full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Alex Gendler: Why should you read "Crime and Punishment"?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


In many ways, the novel follows a common navirtare thread where a promising youth is seduced and corrupted by the dangers of urban life. But its social curqitie cuts far deeper. Raskolnikov rationalizes that his own advancement at the cost of the exploitative pawnbroker’s death would be a net bfneiet to society. In doing so, he echoes the doctrines of egoism and utilitarianism embraced by many of Dostoyevsky’s cptomanrorey illeacntutles. And in believing that his intelligence allows him to transcend moral taboos, riosokkanlv cuts himself off from his own humanity. Yet although the book is deeply concerned with morality, "Crime and Punishment" never comes across as merely moralizing, with each character given their own distinctive and convincing voice. One of the most remarkable things about "Crime and Punishment" is its ability to thrill despite the details of the cnratel murder being revealed in the first act. Raskolnikov’s cirme is clear. But it’s only through Dostoyevsky’s gripping account of the ensuing social and psychological tmoriul that we learn the true nuarte of his punishment– and the possibility of redemption.

Open Cloze


In many ways, the novel follows a common _________ thread where a promising youth is seduced and corrupted by the dangers of urban life. But its social ________ cuts far deeper. Raskolnikov rationalizes that his own advancement at the cost of the exploitative pawnbroker’s death would be a net _______ to society. In doing so, he echoes the doctrines of egoism and utilitarianism embraced by many of Dostoyevsky’s ____________ _____________. And in believing that his intelligence allows him to transcend moral taboos, ___________ cuts himself off from his own humanity. Yet although the book is deeply concerned with morality, "Crime and Punishment" never comes across as merely moralizing, with each character given their own distinctive and convincing voice. One of the most remarkable things about "Crime and Punishment" is its ability to thrill despite the details of the _______ murder being revealed in the first act. Raskolnikov’s _____ is clear. But it’s only through Dostoyevsky’s gripping account of the ensuing social and psychological _______ that we learn the true ______ of his punishment– and the possibility of redemption.

Solution


  1. critique
  2. central
  3. crime
  4. intellectuals
  5. contemporary
  6. benefit
  7. nature
  8. turmoil
  9. narrative
  10. raskolnikov

Original Text


In many ways, the novel follows a common narrative thread where a promising youth is seduced and corrupted by the dangers of urban life. But its social critique cuts far deeper. Raskolnikov rationalizes that his own advancement at the cost of the exploitative pawnbroker’s death would be a net benefit to society. In doing so, he echoes the doctrines of egoism and utilitarianism embraced by many of Dostoyevsky’s contemporary intellectuals. And in believing that his intelligence allows him to transcend moral taboos, Raskolnikov cuts himself off from his own humanity. Yet although the book is deeply concerned with morality, "Crime and Punishment" never comes across as merely moralizing, with each character given their own distinctive and convincing voice. One of the most remarkable things about "Crime and Punishment" is its ability to thrill despite the details of the central murder being revealed in the first act. Raskolnikov’s crime is clear. But it’s only through Dostoyevsky’s gripping account of the ensuing social and psychological turmoil that we learn the true nature of his punishment– and the possibility of redemption.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
saint petersburg 2


Important Words


  1. ability
  2. account
  3. act
  4. advancement
  5. believing
  6. benefit
  7. book
  8. central
  9. character
  10. clear
  11. common
  12. concerned
  13. contemporary
  14. convincing
  15. corrupted
  16. cost
  17. crime
  18. critique
  19. cuts
  20. dangers
  21. death
  22. deeper
  23. deeply
  24. details
  25. distinctive
  26. doctrines
  27. echoes
  28. egoism
  29. embraced
  30. ensuing
  31. exploitative
  32. gripping
  33. humanity
  34. intellectuals
  35. intelligence
  36. learn
  37. life
  38. moral
  39. morality
  40. moralizing
  41. murder
  42. narrative
  43. nature
  44. net
  45. possibility
  46. promising
  47. psychological
  48. raskolnikov
  49. rationalizes
  50. redemption
  51. remarkable
  52. revealed
  53. seduced
  54. social
  55. society
  56. taboos
  57. thread
  58. thrill
  59. transcend
  60. true
  61. turmoil
  62. urban
  63. utilitarianism
  64. voice
  65. ways
  66. youth