Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

1626 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Dostoyevsky's description of the underground man

Fyodor 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 Underground; 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 think, live, and learn. Although the narrator has alienated himself from society, Dostoyevsky uses his knowledge of diction, style, grammar, and many other literary devices to show the reader that the narrator is lacking the knowledge to communicate with another human being thus giving a tortured man to define what the meaning of life is to someone who feels no love, happiness, sympathy, and has no features that make up the human soul but has everything that is materialistic.

Many critics state that ‘Underground Man’ is lost within society but Ian Johnston has a lecture where he portrays ‘Underground Man’ as a choice maker “And he lives there by choice, a willed refusal or inability to engage with other people in any significant way (Ian Johnston, Paragraph 5).” Johnston in his introduction defines the word hero as “Cultural heroes--from history or fiction--as we have encountered them so far, have virtually all had a few qualities in common. First and foremost is their ability to act in the world, to make decisions, carry those out, and deal with the consequences (Ian Johnston, Paragraph 3).” ‘Underground Man’ has none of these capabilities he overanalyzes decision then goes with the naive chose of the two because he is scared of society gi...

... middle of paper ...

.../>.

Cummings, E.E."Poetry Magazine." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. .

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. Notes from the Underground. New York: Dover Thrift Editions, 1864. Print.

Gale, Thomson “Notes from the Underground.” Thomson Corporation. 2005-2006. Web. 11 April 2014.

Johnston, Ian. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground." Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground. Jonstonia. 11 Apr. 2014 .

Stephanova, Victoria. “A Question of Credibility: The Subjective Narrator of Notes from the Underground.” Brigham Young University, Provo: UT, 2008. Web. 11 April 2014.

Show More
Related

  • The Use Of Allegory In Richard Wright's The Man Who Lived Underground

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the most important elements in Richard Wright’s The Man Who Lived Underground is Wright’s careful use of sensory descriptions, imagery, and light to depict Fred Daniels’ experiences both above and below ground. Wright’s uses these depictions of Fred Daniels underground world to create incomplete pictures of the experiences he has and of the people he encounters. These half-images fuel the idea that The Man Who Lived Underground is a dark and twisted allusion to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.

    Read More

  • Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov

    1760 Words  | 4 Pages

    Dostoevsky first presents Smerdyakov, in The Brothers Karamazov, in Book 3 of Part 1. The author divulges details of the conception of the fourth son of Fyodor Pavovich Karamazov. Late on a September evening, a drunk Fyodor, by modern standards, "rapes" a homeless woman. Stinking Lizaveta, the victim of Fyodor's violence, was a legend in the town. Regardless of her unattractive and dirty appearance, her poverty, and homelessness, the townspeople regarded her with sympathy and compassion. Fyodor, on the other hand, treated Lizaveta as an insubordinate who was undeserving of even an ounce of respect. He and his friends mock her. He, then, rapes her. And, as if these actions are not cruel and offensive enough, he vehemently denies any of it happening. Later, when Lizaveta gives birth to Fyodor's illegitimate son, it is Grigory and Marfa who take the boy in, baptize him, and decide to raise the child. The townspeople mistakenly credit Fyodor for taking the dead woman's child into his house. All of these disturbing actions on the part of Fyodor are cause for his punishment.

    Read More

  • Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov

    522 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Brothers Karamazov - Thriller The Brothers Karamazov is an enthralling thriller about the struggle for self-redemption in the eyes of God as well as in the hearts of the Russians. The murder of Fyodor Karamazov, a foolish and heartless savage who betrays his own sons of a father's care, venomously seeps its way into Dmitri, Ivan, and Alyosha's lives causing innocence to request fault and suffering. With intricate characterizations, Dostoevsky magnificently presents the internal agony that derives from a wavering spirit. The religious teachings of the great elder Father Zosima engross the minds of the spiritually inadequate throughout the novel. Dostoevsky essentially carries these guidelines to peaceful immortality by means of the character Alyosha.

    Read More

  • Theodicy and Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov

    2495 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hansen, Bruce. “Dostoevsky’s Theodicy.” Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 1996. At . accessed 18 November 2001.

    Read More

  • Literary Techniques Used by Fyodor Dostoyevsky in Crime and Punishment

    2235 Words  | 5 Pages

    Dostoyevsky's writing in this book is such that the characters and setting around the main subject, Raskolnikov, are used with powerful consequences. The setting is both symbolic and has a power that affects all whom reside there, most notably Raskolnikov. An effective Structure is also used to show changes to the plot's direction and Raskolnikov's character. To add to this, the author's word choice and imagery are often extremely descriptive, and enhance the impact at every stage of Raskolnikov's changing fortunes and character. All of these features aid in the portrayal of Raskolnikov's downfall and subsequent rise.

    Read More

  • Primary Anti-Heroism In Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground

    714 Words  | 2 Pages

    Notes from Underground is a standout and one of the most influential pieces of fiction in Western European history. It depicts one of the primary anti-heroes in fiction, a protagonist lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and experienced a useless life on the edges of society. Notes from Underground was initially distributed in January and February of 1864. The novel was written at one of the lowest points of Dostoevsky 's career. His journal was undermined with disappointment, his wife was dying, and his finances was becoming ever more difficult and humiliating. The course of action of the book is exceptionally compelling. In Part I, the storyteller clarifies his identity and gives his contemplations on living underground. In the second part, he portrays some critical occasions throughout his life, and the reader can see how his thinking in Part I has affected his activities in Part II. Before the end of the book, the imaginary audience created by the narrator, as well as the reader of the

    Read More

  • Social Contradictions in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Notes from the Underground

    968 Words  | 2 Pages

    Notes from the Underground, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky is a truly remarkable novel. Dostoyevsky's novels probe the cause of human action. They questioned conventional wisdom of what drove humans and offered insight into the inner workings and torments of the human soul.

    Read More

  • Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment

    2299 Words  | 5 Pages

    Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment begins with Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov living in poverty and isolation in St. Petersburg. The reader soon learns that he was, until somewhat recently, a successful student at the local university. His character at that point was not uncommon. However, the environment of the grim and individualistic city eventually encourages Raskolnikov’s undeveloped detachment and sense of superiority to its current state of desperation. This state is worsening when Raskolnikov visits an old pawnbroker to sell a watch. During the visit, the reader slowly realizes that Raskolnikov plans to murder the woman with his superiority as a justification. After the Raskolnikov commits the murder, the novel deeply explores his psychology, yet it also touches on countless other topics including nihilism, the idea of a “superman,” and the value of human life. In this way, the greatness of Crime and Punishment comes not just from its examination of the main topic of the psychology of isolation and murder, but the variety topics which naturally arise in the discussion.

    Read More

  • Comparing Crime and Punishment and Notes from the Underground

    490 Words  | 1 Pages

    Dostoyevsky's characters are very similar, as is his stories.  He puts a strong stress on the estrangement and isolation his characters feel. His characters are both brilliant and "sick" as mentioned in each novel, poisoned by their intelligence.  In Notes from the Underground, the character, who is never given a name, writes his journal from solitude. He is spoiled by his intelligence, giving him a fierce conceit with which he lashes out at the world and justifies the malicious things he does.  At the same time, though, he speaks of the doubt he feels at the value of human thought and purpose and later, of human life.  He believes that intelligence, to be constantly questioning and "faithless(ly) drifting" between ideas, is a curse.  To be damned to see everything, clearly as a window (and that includes things that aren't meant to be seen, such as the corruption in the world) or constantly seeking the meaning of things elusive. Dostoyevsky thought that humans are evil, destructive and irrational.

    Read More

  • Invisible Man Essay: Importance of Setting

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    Bellow, Saul. "Man Underground" Review of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. Commentary. June 1952. 1st December 2001

    Read More

  • Dostoyevsky's Notes From the Underground and Martin Scorcese's Taxi Driver

    1562 Words  | 4 Pages

    He constantly attempts to seek out revenge, but the concept of revenge, paired with the underground character’s actions and inertia, becomes problematic with the underground ideal. The underground character is steeped in contradiction, and how one interprets his actions, or his inactions, is what ultimately determines whether the he is, truly, an underground man. Notes from the Underground and Taxi Driver both depict a protagonist, the underground character, who scoffs and scorns at those aboveground, termed the “normal man” (PDF 15). Notes describes the normal man as someone with “normal interests,” who “act[s] in accordance with the laws of reason and truth” (). Notes were written at the time of the Enlightenment, and used to criticize the then-popular theory of material determinism: that “all choice and reasoning can be.calculated” by science, and if this is applied to human behavior, it is possible that “there will some day be discovered the laws of our so-called free will” (PDF 42)....

    Read More

  • Freedom in Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground

    1805 Words  | 4 Pages

    Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Notes from Underground: A New Translation, Backgrounds and Sources, Responses, Criticism. Norton Critical Edition. New York: Norton, 1989.

    Read More

  • Dostoyevsky ‘Notes from Underground’ Critique

    1600 Words  | 4 Pages

    ..., his physical inertia thwarts his aggressive desires and he has compulsive talk of himself but has no firm discussion (Frank 50). Moreover, the underground man is full of contempt for readers but is desperate that the reader understands, he reads very widely but writes shallowly, he depicts the social thinkers as superficial and he desires to collide with reality but has no ability to do this. Therefore the underground man is completely emotional, babbly with no real form.

    Read More

  • What Is Social Determinism In The Note From Underground?

    836 Words  | 2 Pages

    The underground man is the product of the social determinism due to all the personal experiences that he had throughout his life with the society. He is a person who always wanted act in a different way but he stops himself and act as how the society wants him

    Read More

  • Examples Of Nihilism In Notes From Underground Fyodor Dostoevsky

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    An old aphorism states: Ignorance is bliss. This truism is apparent throughout ancient and contemporary society. In the book titled, Notes from Underground, Fyodor Dostoevsky engages with nihilism. The story reveals how an intelligent man who was once captivated by Russian romanticism ends up living in an allegorical underground where he is tormented by his indecisiveness between the many options of life. His indecisiveness consists of a dichotomy of opposites: Peace versus strife, melancholy versus joyfulness, and good opposed to bad. This can be displayed through showing that intelligence leads to an overactive consciousness. An overactive consciousness can lead to a struggle between opposites that may lead to indecisiveness and nihilism. The man from the underground demonstrates that being intelligent and perfectly honest with oneself leads to nihilism, and ignorance may be the antidote.

    Read More

More about Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Open Document