Who is the Underground Man?
The Underground Man is a spiteful man whose ideas we may agree with and admire, but whose actions we hate and deplore. These contradictory reactions to him suggest something of the duality of his own nature. For example, he resents being insulted and yet consciously places himself in a position where he cannot avoid being insulted.
What is the Underground Man according to Dostoevsky?
Dostoevsky says that the Underground Man, though a fictional character, is representative of certain people who “not only may but must exist in our society, taking under consideration the circumstances under which our society has generally been formed.” The Underground Man is extremely alienated from the society in which he lives.
What does the stone wall represent to the Underground Man?
A stone wall is the only thing that will stop the direct man of action if he is bent on revenge, but the Underground Man resents the implications of the stone wall; to him, the wall represents mathematics and deductions of natural science. The Underground Man dislikes both the laws of science and the direct man's ready acceptance of them.
How does the Underground Man feel about himself?
The Underground Man is extremely alienated from the society in which he lives. He feels himself to be much more intelligent and “conscious” than any of the people he meets. However, he is aware that his consciousness often manifests itself as a skepticism that prevents him from having confidence in any of his actions.
What does the Underground Man feel?
How old is the Underground Man?
What does Dostoevsky say about the Underground Man?
What does humiliation give the Underground Man?
How old was the Underground Man in the second part of the book?
Is the Underground Man intelligent?
See 3 more
About this website
What is the Underground Man philosophy?
The underground man states that “one's own free unfettered choice, one's own caprice, however wild it may be, one's own fancy worked up at times to frenzy- is that very most advantageous advantage which we have overlooked.” He backs his belief in free will by saying that “the whole work of man” is to prove to himself ...
What does the underground symbolize?
The “underground,” the “dark cellar” from which the Underground Man claims to be writing, is a symbol for his total isolation from society. He feels rejected and shut out from the society to which he is supposed to belong, and he imagines that he is viewing the world through cracks in the floorboards.
What does the Underground Man value?
For the Underground Man (and Dostoevsky), freedom to choose one's actions is one of the most prized rights of mankind. If we are provided with a logical and scientific society, man would lose his freedom to choose. Our freedom therefore allows man to often choose that which is not to his best advantage.
How does the underground man describe himself?
The narrator—referred to in this SparkNote as the Underground Man—introduces himself. He describes himself as sick, wicked, and unattractive, and notes that he has a problem with his liver.
What is the spiritual meaning of a tunnel?
While tunnels certainly represent journeys, they more often symbolize the passage from one phase of life to another. In its most primal meaning, the tunnel symbolizes the birth canal. Just as a baby evolves and journeys outward, so do characters of a story.
What does underground mean slang?
The slang term “Underground” is an adjective which is used in rap/hip-hop music to represent something that isn't mainstream or super popular by the masses.
What does the underground man think about human nature?
The underground man thinks of humans as foolish, irrational, cruel, and despicable creatures—including himself.
What is the moral of Notes from the Underground?
Can you be too conscious? In his short 1864 book, Notes From Underground, Fyodor Dostoyevsky tells the story of a man who is “too conscious.” The man, whose name we never learn is so aware of his own thoughts and feelings as to cause him to be indecisive and overly self-critical.
Does the Underground Man have freedom?
The Underground Man does not have free will; he only thinks he does. The Underground Man's inability to do anything except find fault is the best evidence that he lacks free will.
What is the Underground Man against?
The Underground Man writes that man is by no means a rational animal, and that he will always rebel against the idea of a utopia, to act in a way that goes against his self-interest, simply to validate his existence and confirm his individuality.
What does the Underground Man postulate as the most important aspect of life for mankind?
What does the Underground Man postulate as the most important aspect of life for mankind? "Man needs only one thing, his own independent desire, whatever that independence might cost and wherever it might lead."
What is the narrator's life like underground?
The anonymous narrator of Notes from Underground is a bitter, misanthropic man living alone in St. Petersburg, Russia, in the 1860s. He is a veteran of the Russian civil service who has recently been able to retire because he has inherited some money.
Were is the underground man?
Eterna CityThe Underground Man (Japanese: ちかおじさん Underground Man) lives in Eterna City in a house next door to the Pokémon Center.
Where is the underground man?
The Underground Man is located in Eterna City, in the house to the right of the Pokemon Center. When doing the Underground Man's missions, it's best to enter the Underground from right outside his house, so that it's easy to return to him in order to claim the reward and start the next mission.
The Underground Man - CliffsNotes
The Underground Man is a spiteful man whose ideas we may agree with and admire, but whose actions we hate and deplore. These contradictory reactions to him suggest something of the duality of his own nature.
The Underground Man Character Analysis in Notes from Underground ...
The unnamed protagonist of the novella, who is introduced as “representative of the current generation.” He is sick, spiteful, self-contradictory, and pessimistic, and his rambling thoughts and monologues make up the majority of the novella.
THE UNDERGROUND MAN: A QUESTION OF MEANING
THE UNDERGROUND MAN / 133 At the party the next night, Zverkov begins questioning the underground man in a way that the underground man interprets as interrogation, although
The Underground Man, and How He Got There - The Harvard Ichthus
Have you not heard of that madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours, ran to the market-place, and cried incessantly: “I am looking for God! I am looking for God!” As many of those who did not believe in God were standing together there, he excited considerable laughter. Have you lost him, […]
The Underground Man: A Literary Archetype - eNotes
The term “underground man” refers to a condition of being unnoticed, marginalized, self-effacing, and to an extent antisocial. The defining feature of the underground man is his paradoxical ...
Who is the Underground Man?
The Underground Man. The unnamed protagonist of the novella, who is introduced as “representative of the current generation.”. He is sick, spiteful, self-contradictory, and pessimistic, and his rambling thoughts and monologues make up the majority of the novella.
What is the underground man's opinion?
The underground man is obsessed with literature and often models his thoughts and actions on things he has read.
What did the underground man want Apollon to ask for?
The underground man wanted Apollon to have to ask for his wages, but the plan never worked. Apollon... (full context)
Why does the underground man leave Simonov?
The underground man leaves Simonov and berates himself for interfering with the party. He is angry with himself... (full context)
What happens about fifteen minutes later in The Underground Man?
About fifteen minutes later, the underground man has stopped crying and is watching Liza. He tells the reader that he could not... (full context)
What does the underground man plan for the next day?
The next day, the underground man plans anxiously for the party. He doesn’t want to arrive first, because then he would... (full context)
What does the underground man feel after three months of dreams?
After three months of such dreams, though, the underground man feels “an irresistible urge to plunge into society.” He says that he would normally alleviate... (full context)
What is the Underground Man character?
Character Analysis. The Underground Man. The Underground Man is a spiteful man whose ideas we may agree with and admire, but whose actions we hate and deplore. These contradictory reactions to him suggest something of the duality of his own nature.
What is the difference between Part 1 and Part 2 of The Underground Man?
In contrast, Part 2 depicts the Underground Man's actions in relationship to other people, and they are spiteful and deplorable acts. To return to Part 1, we admire a man who refuses ...
What is the Underground Man's intention to subjugate Liza?
The Underground Man's intentional attempts to subjugate Liza show his spiteful, twisted, despicable nature. Finally, even though we agree with his ideas in Part 1, the final view of this refugee from humanity is that of a twisted deranged soul who deserves no compassion and who should exist in an underground hole. Previous Section 10.
What does the underground mean in the book?
The Underground. The “underground,” the “dark cellar” from which the Underground Man claims to be writing, is a symbol for his total isolation from society. He feels rejected and shut out from the society to which he is supposed to belong, and he imagines that he is viewing the world through cracks in the floorboards.
Why is the Underground Man ashamed?
The Underground Man’s poverty keeps him from feeling socially or even morally equal to others. He is deeply ashamed when he has to borrow money. In the few circumstances when the Underground Man attempts to exert his power, he is giving or withholding money.
Why does the Underground Man say he despises the idea of the Crystal Palace?
The Underground Man says he despises the idea of the crystal palace because he cannot stick his tongue out at it. By this he means that the blind, obstinate faith in reason that the crystal palace represents ignores the importance of individuality and personal freedom.
What city is the backdrop for Notes from Underground?
St. Petersburg. The city of St. Petersburg serves as the backdrop for Notes from Underground and many of Dostoevsky’s other works. The Underground Man makes frequent negative references to the city’s climate, culture, and cost of living.
What did the underground man believe?
Furthermore, given the excision of free will from humanity, the underground man believed that altruism was, as a result, impossible. Although we appear, at times, to act out of love for our fellow man, these actions are illusory. According to Darwinian evolution, all organisms act out of a selfish desire for their own preservation, disregarding the interests of others. Acts that appear to be altruistic are not, since they are actually done in the expectation of receiving personal benefit somewhere on down the road. As the underground man noted, referring to this doctrine of natural science:
Did the underground man go underground?
But we are getting ahead of ourselves. The underground man, as Dostoevsky implies, did not go underground, as it were, by his own volition: he was driven there. Something, he asserts, about modern society made him possible, and in fact necessary. He is, he tells us, a “representative of the current generation.” Dostoevsky is pointing us towards something radical, something drastic, that shook at the roots of the underground man’s world, and that by implication has shaken the roots of our world as well. If you are clever, you will have already figured it out—he is pointing to the massive changes in European thought that occurred in the 19th century, such that prior to 1859, the underground man’s existence would not even have been possible, but afterwards, was made necessary. Since these changes have much to do with the nature of our own society, and since many of the questions that they raise remain current today, it is worth our time to briefly look back at how the underground man found himself where he was.
What does the Underground Man feel?
Feeling himself to be inferior to more active, less intelligent people, the Underground Man goes through life full of shame and self-loathing. This feeling of inadequacy before others is enhanced by the fact that, as an orphan, he has never had normal, loving relationships with other people.
How old is the Underground Man?
We meet the Underground Man when he is forty years old, having retired from his civil service job and secluded himself in a shabby apartment. By this point, he is a complete nihilist: he has no desire to interact with others, and he has total contempt for society and everyone who is part of it. In the second part of the novel, however, the Underground Man describes himself as he was sixteen years earlier, at the age of twenty-four. As a young man, the Underground Man is already misanthropic, proud, self-effacing, and bitter, but he also still clings to certain ideals. He is passionate about literature, craves human attention, and wants others to respect and admire him for his intelligence and passion. He is also occasionally subject to fits of idealism. In the course of the second part of the novel, however, we see how the Underground Man’s inability to interact with other people causes his attempts to form relationships and participate in life to end in disaster, and drives him deeper underground.
What does Dostoevsky say about the Underground Man?
Dostoevsky says that the Underground Man, though a fictional character, is representative of certain people who “not only may but must exist in our society, taking under consideration the circumstances under which our society has generally been formed.” The Underground Man is extremely alienated from the society in which he lives. He feels himself to be much more intelligent and “conscious” than any of the people he meets. However, he is aware that his consciousness often manifests itself as a skepticism that prevents him from having confidence in any of his actions. This skepticism cripples him and keeps him from participating in “life” as other people do. The Underground Man constantly analyzes and second-guesses every thought and feeling he has. He is therefore incapable of making decisions about anything.
What does humiliation give the Underground Man?
This humiliation actually gives the Underground Man a sense of satisfaction and power, as he has brought about the humiliation himself. As long as he can exercise his will, he does not care if the outcome is positive or negative.
How old was the Underground Man in the second part of the book?
In the second part of the novel, however, the Underground Man describes himself as he was sixteen years earlier, at the age of twenty-four . As a young man, the Underground Man is already misanthropic, proud, self-effacing, and bitter, but he also still clings to certain ideals.
Is the Underground Man intelligent?
The Underground Man is extremely alienated from the society in which he lives. He feels himself to be much more intelligent and “conscious” than any of the people he meets. However, he is aware that his consciousness often manifests itself as a skepticism that prevents him from having confidence in any of his actions.
