In Chapter V of Part IV of Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky uses the physical and emotional fluctuation of the characters to highlight the growing turmoil within Raskolnikov and accentuate the semantic threshold at which he finds himself. To understand this clearly one must understand that, although the novel's decisive events – decisions, conversations, confessions – often take place in what Mikhail Bakhtin calls crowded thresholds, streets, corridors, etc., the particular confrontation scene between Raskolnikov and Porfiry Petrovich in Part IV takes place in the rather large and relatively open environment of Petrovich's "neither big nor small" studio. It is precisely because of this seemingly sudden expansion of the novel's space that the physical, verbal, and emotional oscillations that follow are made all the more poignant. Above all, Raskolnikov seems to find himself on an invisible threshold, a critical moment during which his nerves abandon him, his reason betrays him, and he is left with alkaline tastes and feverish attempts at coherence as guides; the oscillations of the text reflect its condition. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay From the beginning the feeling between the two men is established through the diction Dostoevsky uses to stage the exchange, including words and phrases such as “spring,” “control his tense nerves,” and “they both looked at each other, but when their eyes met, quick as lightning they looked away,” which in turn makes the air thick with tension. Both characters seem to struggle with much more than the interview in question; they seem burdened by their internal attempts to grasp the ineffable interdependence between past and future, actions and consequences, punishment and forgiveness. And so, both the "criminal" and the "detective" - ​​if their roles are to be simplified for the purposes of this analogy - are united by a common tension, if not a common search for dialogue and understanding. Physically, both men hesitate between extremes. For example, Raskolnikov is initially tormented by paranoia and worries incessantly about what his silence or words might reveal, what his nerves might betray, and what his hatred for Petrovich will push him to say. Several times he stands up indignantly and prepares to leave, but even as the exchange takes on a more openly accusatory tone, he simultaneously seems incapable of controlling his physical state and following his desires. In vain, he strives to "penetrate Porfiry's game", takes his cap to leave and, shouting, demands a formal accusation from Petrovich; immobilized however by his own feverish state, he easily succumbs to the latter's pleas and remains in the study. Similarly, Porfiry Petrovich is caught in the ebb and flow of his own movements, sometimes approaching Raskolnikov and the others while remaining aloof, often "running around the room, moving his fat little legs faster and faster" and then stopping unexpectedly to examine an object or listen to a sound, "one moment avoiding Raskolnikov's suspicious gaze, then again standing still and looking him straight in the face." He appears to be talking not only to Raskolnikov, but to himself, testing not only his suspect's limits but also his strength of purpose. The oscillatory nature of both men's physical descriptions and their reactions combines with their verbal abilities and emotional changes to heighten the sense of tension in the narrative and, in turn, mirror the collapse of Raskolnikov's structure of being and the his arrival at a threshold of his own, the one in which he must decide his own responsibility before the law. In several places, Porfiry.