Crime and Punishment MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature

Crime and Punishment MCQs
Updated on: October 25, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 19 min

Crime and Punishment MCQs

1. Where does Raskolnikov live in the city?

A. Near the Ditch
B. On Kn Bridge
C. In a tiny room in the attic
D. Near the Haymarket

C. In a tiny room in the attic.
His tiny garret room was situated right beneath the eaves of a tall, five-story building.

2. Why does Raskolnikov fear meeting his landlady?

A. She is violent
B. He is deeply in debt
C. She mocks his studies
D. He is physically weak

B. He is deeply in debt.
He owed his landlady a substantial amount of money, making him anxious to avoid his creditor.

3. What external item causes Raskolnikov alarm because it is too conspicuous?

A. His long coat
B. A specific silver ring
C. His ruined top hat
D. His walking stick

C. His ruined top hat.
His old, worn top hat was conspicuous, risking the exposure of his criminal scheme to others.

4. How many steps does Raskolnikov count from his gate to Alyona Ivanovna’s door?

A. 600
B. 730
C. 800
D. 550

B. 730.
He had previously counted exactly seven hundred and thirty steps while indulging in his shocking dreams.
5. What item does Raskolnikov pawn during his first “test” visit to the pawnbroker?

A. A silver cigarette case
B. A gold ring
C. An old silver watch
D. A velvet cloak

C. An old silver watch.
For his initial “test” visit, Raskolnikov pawned an old, flat silver watch with a globe depicted on its reverse.

6. How much money does Raskolnikov receive for the pawned watch after interest deduction?

A. Two roubles
B. One rouble fifteen copecks
C. Four roubles
D. Fifty copecks

B. One rouble fifteen copecks.
Alyona Ivanovna paid him one rouble fifteen copecks, deducting one month’s interest in advance.

7. Where does Raskolnikov go immediately after leaving Alyona Ivanovna’s apartment?

A. Home to sleep
B. To a police station
C. To a drinking den
D. To Razumikhin’s office

C. To a drinking den.
He went down steps into a drinking den below ground, seeking cool beer to quench his sudden thirst.

8. What is Marmeladov’s occupation or rank?

A. Collegiate Assessor
B. Titular Counsellor
C. Landowner
D. Retired Colonel

B. Titular Counsellor.
Marmeladov formally introduces himself to Raskolnikov using the rank of titular counsellor.

9. According to Marmeladov, what condition is worse than poverty?

A. Laziness
B. Beggary
C. Drunkenness
D. Hypochondria

B. Beggary.
Marmeladov believes that beggary is a sin worse than poverty, as it strips away all dignity.
10. What forced Marmeladov’s daughter, Sonya, into prostitution?

A. Her addiction
B. Lack of education
C. The family’s starvation
D. Pressure from her stepmother

C. The family’s starvation.
Sonya took a “yellow ticket” to earn money when the rest of the family had nothing to eat.

11. What visible sign suggests Katerina Ivanovna is suffering from consumption?

A. Shaking hands
B. Red blotches on her cheeks
C. Extreme irritability
D. Coughing up blood

D. Coughing up blood.
Marmeladov confirms that Katerina Ivanovna is coughing up blood and prone to consumption.

12. Where had Marmeladov been sleeping for five nights before meeting Raskolnikov?

A. In a church porch
B. On the Neva hay barges
C. In a police cell
D. On the street benches

B. On the Neva hay barges.
Marmeladov confesses that he has been sleeping on the Neva hay barges for five nights running.

13. What proof of her noble upbringing does Katerina Ivanovna retain?

A. A gold medal
B. Her father’s uniform
C. A certificate of distinction
D. Ancient family jewels

C. A certificate of distinction.
She still keeps her certificate of distinction, earned at an aristocratic school, in her trunk.

14. How does Raskolnikov help the Marmeladov family before leaving their room?

A. He pays their rent
B. He promises Marmeladov a job
C. He leaves his remaining coins near the window
D. He buys them food

C. He leaves his remaining coins near the window.
Raskolnikov quietly leaves his remaining small change near the window before departing their poor room.
15. Why was Dunya unable to leave the Svidrigailov household immediately after the incident?

A. She feared Svidrigailov
B. She had accepted an advance and was in debt
C. Marfa Petrovna forbade it
D. She was severely ill

B. She had accepted an advance and was in debt.
Dunya had accepted a large advance payment of 100 roubles which she had to work off.

16. What quality does Luzhin find desirable in Dunya as his bride?

A. Her beauty
B. Her previous misery and lack of a dowry
C. Her education
D. Her connections

B. Her previous misery and lack of a dowry.
Luzhin specifically sought a poor girl who knew misery so she would view him as her benefactor.

17. How does Raskolnikov react internally upon reading his mother’s letter about the engagement?

A. He feels pride
B. He feels joyful relief
C. He becomes tearful and enraged
D. He accepts the marriage sadly

C. He becomes tearful and enraged.
His face was wet with tears, pale, twisted by spasms, and marked by a dismal, angry smile.

18. What action does Raskolnikov immediately decide upon regarding Dunya’s engagement to Luzhin?

A. He will travel to meet him
B. He decides to forbid the marriage
C. He will write a formal letter of complaint
D. He will accept it for his mother’s sake

B. He decides to forbid the marriage.
Raskolnikov mutters to himself that Dunya and Luzhin will get married “over my dead body”.

19. What crime does Raskolnikov accuse Dunya of committing by marrying Luzhin?

A. Being overly proud
B. A necessary sacrifice
C. Selling herself for someone else
D. Ignoring his wishes

C. Selling herself for someone else.
He concludes she will sell herself not for her own gain, but entirely for her mother and brother.
20. Who does Raskolnikov overhear in the tavern discussing the murder of Alyona Ivanovna?

A. Two tradesmen
B. An officer and a student
C. A priest and a merchant
D. Luzhin and Razumikhin

B. An officer and a student.
He overhears an officer and a student discussing the uselessness of the pawnbroker and suggesting her murder.

21. What vital piece of information does Raskolnikov learn from the tavern conversation?

A. Alyona Ivanovna is rich
B. Lizaveta is usually home at night
C. Lizaveta would be absent the next evening
D. The location of the pawnbroker’s money

C. Lizaveta would be absent the next evening.
He overheard Lizaveta agreeing to be away between six and seven the next evening.

22. What physical item does Raskolnikov prepare as a distraction for the pawnbroker?

A. A shiny silver coin
B. A piece of smoothly planed wood
C. A fake wedding ring
D. A decorative box

B. A piece of smoothly planed wood.
The decoy was a piece of planed wood, wrapped in paper, intended to distract the victim while he struck.

23. What weapon does Raskolnikov decide to use for the crime?

A. A sharp knife
B. A heavy crowbar
C. A folding gardener’s knife
D. An axe

D. An axe.
The planned act was to be carried out with an axe, an idea Raskolnikov decided on previously.

24. Where does Raskolnikov find the axe just before the murder?

A. In his kitchen
B. In the caretaker’s lodge
C. He bought it from a shop
D. He took it from the landlord’s flat

B. In the caretaker’s lodge.
He slipped into the dark caretaker’s lodge and pulled the axe out from beneath a bench.
25. How does Raskolnikov kill Alyona Ivanovna?

A. By strangling her
B. By stabbing her with a knife
C. By striking her head with the butt of the axe
D. By crushing her with a heavy stone

C. By striking her head with the butt of the axe.
He lifted the axe with both hands and brought the butt down on her head repeatedly.

26. Why does Raskolnikov kill Lizaveta?

A. She threatened to scream loudly
B. She tried to fight him violently
C. She walked in unexpectedly and saw the murder
D. She intended to steal the pawned items

C. She walked in unexpectedly and saw the murder.
Lizaveta walked in unexpectedly, saw her murdered sister, and Raskolnikov rushed at her.
27. What realization causes Raskolnikov to pause in fear upon returning to the murder scene?

A. He found his bloody coat
B. He realized the outer door was left ajar
C. He saw the victims were still alive
D. He heard the police approaching

B. He realized the outer door was left ajar.
He was horrified to see that the outer door, leading to the stairs, stood ajar by a hand’s breadth.

28. What official document does Raskolnikov receive the morning after the murder?

A. An eviction notice
B. A witness subpoena
C. A summons for an overdue promissory note
D. A call-up for military service

C. A summons for an overdue promissory note.
He received a summons from the police bureau regarding an overdue 115-rouble promissory note debt.

29. What detail makes Raskolnikov realize his debt summons is unrelated to the murder?

A. It was about Luzhin’s money
B. It concerned an old debt to his landlady
C. It mentioned Marmeladov
D. It was only for fifty roubles

B. It concerned an old debt to his landlady.
The claim was for an old debt owed to his landlady, which immediately delivered a sense of relief.
30. Where does Raskolnikov hide the stolen purse and items?

A. Inside his stove
B. Buried under a stone in a courtyard
C. Under his mattress
D. Behind the loose wallpaper

B. Buried under a stone in a courtyard.
He buried the stolen purse and cases under a large, unhewn stone in a desolate courtyard.

31. What sensation overwhelms Raskolnikov when he thinks about having pawned items in his pocket?

A. Joy and success
B. Infinite, spiteful disgust
C. Mild inconvenience
D. Philosophical pride

B. Infinite, spiteful disgust.
He feels an infinite, almost physical disgust towards everything around him, including the money itself.

32. What argument does Luzhin use against Raskolnikov’s criticism during their confrontation?

A. Raskolnikov is lazy
B. Raskolnikov is a madman
C. Raskolnikov is benefiting from harmful new ideas
D. Raskolnikov is hypocritical

C. Raskolnikov is benefiting from harmful new ideas.
Luzhin attributes Raskolnikov’s crime and critique to the laxity and spread of new, harmful ideas.

33. What information does Razumikhin reveal that causes Raskolnikov to sit up violently?

A. That Luzhin plans to leave town soon
B. That the murderer found the items behind the door
C. That he talked about the axe in his sleep
D. That Svidrigailov had arrived in Petersburg

B. That the murderer found the items behind the door.
Raskolnikov is terrified upon hearing that the workman found the earrings behind the apartment door.

34. What strange definition of eternity does Svidrigailov share with Raskolnikov?

A. An endless paradise
B. A perpetually ringing clock
C. A small, sooty bath-hut with spiders
D. Total oblivion

C. A small, sooty bath-hut with spiders.
Svidrigailov whimsically suggests eternity might be a small, sooty bath-hut with spiders in every corner.
35. What amount of money does Svidrigailov offer Dunya to break off her engagement to Luzhin?

A. One thousand roubles
B. Ten thousand roubles
C. Thirty thousand roubles
D. Five hundred roubles

B. Ten thousand roubles.
Svidrigailov proposes giving Dunya ten thousand roubles to help her end her engagement to Luzhin.

36. What item of value did the recently deceased Marfa Petrovna leave Dunya in her will?

A. A plot of land
B. A gold cross
C. Three thousand roubles
D. Her estate documents

C. Three thousand roubles.
Svidrigailov reveals that Marfa Petrovna left Dunya three thousand roubles in her will.

37. Who is killed after being trampled by a carriage?

A. Zosimov
B. Marmeladov
C. Luzhin
D. Razumikhin

B. Marmeladov.
Marmeladov is killed after falling and being trampled by a carriage, dying shortly after in Sonya’s room.

38. What does Raskolnikov do with his remaining twenty-five roubles after Marmeladov’s death?

A. He buys new clothes
B. He returns it to his mother
C. He keeps it hidden
D. He gives it all to Katerina Ivanovna for the funeral

D. He gives it all to Katerina Ivanovna for the funeral.
He gives his remaining twenty-five roubles to Katerina Ivanovna for the deceased Marmeladov’s funeral costs.

39. Where does Sonya tell Raskolnikov he must go to find redemption?

A. To the monastery
B. To confess publicly and accept suffering
C. To America to start a new life
D. To join a commune

B. To confess publicly and accept suffering.
Sonya insists he must go immediately, bow down publicly, confess, and accept his suffering.
40. When Raskolnikov confesses to Sonya, what reason does he primarily give for the murder?

A. To prove he was an “extraordinary” man
B. To gain money for his studies
C. To avenge the poor
D. To silence the pawnbroker

A. To prove he was an “extraordinary” man.
He states he killed for a dare, to test whether he was a man with the right to power.

41. What is Luzhin’s purpose for visiting Sonya’s apartment on the day of the funeral banquet?

A. To bring a gift for the children
B. To discuss the pension possibility
C. To deliberately frame her for theft
D. To apologize for his past insults

C. To deliberately frame her for theft.
He intended to frame Sonya for stealing 100 roubles to discredit her before the family.

42. Who suddenly and fiercely defends Sonya against Luzhin’s theft accusation?

A. The drunken quartermaster
B. Katerina Ivanovna
C. Razumikhin
D. Andrei Semyonovich Lebezyatnikov

D. Andrei Semyonovich Lebezyatnikov.
Andrei Semyonovich Lebezyatnikov unexpectedly steps forward to refute Luzhin’s false testimony.

43. Where does Svidrigailov admit he was during Raskolnikov’s confession to Sonya?

A. Outside the window
B. In an empty room next door, listening
C. He was not present at all
D. In the pub nearby

B. In an empty room next door, listening.
He admits he was living in the room adjacent to Sonya’s, listening through the locked door.

44. What does Svidrigailov intend to do with the money he possesses?

A. Give it all to Dunya
B. Fund Katerina Ivanovna’s orphans and Sonya
C. Use it to bribe Porfiry
D. Spend it all on luxury goods

B. Fund Katerina Ivanovna’s orphans and Sonya.
He intends to place Katerina Ivanovna’s orphans in institutions and give 3,000 roubles to Sonya.
45. What happens when Dunya finally confronts Svidrigailov in his apartment?

A. He confesses his love and releases her
B. He physically assaults her
C. She shoots him with a revolver
D. They discuss a plan to save Raskolnikov

A. He confesses his love and releases her.
Dunya shoots at him twice, grazing his head, but he releases her after realizing she hates him.

46. When Porfiry visits Raskolnikov and disavows the Mikolka suspicion, what is his intent?

A. To convince Raskolnikov of his innocence
B. To confirm Mikolka is an artist and eccentric
C. To break Raskolnikov psychologically and encourage confession
D. To clear the case before the magistrates

C. To break Raskolnikov psychologically and encourage confession.
Porfiry uses psychology to show Raskolnikov he knows the truth, urging him to turn himself in.

47. What reason does Porfiry give for not arresting Raskolnikov immediately despite his suspicions?

A. He lacks definitive proof
B. He hopes Raskolnikov will confess willingly
C. He considers Raskolnikov too ill
D. He is waiting for Razumikhin’s counsel

B. He hopes Raskolnikov will confess willingly.
Porfiry believes Raskolnikov will eventually come to him of his own accord, psychologically driven.

48. Who does Raskolnikov intend to confess to at the police bureau?

A. Porfiry Petrovich
B. Nikodim Fomich
C. Ilya Petrovich (Powder Keg)
D. Zametov

C. Ilya Petrovich (Powder Keg).
He decides to confess to Ilya Petrovich (Powder Keg), believing it will be a greater surprise.

49. How does Svidrigailov kill himself?

A. He drowns in the Neva
B. He hangs himself in the bath-hut
C. He shoots himself in the temple
D. He dies of fever

C. He shoots himself in the temple.
Svidrigailov uses the revolver to shoot himself in the temple near a watch tower.
50. Who does Raskolnikov see waiting outside the police bureau before making his final confession?

A. His mother
B. Dunya
C. Sonya
D. Razumikhin

C. Sonya.
Raskolnikov sees Sonya, who has followed him to the bureau, standing pale in the yard.

Brief Overview

Crime and Punishment is a novel written by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published in 1886. It is not just a classic, but a psychological journey through the soul, challenging the readers to confront their contradictions, guilt and the fragility of morality.

The story follows a poor, isolated young man, Raskolnikov, living in a cramped attic in St. Petersburg. He is deeply in debt to his landlady and avoids her. Raskolnikov develops a terrifying idea: he plans to murder an old, rich pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna, to take her money. He rationalizes this act, viewing her as a “useless, nasty, sick old hag” whose death could benefit humanity.

Raskolnikov commits the murder using an axe, killing Alyona Ivanovna and her timid sister, Lizaveta, who arrives unexpectedly. He steals only small items and money, which he hides under a stone in a courtyard. The stress of the crime causes him to fall into a delirium.

He learns his mother and sister, Dunya, have arrived in Petersburg. Dunya plans to marry a wealthy, arrogant man, Luzhin, whom Raskolnikov despises. Raskolnikov forbids the marriage, seeing it as a sacrifice Dunya is making for him.

A police official, Porfiry Petrovich, suspects Raskolnikov and subtly torments him through psychological questioning. Raskolnikov confesses his crime to Sonya Marmeladova, the poor daughter of a drunkard he met earlier, Marmeladov, who later dies.

Luzhin attempts to frame Sonya for theft during a funeral meal but fails. Svidrigailov, Dunya’s former employer, also knows Raskolnikov’s secret and torments Dunya. After Svidrigailov kills himself, Raskolnikov goes to a police bureau and confesses to the murders.

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