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Notes from the Underground
The book is divided into two parts. In the first one, the main character -an obscure student whose name is not even mentioned- introduces himself as a sick and spiteful man. He makes a long diatribe against subjects such as free will, rationalism and romanticism. He attempts to explain his ideas of life and the quest of being, relating man with a piano keyboard: man does not want to think of himself as an instrument that can be played by a superior force without having the power to use his will; rather he has to demonstrate he is a human being with an inner and singular self and not just a piece that belongs to a bigger mechanism.
In the second part, this troubled man engages in telling us his difficulties to relate to other people. Here the author brings some characters into the scene, whose principal role is to show the main character's incapability to interact in society. The scene in which he delivers a wordy speech to a young prostitute in a dark cubicle is particularly touching.
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My rant about how good it is
This will become long and tedious but when I read this a few years ago I could hardly believe how amazing it was (still is). Dostoyevsky must have been one of the most insightful and intuitive people at that time. The way his central character thought was incredible. It was contadictory and the book was not afraid to expose the darker side of people's personalities. Also, is this just me or is the book intended to be humorous? My parents thought I was crazy for laughing my way through it but I found it had a wonderful touch of mockery in the way it depicted the main character. I am probably being completely ignorant here but I found some parts of the book hilarious. It seemed that he was using a lot of black humour and the part where he gave the example of a man growing to enjoy his toothache was very witty. Have I misinterpreted it entirely?
Posted By Ineverland at Thu 7 Jun 2007, 8:53 PM in Notes from the Underground || 8 Replies
similar book
If you liked this story, you´ll might as well enjoy The Fatal Boots by Thackeray, or a short tale by Robert L. Stevenson, A Lodging for the Night, which is comprised in his New Arabian Nights. If I can make as bold as to quote the openning lines of a book still waiting its turn to be read, check them out: "Allow me to introduce myself—first negatively. No landlord is my friend and brother, no chambermaid loves me, no waiter worships me, no boots admires and envies me. No round of beef or tongue or ham is expressly cooked for me, no pigeon-pie is especially made for me, no hotel-advertisement is personally addressed to me, no hotel-room tapestried with great-coats and railway wrappers is set apart for me, no house of public entertainment in the United Kingdom greatly cares for my opinion of its brandy or sherry. When I go upon my journeys, I am not usually rated at a low figure in the bill; when I come home from my journeys, I never get any commission. I know nothing about prices, and should have no idea, if I were put to it, how to wheedle a man into ordering something he doesn’t want." Extract taken from The Uncommercial Traveller by Charles Dickens. Doesn´t it remind you a bit of NFTU? Any more suggestions would be appreciated!
Posted By Mr.Snob at Thu 26 Apr 2007, 5:17 PM in Notes from the Underground || 1 Reply
Notes from Underground Online Version
Hi, I am writing a comparative, and I found notes from underground on this website, which is great. But I was wondering how I would go about citing that. I have to have embedded citations in my essay, but I don't know the actual page number from which I get a quote. Any help? Regards, aXis
Posted By aXis at Sat 16 Dec 2006, 10:58 AM in Notes from the Underground || 0 Replies
Notes from Underground; and The Gambler
Hi, I decided to go with you guys and choose Notes from Underground as my second novel to compare to The Stranger by Albert Camus :). Now, I checked at my public library, and unfortunately, they only have "Notes from Underground; and The Gambler", which when checked on amazon is around 320 pages. It says on amazon though that the parts of the novel are separated (Notes from Underground & The Gambler). I just wanted to confirm that this book was exactly the same as the original "Notes from Underground", so I could still compare it to The Stranger? Also, if I decide to do Crime and Punishment, would it be more easily compared to The Stranger then Notes from Underground, or is Notes from Underground the best choice for me? Thanks. Regards, aXis
Posted By aXis at Sat 4 Nov 2006, 9:33 AM in Notes from the Underground || 4 Replies
End
Amazing! truly genious, describing a madman and an anti-social man in full detail, going so deep as no other writer had gone that deep before.
I just wish they wouldn't cut out the rest of the novel, I'm badly interested what happens after.
Posted By Leo at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in Notes from the Underground || 0 Replies
My notes?
I CAN relate, though it seems that the whine that leaks from this book may never have a cork big enough to stop it. This enlightening and terribly sane novel is but a taste of the true feats man is able to endure. The inabilty to make life palatable is not a hindrance but more an acceptance of this futile, tasteless and grossly humorous mental reality. I relate to the "Underground" character because prose used to develope the picturesque view of existentialism is ambiguous. The ambiguity involved is both my vice and crutch to existence. It imparts flavor on my truth and puts my farthest from others views. DRIII
Posted By Daniel R. III at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in Notes from the Underground || 0 Replies
No Subject
it's a good novel but it's far away from perfect. the story is too pesimist however Dovstoievsky goes deep in the soul of the "underground man", it's like Nietzche said: "He's the only one psycologist i've learned from"
Posted By kadish at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in Notes from the Underground || 0 Replies
No Subject
I like how the book starts out, the first three sentences-
"I am a sick man...I am a spiteful man. I am an unpleasant man. I think my liver is diseased."
it's a great opening.
Posted By clea dzonsons at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in Notes from the Underground || 1 Reply
No Subject
The underground man doesn't exist, he is a satire of Russian society in the Nineteeth century, where intelligents isn't important it is about you social status in society that makes you what you are and intelligance can't get you there. Also it could be said that the underground man is insecure about his sexuality.
Posted By Lauren at Mon 28 Jul 2003, 1:00 AM in Notes from the Underground || 3 Replies
Dostoevsky
Heavens above! Dostoevsky had but one character to write, one character with many names: Rodion Raskolnikov, Fyodor Karamazov, Alexei the Gambler, the Underground Man, the Ridiculous Man, the husband in A Gentle Creature... This character was a "buffoon," fancying himself the cleverest man in the world yet always pretending to be foolish so he could feel superior to anyone who would think him a fool. When not humiliating himself in the presence of other human beings, he would often philosophize about his own moral superiority, justifying his own actions through the force of his own reasoning. He is a very lonely man, whether married or single, with few friends and nobody who truly understands him. This loneliness twists his logic into railing against other humans, who are invariably less intelligent than he, and against friendship and love in general, because of the necessity of a master/slave relationship.
The Underground Man archetype, unfortunately, is one of literature's most enduring images (Tolstoy's Anna Karenina also fits it), and also one of its most depressing. Dostoevsky, like the Underground Man, "could not resist and went on and on." Yet we readers would do well to take Dostoevsky's advice at the end of that book, "But it seems to us, too, that we may stop here."
Posted By Alex at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in Notes from the Underground || 1 Reply