Question

from crime and punishment by fyodor dostoevsky background: published in 1866, crime and punishment follows rodion romanovich raskolnikov, a former law student living in st. petersburg. raskolnikov experiences extreme poverty and is frustrated with his situation. in this excerpt, raskolnikov is awakened in his small rented room by nastasya, who works for his landlady. 1 he waked up late next day after a broken sleep. but his sleep had not refreshed him; he waked up bilious¹, irritable, ill - tempered, and looked with hatred at his room. it was a tiny cupboard of a room about six paces in length. it had a poverty - stricken appearance with its dusty yellow paper peeling off the walls, and it was so low - pitched that a man of more than average height was ill at ease in it and felt every moment that he would knock his head against the ceiling. the furniture was in keeping with the room: there were three old chairs, rather rickety; a painted table in the corner on which lay a few manuscripts and books; the dust that lay thick upon them showed that they had been long untouched. a big clumsy sofa occupied almost the whole of one wall and half the floor space of the room; it was once covered with chintz, but was now in rags and served raskolnikov as a bed. often he went to sleep on it, as he was, without undressing, without sheets, wrapped in his old student’s overcoat, with his head on one little pillow, under which he heaped up all the linen he had, clean and dirty, by way of a bolster. a little table stood in front of the sofa. how does the author use indirect characterization in the description of raskolnikov’s sleeping habits in paragraph 1? a. it suggests that raskolnikov is proud of his ability to live simply. b. it implies that raskolnikov is careless and lacks motivation to care for himself. c. it shows that raskolnikov values comfort more than anything else. d. it reveals that raskolnikov resents his landlady for neglecting him.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Option A: The text describes Raskolnikov sleeping without sheets, on a bed with rags, and a messy room. This doesn't suggest pride in living simply.
• Option B: Sleeping without sheets, using a bed in rags, and a disorganized sleeping setup (e.g., head on a small pillow, linen heaped up) implies carelessness and lack of motivation to care for himself, as he doesn't maintain basic personal or living space care.
• Option C: The room is shabby and his sleeping habits are unkempt, so comfort is not prioritized.
• Option D: There's no indication of resentment towards the landlady in the sleeping habits description.

So the correct option is B as it aligns with the indirect characterization of his careless and unmotivated approach to self - care.

Answer:

B. It implies that Raskolnikov is careless and lacks motivation to care for himself.