Part I - Chapter V Practice Quiz — Crime and Punishment
by Fyodor Dostoevsky — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Part I - Chapter V
Where does Raskolnikov initially plan to go at the start of Chapter V?
He plans to visit his friend Razumikhin to ask for work and lessons, but decides he will only go after "It" is done.
What does Raskolnikov mean when he refers to "It" in this chapter?
He is referring to his planned murder of the pawnbroker Alyona Ivanovna, which he cannot yet name directly.
Where does Raskolnikov wander before falling asleep?
He crosses Vassilyevsky Island, walks over the Lesser Neva bridge to the islands, drinks vodka at a tavern, and collapses in the bushes of Petrovsky Island.
What triggers Raskolnikov's dream about the mare?
Physical and mental exhaustion combined with drinking vodka on an empty stomach cause him to fall asleep on the grass of Petrovsky Island, leading to the vivid nightmare.
How does the mare die in Raskolnikov's dream?
Mikolka escalates from whipping her to beating her with a wooden shaft and finally bludgeoning her with an iron crowbar until she collapses and dies.
What does Raskolnikov do immediately after waking from the dream?
He renounces his plan to murder the pawnbroker, praying to God to show him his path and feeling a sudden sense of freedom and relief.
What information does Raskolnikov overhear at the Hay Market?
He overhears that Lizaveta Ivanovna will be away from the apartment at seven o'clock the next evening, meaning the pawnbroker Alyona will be completely alone.
How does Raskolnikov feel when he returns to his lodging at the end of Chapter V?
He enters like a man condemned to death, feeling he has no more freedom of thought or will, and that everything has been irrevocably decided.
Who is Mikolka in the dream, and what does he symbolize?
Mikolka is a drunken peasant who beats the mare to death. He symbolizes the violent, rationalizing side of Raskolnikov that believes killing a useless person is justified.
What does the seven-year-old Raskolnikov represent in the dream?
The child represents Raskolnikov's compassionate, moral self—the part of him that instinctively recoils from cruelty and violence.
How is Lizaveta Ivanovna described in this chapter?
She is about thirty-five, tall, clumsy, timid, submissive, and almost idiotic. She is a complete slave to her older stepsister Alyona, who beats her and makes her work day and night.
What role does Raskolnikov's father play in the dream?
The father tries to lead young Raskolnikov away from the violent scene, telling him the men are drunk and foolish, but the boy tears free and runs to the dying horse.
Who are the huckster and his wife, and why are they significant?
They are market vendors at the Hay Market who invite Lizaveta to visit the next evening at seven. Their conversation, overheard by Raskolnikov, reveals the opportunity for murder.
What central theme does the conflict between Raskolnikov's dream self and his waking self illustrate?
It illustrates the duality of human nature—the struggle between compassion and cruelty, conscience and rationalization, that defines Raskolnikov throughout the novel.
How does the chapter explore the theme of fate versus free will?
Raskolnikov freely renounces his plan after the dream, but then seemingly fated circumstances (his unconscious detour, the overheard conversation) push him back toward murder, raising the question of whether he truly chooses or is chosen.
What does Mikolka's shout of "My property!" represent thematically?
It represents the theme of ownership and exploitation—the idea that possessing something gives one the right to destroy it, paralleling Raskolnikov's rationalization that some lives are worth less than others.
How does the dream function as a literary device in this chapter?
The dream serves as psychological revelation (exposing Raskolnikov's inner conflict), symbolic foreshadowing (the mare prefigures the pawnbroker, the crowbar anticipates the axe), and moral warning.
What narrative technique does Dostoevsky use regarding the Hay Market detour?
He uses dramatic irony and authorial commentary, with the narrator explicitly calling it the "predestined turning-point of his fate" and noting Raskolnikov could never explain why he went that way.
How does the chapter's structure mirror a pattern of addiction or compulsion?
It moves from tortured obsession to the brief catharsis of renunciation, then immediately to relapse when the Hay Market coincidence overwhelms Raskolnikov's fragile resolve—a cycle of clarity followed by compulsive surrender.
What does the word "copecks" mean as used in the chapter?
Copecks (or kopecks) are small Russian coins, fractions of a ruble. Raskolnikov counts his remaining thirty copecks, emphasizing his extreme poverty.
What is a "balalaika" mentioned during the dream scene?
A balalaika is a traditional Russian stringed instrument with a triangular body, mentioned as part of the raucous tavern celebration in the dream.
What does the quote "Lord, show me my path—I renounce that accursed dream of mine" reveal?
It reveals Raskolnikov's moment of spiritual surrender and moral clarity after the nightmare, where "dream" refers not to the nightmare itself but to his murderous plan—his theoretical justification for killing.
What is the significance of Raskolnikov saying "can it be that I shall really take an axe" after waking?
It is the first time Raskolnikov explicitly articulates his plan in concrete, physical terms—the axe, the blood, the stealing—showing how the dream forced him to confront the brutal reality of what he had been abstractly planning.