Crime and Punishment's Contribution

Crime and Punishment presents a number of contrasting character relations and family interactions. Raskolnikov, the main character, seems to have no real father figure in his life. Therefore, as one observes Rodya's influence on society, his family background must be taken into consideration. In general he appears to have a negative affect on society. He murders two women, deceives his friends and family, acts cruelly, even to those he loved, and appears unable to portray a consistent personality. People around him feel hurt because of him. The question then becomes, why? Why would someone with such a brilliant mind, loving mother and sister, and opportunities for success brood over his life to the point of murder? What brings Raskolnikov to murder? It seems from his explanation to Sonia and himself that he considers himself extraordinary, not bound by society's rules. However, to the reader, its seems that Rodya performs these acts because he searches for his worth, looking for a purpose. Therefore, when he observes Napoleon and other conquerors, he fancies their rise to power. He assumes that they had to step out of the bounds of society to achieve their success and their historical fame. Consequently, Rodya thinks of himself in the same light. He concludes that to achieve success he must step outside societal bounds. There is no father figure present in Rodya's life to tell him his worth. Therefore, he searches for his worth in other ways. Without a father figure in the family, Rodya appears to suffer from insecurity, which leads to a negative societal outcome.

Another important character in Crime and Punishment is Sonia. She seems to have both a positive and negative influence on society. Her circumstances at home lead her to prostitution. However, her intentions are noble. In another light, she encourages those around her with her innocence and, from the epilogue, she seems to bring happiness to all who knew her. Sonia lives within at least some kind of family unit with a father and mother and siblings. But again, there is brokenness in the family. Her father suffers from drunkenness and Sonia lost her mother at an early age. However, with the presence of her step mother, and at least some kind of father figure, Sonia's influence on society strikes one as being more positive than Rodya's influence. This appears to communicate that parental figures play an important role in children's success in society. On the other hand, one must notice the inherent differences in personalities between characters such as Rodya and Sonia. There are other elements of their personality that contribute to their influence on society. Their family environment is not the single most important element in their eventual influence on society.

One last observation about Crime and Punishment's message on the importance of relationships in one's influence on society appears in Svidigralov and Rodya. Svidigralov ends up with no one to confide in and no family to rest on. He, therefore, commits suicide. However, Rodya has relationships that keep him afloat. This clear contrast in outcome for two individuals who appear to resemble each other provides evidence that humans need relationships. Humans are relational beings, and the importance of their relations may determine life or death.

Lear's Contribution

There are numerous family dynamics explored in Lear, and their effects on society are critical. However, those effects are not fully presented in the book. There are two main families to consider: Lear and his daughters and Gloucester and his sons. In Lear’s case there is no mention of a mother. Therefore, when considering the actions of his daughters, that element of the family unit must be considered. Additionally, we notice that the main conflict between Gloucester, Edgar, and Edmund stems from the mother. Because Edmund is illegitimate, his mother was not actually Gloucester’s wife (technically not part of the family). Edgar’s mother, though, is Gloucester’s wife (part of the family). This clear chasm in the family unit noticeably impacts the society around it along with the family members. The dissention that fills Edmond’s heart stems from his illegitimacy. He craves the meaning and inheritance that is promised to him in a proper family, a legitimate family. Therefore, he takes whatever actions he can to ensure a future of power and authority, of honor and meaningfulness. Therefore, this desire appears to come from his broken family. His desire for meaning and legitimacy is a result of a divided family where affirmation and encouragement seem to have been void. Consequently, the effects of Edmonds insatiable search for power can be attributed back to his family upbringing. Those effects are, division, violence, deception, and to the extreme, war and death. Edmund plays a role in all of these, and although these results mainly affect his immediate companions in the book, one can assume that the larger society is also affected similarly. Furthermore, when regarding Lear’s family and its influence on society, similar parallels exist. The original pride of Lear prompts partition between his daughters. His favoritism results in division in his family, which results in division in society. The power struggle prompted by Lear’s initial irrational, results in division, violence, deception, war, and death (similar to Gloucester’s family contributions). In both cases, elements of division in the family unit appear to reveal the cause of societal clashes. In Lear’s case, there was favoritism and in Gloucester’s, there was adultery. Both divisions, however, seem to result in negative outcomes. Thus, family unity would logically seem to result in positive outcomes.

Oedipus' Contribution

In the poem Oedipus, Oedipus finds himself in a dilemma that relates directly to the relationships in his family. In the background before the story, we learn that his real parents, Laius and Jocasta, abandoned him from fear of a prophesy. Therefore, one can attribute his final outcome to his original abandonment. If the family was not severed, then maybe Oedipus’ downfall could have been avoided. We can conclude that family separation has possible, unforeseeable, tragic outcomes on the individual and society. Another element of Oedipus’ family background that leads to his demise is deception. He was not told that he was the son of Laius. If Polybus really loved Oedipus as a son and a part of the family, then he should have been honest with him. Due to lack of honesty, Oedipus ran away to find out the truth. When he was finally able to find the truth, it was too late. Due to lack of transparency on Polybus’ part, his family collapsed. Consequently, we can also conclude that honesty is essential within the family unit to prevent future demise. That coincides with Wallace Gray’s comment, “Oedipus is a man who doesn’t know the most important thing in his life: his identity.” Identity partially comes from family; therefore, Oedipus’ lack of identity is somewhat caused by his lack of knowledge regarding his true family.

Now that we analyzed aspects of the family unit in Oedipus, we notice those aspects’ affects on society. Due to the great influence that Oedipus has on his society, the influence of his family background is accentuated. In this case, we see the affects of negative family characteristics. Oedipus’ misunderstanding of his history leads to a plague on his city. Even though he did not know of his crime against his father, his crime led to death and disease for others. His blindness also affected his children and their children. Due to lack of family unity, Oedipus passed on the generational curse. His daughters would not have suitors because of his reputation, and from there, repercussions continue even into the next generations.

How does your first independent study book relate to your big question? Reflect on some pertinent textual details and ideas from this book

In Barbara Kingsolver's novel A Poisonwood Bible, Kingsolver takes the reader through the adventures of a family who moved from Bethlehem, Georgia to Kilanga, Congo. In essence, the whole book focuses on the family interactions between each other and the people around them. Consequently, numerous family dynamics are brought to life and examined from different perspectives. Each of the women in the Price family, present their thoughts and feelings around the present events, and most of their comments regard others in their family. The reader, therefore, sees the overlap between the familial events and the societal events; each event is separate but interlocked. As the reader observes the relationships in the family changing, they also see a change in the relationships between the Price family and the rest of the community.



One strong example of this overlap is Leah's attitude change toward her father. As she loses trust in her father's judgement she also pushes the boundaries of the societal norms by wanting to hunt with the men. Although unaccepted by the elderly in the community, Leah fights for her right to hunt as she fights against her father's control over her. Leah's reactions are separate but parallel. As a result, the reader observes various affects that the family unit has on society, which corresponds to the big question, "What influences do the family unit have on society?"

Question: What is your big question? Why does this question interest you? Tell a story from your life that illustrates why this question interests you

"Why aren't you eating lunch?"
"I don't have money."
"Why?"
"My parents won't give me money for lunch."
"What?"
"They only give me 200 dollars a month to buy everything I need."
"Including food?"
"Yes!"
"So now you go hungry because your parents won't invest in your nutrition?"
"Yes. In fact I don't eat enough on a regular basis. There are other things that I need to buy."
"What! Why don't you tell them about it?
"They won't listen. All they do is yell and scream at me."

Sometimes I wonder why people act the way they do. Why do people have totally different perspectives regarding the same subject? Why do they react so strongly in certain circumstances? Is it because of family? Do their family interactions affect their responses to society?

The question that I chose to ponder is, "What influences do the family unit have on society?" Each child grows up in a different family and has a different relationship with their parents and siblings. I have always had an unusually close relationship with my parents and consequently share many of their views. Additionally, my character is largely influenced by my interactions at home, just as others' personalities seem to have parallels to their family lives. Usually, when a person undergoes stresses at home, such as a divorce, their personality is altered. It becomes evident that something is wrong.

One of the catalysts for my thinking on the family unit, is an event that occurred recently. In the summer of 2010, the parents of a family who I see periodically got divorced. I saw their children 6 months later and observed a slight change in their self confidence and tendencies to cling to anyone they felt even somewhat safe with. This past summer, the slight change became easily noticeable, even from six months earlier. My thoughts wandered to what changes this next year would bring about. What long term effects will the divorce have on them? I pray for the best.

Just as drastic changes in a family seem to have ripple effects, I wonder what other aspects of the family unit influence society.