Analysis of the book “All Aspects of Underground Notes”

Can you be too conscious? It is precisely such a person that Fyodor Dostoevsky describes in his small book of 1864, Notes from the Underground. Notes from the Underground is one of Dostoevsky’s best works. The book describes the philosophical, psychological and social inner calculation. It was first published in 1864. The work is considered one of the most important works of modern literature in Russia. Our protagonist is a man who does not keep up with the modern world and thinks that society does not understand him. We don’t get the man’s name for the rest of the book, and we probably never will. Through the monologues of this character, the author offers readers many philosophical and social reflections on the modern world and human nature. He also focuses on the forces of society that limit human freedom and personality, and the complexities of the inner world of modern man.

The book is based on the protagonist’s internal monologues. While these monologues describe the protagonist’s relationship with society and his struggle with the world, they also reveal the psychological ills of modern man. The protagonist wonders how modern society affects people and how people communicate with each other. At the same time, the book offers many philosophical reflections on the dark side of human nature.

“Notes from the Underground” is considered one of the most important works of modern literature, because Dostoevsky described the inner world of the protagonist so well that the reader almost identifies with him. The troubles of the protagonist may be familiar to anyone who encounters the modern world. While Notes from the Underground describes the complexity of the modern world, it also reflects a world in which individual freedoms and identities have been lost. As in Dostoevsky’s other works, “Notes from the Underground” also touches on social issues, describing human pain and happiness.

Notes from the Underground

“Notes from the Underground” is one of the most important works of modern literature, written by Fyodor Dostoevsky. The book offers a deep understanding of the modern world and human nature. The main character, the narrator, describes himself as an “underground” person. Hence the title of the book.

The protagonist is a person who is closed to the outside world, does not follow the rules of society and is usually alone. The narrator questions the influence of the modern world on people. While the book is about human pain and happiness, it also touches on social issues. The troubles of the protagonist may be familiar to anyone who encounters the modern world.

The book is dedicated to raising self-awareness and changing thoughts in one’s inner world of a person living in St. Petersburg, Russia. The narrator has withdrawn from society. He struggles with many bad feelings, such as self-doubt and a desire for revenge. He constantly criticizes himself and gives advice. However, he avoids meeting the person he is and ends up self-destructing.

The novel consists of two parts. The first chapter deals with the narrator’s internal conflicts and self-hatred. The narrator does not understand that people lead an orderly and standard life as part of society. He also seeks to show his superiority over other people, to humiliate and ridicule them.

In the second part, the narrator talks about his relationship with a friend and the desire to interfere in his life. The underground man confronts his inadequacy in human relations, his incompatibility with the outside world, and his loneliness. Notes from the Underground offers a deep analysis of human psychology. You can click here to view and purchase the book in detail.

Synopsis for “Notes from the Underground”

Anonymous narrator of “Notes from the Underground” in St. Petersburg. He is a misanthrope who lives alone in the city of St. Petersburg. He was able to retire soon as he inherited some money. The novel consists of a series of confused and often conflicting memoirs and confessions, namely his “notes” describing his alienation from modern society.

“Notes from the Underground” is divided into two parts. First, “Underground” is shorter. The action takes place in the 1860s, when the narrator is forty years old. This chapter is an introduction to the character of the narrator. This explains his hostile attitude towards society.

The underground man is literate and very smart. He believes that all conscious and educated people in modern society should be as unhappy as he is. Philosophy disappoints him. He appreciates some romantic ideas, but also accepts them as absurd and mundane.

The narrator belittles nineteenth-century utilitarianism. He complains that man’s basic desire is to exercise his free will, whether it is in his own interest or not. He believes that he will do disgusting and unproductive things to prove that man is completely free in the face of utilitarianism.

This statement also partly explains why the narrator takes pleasure in bodily pain. It challenges the comforts of life in a modern society that enjoys pain and unquestioningly accepts the value of going to the doctor. But the Underground Man isn’t proud of all this useless behavior. He also underestimates himself as a person.
The second part of “Notes from the Underground” recounts some of the events that happened to the Underground Man when he was twenty-four years old in the 1840s. In a way, this episode is a practical example of the abstract ideas presented by the Underground Man in the first episode.

The second part describes the interactions between the narrator and various people living in his world: soldiers, old school friends, and prostitutes. The underground worker is so alienated from these people that he is completely incapable of normal interaction with them. He mistreats them due to his own obscurity. As a result, he regrets and hates himself.

As she walks through the park, she contemplates whether to give way to a soldier she has never met. He then insults his old high school friends by inviting himself to an unsolicited dinner, but is actually imitating their friendship. Later that evening, Underground Man attempts to save an attractive young prostitute named Lisa by giving a speech about the terrible fate that awaits her if she continues to sell her body.

A few days later, Lisa arrives at the shabby apartment of the underground worker. The man understands that Lisa has reasons to feel sorry for him or belittle him. That is why he reacts with shame and anger. The underground worker insults Lisa throughout the visit. Wounded and confused, she leaves him alone in his apartment.

The Underground Man decides to end his assessments here. In a footnote at the end of the novel, Dostoevsky mentions that the Underground Man could not even make the simple decision to stop writing.

Notes from the analysis of the book Underground

Notes from the underground: “I’m sick.” It starts with a sentence. We are talking about mental illness, not physical. Whether the narrator is really ill is up to the reader to decide.

This novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky is considered one of the most significant works of Russian literature. The novel was published in 1864 and made a huge impression on Russia at that time. The book reflects the influence of Western thought on Russian society and social changes in the last period of the existence of the Russian Empire.

The novel was written at the beginning of modern times, that is, in the second half of the 19th century. During this period, the political and economic structure of Russia underwent significant changes. While the industrialization and modernization of the country proceeded at a rapid pace, ideas from Western Europe were also beginning to have an impact in the country.

The narrator of the novel tells about the complexity of the inner world of a person in modern times. It also addresses issues such as loneliness and self-doubt. In addition, the narrator of the novel is a character who has distanced himself from society.

As a result, the novel describes an anonymous man who isolates himself from society. Reading this book, many can put themselves in the place of the narrator. She can understand it, or she can hate it.

Notes from the underground book review

“After reading all the books of Dostoevsky, and years have passed, I read this book again. I think that some authors need to be re-read over the years. At each age, we turn into different people.

Message from: dystopia

“Bedside Art of Lonely People”.

Message from: Onurgoztepe

Notes from excerpts from the book “Underground”

“I am a sick person.”

“I swear, understanding too much is a disease.”

“What hurts the most is the gap between what they say and what they want to say.”

“I had nothing to do, nowhere to go but to read, because I could not find a respectful occupation around me that would attract me.”

“I certainly won’t tear myself apart if I can’t afford to break the wall. But I can’t accept submission just because there’s a wall in front of me.”

Our other analyzes

Subject, summary, reader comments: An analysis of Martin Eden’s book in all its aspects

Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize Winning Work: An Analysis of To Kill a Mockingbird

Subject, summary and reader comments: Analysis of the book “Sugar Oranges”