The Underground Man By Fyodor Dostoyevsky - 952 Words

In Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the underground man is a man who is â€Å"living out [his] life in a [his] corner† (2) and is paralyzed by consciousness. The underground man proposes the example of revenge as a way to examine the differences between himself and the man of action; the man of action being a man who can act as opposed to the paralysis of the underground man. The man of action can act, but his position is inconsistent. The underground man thinks he will be miserable regardless of acting or not acting; his belief in determinism causes this and he reasons incorrectly that determinism is true. The man of action and the underground man are determinists who believe all they do is predetermined. They do not believe that they have the ability to commit an action free of any predetermination or influence. All acts that happen are not by the choice of men; instead, the laws of nature are the source of the action. The underground man states â€Å"the laws of nature, the deductions of natural science, mathematics† (8) form a stone wall which cannot be broken. The laws of nature do not require the consent of himself, the underground man thinks, â€Å"it is a case of twice two makes four!† (8). To the underground man the man of action is happy and stupid, whereas the underground man is unhappy and intelligent. The underground man then presents what act necessitates revenge: the act of being slapped in the face. The case of the man of action is then presented. TheShow MoreRelatedThe Underground Man By Fyodor Dostoyevsky875 Words   |  4 Pages Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel, Notes from the Underground Man, uses the idea of a modern dystopia by depicting a story that revolves around a distressed older man. Throughout the novel, the main character has a narcissistic belief that he is better than everyone else because of his acute sense of consciousness. His awareness however, also causes him to believe not only are people ignorant to the world around him but that they are also against him. In contrast, critics believe that the main characterRead MoreUnderground Man By Fyodor Dostoyevsky1453 Words   |  6 PagesFyodor Dostoyevsky paints Underground man as someone who is tortured in his novel Notes From Underground. Despite everything that Underground man says he is lost and has no sense of his identity. When the character of Liza is introduced the reader gains some hope that the Underground man can find love. Although Underground man ultimately pushes Liza away, he really loved her through his own idea of love. Underground man shows this love for her through his first conversation with Liza, his tryingRead MoreNotes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky1616 Words   |  7 PagesFyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) was a Russian novelist, journalist, and short story writer that discussed the psychological state of the human soul in many of his works, one in particular is Notes from the Un derground; which was published in 1864. Notes from the Underground, had a great influence in the 20th century; the novel takes a man’s inability to communicate with society and uses it to teach readers about the importance of other humans in our daily lives and how that affects the way we thinkRead MoreThe Underground Man Essay971 Words   |  4 Pagesfrom the Underground is a novel written by Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. In this book, Dostoyevsky illustrated his ideals through the words of his literary protagonist, the Underground Man. The Underground Man strikes the readers as a person , and one of the things that he abhors was the way in which progressive thinkers of his era worship reason. This was amusing because at the same time, he does not entirely reject reason. From analyzing the text, it is apparent that the Underground Man valuesRead MoreNotes From The Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky577 Words   |  2 PagesThe Underground Man is alone because he has chosen to be; he is hyper-conscious, meaning he is too aware and over analyses everything – his biggest worries are petty compared to what is going around him. As a society, we worry so much about ourselves and our own persona, we sometimes become paranoid. A perfect example is given when the Underground Man is on the verge of having dinner with his old comrades and he notices a stain on his trousers â€Å"The worst of it was that on the knee of my trousersRead MoreThe Themes of Dostoyevsky2976 Words   |  12 Pages The Themes of Dostoyevsky Fyodor Dostoyevsky, born in 1821, would become one of the greatest writers in Russian literature. Fyodor received an education in engineering in St. Petersburg, but decided to follow a literary career. He was a person who wrote how they felt about certain topics, and felt that everyone should know about the government. Dostoyevsky joined the underground group, the Petrashevsky circle, the to bring out the truth in these books, which were forbidden in the public. ThroughRead MoreEssay about Fyodor Dostoyevsky636 Words   |  3 PagesFyodor Dostoyevsky       Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) was one of the greatest Russian novelists to ever live. There are so few authors, as Dostoyevsky was, who have had such a great impact on 20th century western literature. His works analyze social, moral, political, and psychological aspects of mankind.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dostoyevsky was born in Moscow in 1821. Much of Dostoyevskys life experiences, especially early on, provided much influence for his writings. Dostoyevskys determinationRead MoreKnowing Is Better Than Not Knowing1676 Words   |  7 PagesKnowing is Better than Not Knowing Fyodor Dostoevsky’a novel â€Å"Notes from Underground† is known for being the first existentialist novel. A 40 year old man living in St. Petersburg, Russia known as the Underground Man works as a civil servant, but retired shortly after inheriting money from a distant relative. The Underground Man introduces himself by telling the reader, â€Å"I am a sick man. ... I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man† (1). He also says he could never be spiteful and how he couldRead More Humanities’ Irrational and its Effects on a Utopian Society1690 Words   |  7 Pagesrecognition that the irrational is there, that it must be controlled to take over. Man’s aggressive nature does tend to overpower the mind, leading to irrational actions. Both Freud’s Civilization and its Discontents and Dostoyevsky’s Notes from Underground show how humans are controlled by their irrational drives and that, as a result, the attempts to create a utopian so ciety are futile. To take a different view of the irrational actions in humans, a cinematic frame of reference was introduced, JossRead MoreDostoyevsky ‘Notes from Underground’ Critique Essay1586 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Notes from Underground† was published in 1864 as a feature presentation of his first 1860 issue â€Å"The Epoch†. â€Å"Notes from Underground† was written by the author during a time when he faced many challenges in his life. Dostoyevsky faced failure in the publishing of his first journal â€Å"Time†, his financial position was becoming weaker and embarrassing. Moreover, his wife was dying and his conservatism was eroded leading to a decline in his popularity with the liberal reading Russians and consequently