest times. I thought this book was excellent and could compare to Crime and Punishment easily.
Everyone has talked about books that are read in English classes, I think it would be interesting for a classic like Crime and Punishment to be compared to more modern books. I know many people would believe that you can’t compare a book like Crime and Punishment to a modern day best seller like Twilight, Harry Potter, or any other new book or series, but rather then comparing the books as wholes you can break them down and compare each part, theme, setting, character development, use of diction/syntax, tone, images etc…
I don’t have a specific book in mind I think it would be interesting to compare today’s type of book rather then a specific book itself.
I think it would be tough, Crime and Punishment is a classic, but depending on who the audience is, will affect the outcome. Modern books have something too them to draw teens to read them, rather than having to read them for english class. I don’t think a winner could be really determined, Crime and Punishment and Modern books have different qualities about them that help their literary success. Many copies of Crime and Punishment are sold, but how many of those are to students who are forced to read it, while all the copies of the new books are sold to people who really want to read them for fun.
I'm honestly not trying to circumvent the answer to the question with this post. But, I don't think "Crime and Punishment" can be fairly compared to any other form of literature I have read thus far. Sure, Crime and Punishment can be analyzed alongside with Joyce's Dubliners, Shakespeare's Hamlet, Twain's Huck Finn, or Orwell's 1984. But, all of these pieces of literature are "winners" in their own right. Every novel or play has certain qualities or attributes that make it a masterpiece. It doesn't do any of these novels or plays justice to say simply "one wins over another." When a certain novel gets labeled as a "winner," it unfairly undermines the loser and makes the "winner" seem perfect and flawless. Now that I'm done ranting, I would say that I like Crime and Punishment a lot more than the other works we have read so far this year. The way in which Dostoevsky uses the psychological thriller genre to get in Raskolnikov's head is not only neat, but impressive. So Crime and Punishment is not necessarily "better" than the other novels we have read in class, I just admittedly found a more fun read.
I'm such a complainer but OH GOLLY GEE I cannot stand this font. It makes it hard to hear everyone's voices coming out of their own blog comments. We've all got like very dotted dotty i's and sleak s's, it's all too...the same to be really us. I wish we could choose our own font.
Moving right along.
Considering this show actually is real, let me just...pull some quotes from the judges : Billy, Virginia, and Mark.
Billy is William Shakespeare:: Simon Cowell (sp)
Virginia is Virginia Woolfe:: Paula Abdul
Mark is Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens:: Randy Jackson
Okay yeah so I know none of them are like the people I'm ::ing them to, but for my purposes...twill be okay. "twill away again, from me to you." that was Hamlet wasn't it? Twas. Twas. ANYWAY! (man do I have strong ADD)
When Crime and Punishment first auditioned for the show the judges were really turned off by how long it was.
Virginia: Doesn't he understand NOONE is going to read something that long? Especially about a cRaZy MAN?
Mark: Everyone's Russian. How boring. There aren't even really any boats. Doesn't he only see water once? Ugh. I say no.
Billy: I think its FANtastic. Those internal monologues remind me so much of asides, I just can't help but put him through to the next round.
AND so...on C&P went, carried all the way by Raskolnikov's internal conversations with himself. Sometimes, as we learned with William Hung on the singing version of American Idol, insanity CAN get you far in life.
Towards the end of the season, the other novels had all either been kicked out, dropped out, or were just not pulling their own weight, what with their 200-300 page limitations. The only two left were Crime and Punishment and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Many people rooted for Crime and Punishment because Harry just seemed to brood and skulk around aimlessly for countless pages. No one wanted to read about him being depressed. However, Severus Snape, the annoyingly mean, yet significantly luring potions teacher, saved the book. The issue people had with voting was that both Harry and Raskol could not shut up. HOwever annnoying their rants, and their self deprecating thoughts were, people couldn't get enough. It wasn't until the final show down that the audience realized how much more compelling Crime and Punishment was because it had a two part epilogue instead of just ending and then having two more books written like Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Since you said this post was stupid Mr. Cianflone, I thought I'd make an attempt at being silly.
I think Frankenstein (F) would be a strong contender against Crime and Punishment (CP). They are both very different over all, F being a gothic romance and CP being a psychological novel. However, they both offer strong commentary on the state of society at the time. But for me, CP wins (despite the epilogue, which I HATED). Personally, although I do like F, CP is much more engaging because it is a psychological novel. The descriptive passages of nature in F do allow for a strong imagery of the setting, but they can be tedious and slightly boring. In CP, I didn't get that feeling.
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