Good discussion questions on this novel need to do more than confirm students did the reading. The questions below are organized by the novel's own structure, so you can pull from the relevant section as you move through the unit without scrambling to write new prompts each week.

For Part One, useful questions focus on Raskolnikov's psychological state before the murder and the significance of his article on extraordinary men, which he discusses with Porfiry only later but which the narration hints at from the opening pages.

For Parts Two and Three, questions should track his physical and mental deterioration, his complicated relationship with his mother and sister, and his first real conversations with Porfiry, where the psychological chess match of the novel truly begins.

Parts Four and Five deepen the relationship with Sonya and introduce Svidrigailov as a genuine threat, while Part Six and the epilogue require questions that grapple with confession, punishment, and the ambiguous nature of Raskolnikov's transformation.

Questions for Parts One Through Three

These questions work best in the early weeks of the unit, when students are still building comprehension of the plot alongside their first exposure to the novel's philosophical stakes.

• What does the horse-beating dream reveal about Raskolnikov before we know his plan?
• How does the narration's description of the pawnbroker shape our reaction to the murder?
• Why does Dostoevsky include the accidental murder of Lizaveta rather than leaving the crime clean?
• What does Raskolnikov's reaction to his mother's letter reveal about his self-image?
• How does Porfiry's first extended conversation with Raskolnikov establish the psychological cat and mouse game to come?

Questions for Parts Four Through Five

This stretch of the novel is where students often need the most guided discussion, since the introduction of Svidrigailov and the deepening of the Sonya relationship both require careful attention to avoid oversimplified readings.

Questions here should push students to consider Svidrigailov as a genuine philosophical foil rather than simply a villain, and to examine what specifically draws Raskolnikov toward Sonya beyond simple attraction or pity.

Questions for Part Six and the Epilogue

The final stretch of the novel demands questions about ambiguity rather than resolution. Students should be pushed to defend specific interpretations of the confession and the epilogue rather than assuming the ending answers every question the novel raised.

Strong closing questions ask students to weigh whether Raskolnikov's transformation feels earned by the text or imposed by the author's own beliefs, a genuinely debatable point among literary critics as well as students.

Using These Questions Flexibly

Rather than working through every question in order, select three or four per class period that fit your specific instructional goals for that day, whether that is close reading, thematic discussion, or preparation for an upcoming essay.

Keeping a few questions in reserve for classes that finish discussion early also prevents the awkward silence that comes from running out of material before the period ends.