“Notes from the
Underground” by Fyodor Dostoevsky is considered to be the first existentialist
novel. Existentialism is a 20thth century philosophical movement
that was based on the analysis of human existence and the centrality of human
choice. This novel focuses on the troubled psychological state of a bitter and isolated man who is a retired civil servant who resides in St. Petersberg.
The Underground
Man is a character motivated by many contradictory impulses. Even though he believes
himself to be more intelligent and perceptive than most other people, he also
despises himself and frequently feels himself to be inferior or humiliated. In
addition, he indicates that he “used to be in the civil service, but no longer
[is]. [He is] a spiteful official” (Dostoevsy 4). It is a contradiction for
someone in the civil service to be malevolent because they are expected to be
righteous and good-natured. However, he later explains that he “could never really
become spiteful (Dostoevsky 4). It is therefore difficult to undisclose the
true nature of this contradictory man.
After a class
discussion, I realized that we all possess contradictory traits. People’s first
impression of me is that I epitomize a typical “girly girl” because I have a
big princess crown over my bed and I love to shop. However, they are shocked to
find that I am somewhat a “math geek” because math is typically associated with
boys. In addition, girls typically have bad handwriting, but I am an exception.
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