That's One Fickle Prince!

Throughout the course of Shakespeare's play, his main character Hamlet undergoes an apparent philosophical and spiritual development.
He faces a major worldview struggle from the very beginning which is set off by the appearance of the ghost and the ensuing commotion surrounding that event. The rational, educated Protestant student in him reasons away the possibility of the ghost's reality, maybe assuming that it is a demon; the Catholic influence in him attributes it to the process of Purgatory; the vengeful son in him hopes the ghost is real so as to confirm and excuse his hatred of Claudius; the scared little boy in him who defaults to folkloric stories pees his pants and screams, "Aah!! A Ghost!!" He also continually wrestles with the idea of suicide, wishing "that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst self-slaughter." Here we see his very evident spiritual agitation. On top of this he is also trying to decide whether or not to kill Claudius, and the same differing "worldviews" push and pull him every which way about this one too. Thus Hamlet begins his philosophical and spiritual journey: utterly confused. As the play progresses, Hamelt becomes more and more cynical about religion. This is made evident, for example, when he suggests Claudius send a messenger to heaven to look for Polonius, and tells him if the messenger does not find him there to "seek him in the other place yourself." This flippant attitude about the afterlife shows a development in his spiritual and philosophical views. Ophelia's death also spurs in him thoughts of heaven and hell because she committed suicide - an act greatly looked down upon back then and terrible enough to forfeit proper Christian burial rights. Hamlet considers these concepts and events and turns toward a more naturalistic approach. He expresses this view in his speech about how all men die and turn to food for worms regardless of their life accomplishments, status, possessions, and even religious affiliations. This outlook is contradictory to his Protestant education and even the Catholic influence he's been surrounded with for years and shows a drastic shift in his character regarding his spiritual and philosophical convictions. Naturalism is expressed in Hamlet's famous skull scene as well because he connects someone he used to know with essentially becoming dirt just like everyone else. However, in Act 5 of the play, Hamlet demonstrates a final shift and the conclusion of his spiritual and philosophical development. He mentions providence a number of times, suggesting a move back toward the Christian view. Once he gets that nervous suspicion that his end was near, he made an effort to repent and apologize - something he wouldn't have done had he still been under the influence of his naturalistic craze. Horatio's final words consummate Hamlet's journey: "flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!" This shows that Horatio, the person who knew Hamlet the best, believes that he is on his way to heaven. Despite the roller coaster of a ride through various battlefields in grappling with worldview, Hamlet ultimately landed on the right note.

Senior Quote

"I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean"

"Evangelize" Oedipus

Since a good piece of literature always reaveals a truth, and all truth is God's truth, these truths can be applied as Biblical. "Oedipus Rex" introduces a number of poignant topics that traslate through a Christian perspective. One of these is the false notion that man can succeed on his own. In the play many characters try to take their fates into their own hands, whether that be by running away, shifting blame, or volitionally ignoring the truth, which always ultimately results in more pain and failure. Along with this comes the idea that man cannot escape sin either - outside of forgiveness from God, that is. The symbolic blindness comes into play here, represnting for Oedipus a purposeful ignorance of his wrongdoing and his tragic circumstances. Through the plot he moves from ignorance to awareness finally to a regression back into willful obliviousness because once he realizes the severity of what he has done, he wishes he had never found out. Rather than hide from our sin and try to disregard its existence in our lives, however, God encourages us to confront it and repent of it to Him.

"If it doesn't make you weep and worship -- read it again!"

It's always so interesting to listen to a person talking about something he or she is truely passionate about, so hearing Dr. Burton pick apart some topics on the life of Dostoevsky pertaining to Crime and Punishment was a treat. Literature aims to evoke such enthusiasm as he has about this influential author.

Learning about the background and context of the composition of Crime and Punishment helps deepen some of its meaning and put certain issues and topics into perspective. I love when authors draw from their own experiances to create a believable character - it adds so much depth and truth. Dostoevsky created Raskolnikov to be very similar to himself in a number of ways, and I can't help but imagine that at times he could have been considered to be literally writing about himself on some level, whether consiously or unconsciously.

Another point Dr. Burton addressed that caught my attention was that the issues raised in Crime and Punishment are extremeley relevant today. Though written hundreds of years ago, society and humanity are still dealing with the same problems.

Finally, I was intrigued by the topic of existentialism. I liked how Dr. Burton gave the analogy that existentialism seeks to rip off the mask of "I'm ok" to reveal the true inner turmoil and angst of human beings. This is what happens in Crime and Punishment. The reader gets to see into Raskolnikov's inner being and experience what he is going through psychologically as he contemplates, executes, and reflects upon the murder. It is this attempt to really draw the reader into the feeling of the story that makes it so effective.

Did Raskolnikov Repent?

What would the story of Crime and Punishment be if not for Raskolnikov's final repentance? His contrition for committing the crime restores that essential aspect of hope in an otherwise "depressing" tale. When Raskolnikov technically confesses his guilt in committing the act he is not genuinely repentant for it, but only wishes to relieve some of the agony that has come with keeping the secret for so long. For quite some time in prison as well, he reflects on his crime not with remorse but with examination - he still does not see the sin in his action because he believes he is a "superman" and therefore above the law. However, hope is nearly personified in Sonia, for she is the one without whom Raskolnikov would most likely have never accepted the true weight of what he had done. Because of Sonia's love Raskolnikov is able to look outside of himiself (overcome his pride) and eventually come to humility and true repentance.

Mere Christianity Quote

"And here comes the catch. Only a bad person needs to repent: only a good person can repent perfectly. The worse you are the more you need it and the less you can do it. The only person who could do it perfectly would be a perfect person - and he would not need it" (57).