Free Will In Dostoyevsky's Notes From Underground

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Dostoyevsky’s Notes from Underground has been deemed a strange literary piece (Roberts 2). It is written in two parts, contains a neurotic character that is unsettling to some readers, and addresses the Social Radicalist ideology that was popular during that time (Roberts 2; Frank 2). However, it can be argued that this character is portrayed in such a way that he is self-absorbed, petty, and imprudent for good reason. During the time that this work was written, Social Radicalists were spreading the idea that free will does not exist (Frank 7). As a result, Dostoyevsky created the Underground Man to prove how impossible it would be for one to not have free will and successfully integrate into society. This train of thought also strongly believed …show more content…

This character, often called the Underground Man, is portrayed as strange, obsessive, and self-centered (Roberts 2). The Underground Man takes mundane life events and turns them into something much more important. For example, while in a tavern attempting to duel another individual, an officer picks him up and moves him out of his path (Dostoyevsky 734-737). Although this typically can be seen as a minor event in one’s life, the Underground Man sees this as an insult. He then ruminates on this event for a long period of time, attempting to find a way to seek revenge on this officer’s actions. This character becomes fixated on this small meaningless event, much like he does throughout the entire text. The Underground Man is hyperconscious of his intelligence as well (Roberts 2). While at a dinner party that he invites himself to out of spite, he is consistently trying to use his intelligence to insult the other men that he dislikes (Dostoyevsky 748-749). The Underground Man is aware of his poor social skills, describing himself as insecure and overly sensitive, yet he cannot find any way to develop them because of the ideology he is trying to abide by (Roberts 3). These characteristics, therefore, make having relationships with others difficult and this is clear to see as Dostoyevsky continues the

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