Moral Dilemma Scenarios

This analytical worksheet is designed for Grades 10-12 and helps students examine the ethical complexity of Raskolnikov’s choices in Crime and Punishment. Students work through three pivotal moral dilemmas from the novel. For each scenario, they identify the decision Raskolnikov actually makes, propose a plausible alternative choice, and then analyze how that different decision might have altered subsequent events. This structure encourages students to think carefully about cause and effect, moral responsibility, and the psychological forces driving Raskolnikov’s behavior.

Learning Goals

• Character Motivation Analysis (Upper Secondary ELA) – Understand why Raskolnikov makes specific choices
• Cause-and-Effect Reasoning – Analyze how decisions shape plot and character outcomes
• Ethical Reasoning in Literature – Evaluate moral responsibility and alternative paths
• Critical Interpretation – Consider how individual choices influence narrative structure and meaning

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Aligned with high school literature and analysis standards
• Decision-Based Structure – Makes abstract moral philosophy concrete and accessible
• Encourages Counterfactual Thinking – Explores “what if” scenarios to deepen understanding
• Builds Narrative Insight – Helps students see how Dostoevsky constructs tension and consequence
• Discussion-Ready – Ideal for small-group work or whole-class ethical debates
• Low Prep – Print-and-use worksheet with clear prompts and organized response sections

This moral dilemma scenarios worksheet helps students engage deeply with Crime and Punishment by examining how Raskolnikov’s choices reveal his internal conflict and shape the novel’s tragic trajectory. By considering alternate decisions and their consequences, learners strengthen ethical reasoning, narrative comprehension, and critical thinking-key skills for advanced literary analysis.

This worksheet is part of our Crime and Punishment Worksheets collection.