Mónica de la Cruz Rojas

5. In what ways are Marmeladov and Raskolnikov alike? One of the themes of this novel is that through love and forgiveness, a man can be rehabilitated or reborn. In what way(s) does the character of Marmeladov help to illustrate this theme?

 Marmeladov and Raskolnikove have some similarities, the first one, and in my opinion the most important one, is the proud-hearted person. They both come from humbles beginnings, they don't  have enough money to spend or to give away, but they make exactly all the things they shouldn't with their money, meanwhile Marmelodov has a drinking problem and it is in bars where they spend all his money the one that is supposed to me spend in his family needs. Raskolnikove does not work, he is a former student who receives all his money from his mother, but he is really proud, in moments where de has no money to spend he decides to throw away what people give to him because he is to proud-hearted. When he receives money, from things he pond, or from the pension of his mother, he decides to give it away to the people who needed the most, without even considering that he is a poor person who needs that money. He gives it away to that drunk girl and to the family of Marmeladov after his death. Both characters act as something they are not, they pretend to have a lot and they believe in there mind this is true, since they never consider how the might use the money for themselves.

Marmeladov, helps illustrate this characteristic in Raskolnikove by showing an extreme situation, one where his decision not only affects him but an entire family, making us look at the main character as a person who waist a lot of benefits given to him.