Chamblee Charter High School

ENGLISH LITERATURE 123

Dreams in Crime and Punishment Several characters have dreams in this novel. Dostoevsky uses these literary dreams as a reflection of the past as well as a prediction of future events. The images (people, places, etc.) can easily be associated with specific events in the character’s past. Book Chapter Character & Dream Brief Summary of the Dream Source of the images Interpretation of the Dream Book I Ch. 5 Raskolnikov Dream #1 An injured horse is getting beaten to death by Mikolka and other drunk men after the old mare is unable to pull a cart full of people. A crowd gathers around and watches. The child Raskolnikov runs up to help the dead horse but is pulled away by his dad. Raskolnikov gets this dream due his building anxiety and inner conflict with his upcoming planned murder. His child self trying to protect the horse showed his innocence- a contrast to him now being the one doing the murdering. This shows his loss of innocence. The mare getting violently beaten to death foreshadows the later planned death of Raskolnikov as he axes the old Alyona to death. In a sense, this represent Raskolnikov’s dual sides. Mikolka reprents Raskolnikov as he later kills the pawnbroker as both claim their victim is useless for society. On the other hand, his child self represents his caring side and lost of innocence following the crime. However, the young Raskolnikov siding with the horse shows how he’s unable to justify his murder as Mikolka did.