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The Metamorphosis

2006-04-25T02:51:01Z

Swalker: /* The lodgers */

==Summary==
Gregory Samsa is a traveling salesman who financially supports his family. He wakes up in the morning to find out he has been transformed into a Dung Beetle. He is in shock after his reality sets in and tries to figure out how he is going to get to work. Although they try to assimilate the change, his family is horrified and keeps Gregory locked in his room. Gregory eventually dies, leaving his family free.

==Study Guide==
*[[The Metamorphosis: Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
*[[The Metamorphosis: Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
*[[The Metamorphosis: Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]

===Chapter 1 Summary===
The first chapter of The Metamorphosis is the chapter that Gregory Samsa wakes up to find that he has morphed into a bug. The bug is never truly revealed and Kafka wanted it to be that way. Kafka said that a "concrete image would be too distracting and shut off sympathy" (Fleissner 225), so the true identity of the bug is left up to the reader.

Gregory's parents worry about him when he has not gotten up to go to work, so his family goes to his room and then Gregory's chief clerk comes to his house to see why Gregory has not come to work. Gregory hears that that the clerk has come to check on him so he tries to make it out of his room by turning the key with his mouth and when he opens door, he frightens his family and the clerk, sending the clerk running and sends his father into a frenzied state to put Gregory back in his room. Gregory’s mother faints when she sees him. His family stays away from him, careful not to disturb him or disturb themselves. Gregory eventually loses his human voice and takes on all appearances and actions of a bug. The chapter ends when “The door was banged to with the stick, and at last there was silence” (1976). This is when Gregory’s father successfully shoves him back to his room away from the rest of the family for the time being.

===Chapter 2 Summary===

After Gregor awakens he finds a bowl of sweet milk with slices of wheat bread. He soon finds that this food does not please him and leaves it alone. Later Grete brings in an assortment of food to find what he likes and discovers he can only eat the rotten stuff. For the next few days the routine was that Gregor would hide up under a couch whenever Grete brought in his food. Soon Gregor found enjoyment in crawling around on the ceiling and walls. Grete learned of this and decided to take the furniture out of the room so he could crawl easier. Grete and her mother began to take all the furniture out of the room and this made him upset. While trying to protect one of his pictures from being taken Gregor's mother saw him and fainted. This caused panic and Gregor left his room to follow Grete to get something to help their mother. When Gregor's father came home he got into a fight with Gregor in which he threw some apples at him striking him in the back.

===Chapter 3 Summary===

It has been a month since Gregory’s injury form the apple. He now resembles an “elderly invalid” and has trouble with mobility. Gregory’s parents and sister all have jobs now; his mother works as a seamstress, his father works at the bank and his sister works as a shop assistance. A new maid has also been hired. Gregory spends most of his days and nights sleeping and thinking about his family and his former job. His sister Meg begins spending less time with him and his appetite has begun to deplete. Three lodgers come to stay at his house. While they are there, the door where Gregory can see out of stays shut so he can not see out. One night, Meg plays the violin for the men. The door that is usually shut was left open by the maid and Gregory peeps out. The middle lodger spots him and is grossed out. He gives notice to Gregory’s parents that they will be leaving and that they do not intend to pay for their stay because of the filthy conditions. The next morning, the maid goes in to clean Gregory’s room and finds him dead. She informs his family and they decide to move to a smaller, less expensive apartment. The chapter ends with talk of finding Meg a husband.

==Major Themes==

===Alienation===
The theme of alienation plays a major role in the story because Gregory is alienated from his family and society before the metamorphosis occurs and even more so afterwards. Kafka uses the theme of alienation in this story to "comment on the human need to experience love and acceptance" (Hughes). Gregory's mother tells his boss when they first discover that something is wrong, "He's not well, sir, you can take it from me. What else would make him miss his train? Why, the boy thinks of nothing but his work! It makes me quite cross that he never goes out in the evening..." (1970). Before the metamorphosis, Gregory's work is what alienates him from his family and society.

After the metamorphosis, however, it is his distinct features that alienate him. One example of the alienation is that his family locks him in his bedroom. Gregory is not allowed to be a part of the family. Gregory then has to make the adjustment from being a man in the working world and traveling everyday, to being a prisoner in his own bedroom (Hughes). Another way that Gregory's family alienates him is that when they talk about him, they openly talk about his features in front of him because they think that he cannot understand what they are saying. "If he understood what we said...we might be able to come to an arrangement with him. But as things are..." (1995). They refer to Gregory as "it" rather than by his name. "It has to go...it's the only way, father. You must just try to get out of the habit of thinking that it's Gregory" (1995). In this way, the reader finds out that the family has stopped acknowledging Gregory as their son. The family also treats Gregory like an animal by the way that they feed him. Gregory's sister would bring in scraps from the table that the family wouldn't eat to feed him. "She brought him a whole selection of things, all laid out on an old newspaper, to see what he liked. There were some old half rotten vegetables; the bones from supper, covered with congealed white sauce; some raisins and almonds; a piece of cheese...two days old; a slice of dry bread..." (1978). The family treated him like an animal, rather than their son who got sick and needed his family to look after him.

===Guilt===
The theme of guilt is relevent to the story because it is a very powerful emotion. Gregory is upset that he can't go out and work because of what has happened to him. Even though the metamorphosis wasn't his fault, he still blams himself (Altshuler). Gregory also feels guilty because his family can't move on, literally and mentally. The thing that kept his family from moving on was "their feeling of utter dispair and the idea that they had been struck by a misfortune exceeding anything ever experienced within their entire circle of friends and relations" (1989). Gregory blams himself for this because if this tragedy hadn't happened, his family wouldn't feel the need that they had to move. Gregory also has a guilty feeling because he wants to see his mother, but he knows that he cannot because her reaction to seeing him would not be a good one. When Meg and her mother were moving furniture out of Gregory's room, the mother saw him on the wall. Her reaction was "in a shrill, strident voice, 'Oh God, oh God!' and with arms outstretched as if giving up altogether fell back on the couch and lay still" (1985). Gregory knew that his mother would not take well to seeing him like that, but he stayed on the wall just the same, to protect a painting.

===Novella===
Technically a theme, but more of a genre so to speak, that is unknown to most of us present day readers of Kafka is novella. "A novella is a short novel; a narrative work of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prose prose] fiction somewhat longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. A common length is about 50 to 100 pages. The extra length is generally used for more character development than is possible in a short story, but without the much greater character and plot development of a novel. Novellas often are characterized by satire or moral teaching" (Wikipedia).

Satire: This is clearly evident as "[http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/litwiki/index.php/The_Metamorphosis#Summary The Metamorphosis] is obviously a story about alienation. Gregor's life is dictated by his dead-end job and family responsibilities to the extent that even when he travels to different towns, he prefers to stay in his hotel room studying train timetables rather than experience what the new location has to offer. That isolation is mirrored in his relationship with his family, for whom he is the bread-winner but from whom he locks himself away at night. This alienation becomes so pronounced that, one day, he discovers himself to be literally no longer human. Gregor's earlier sentiment is reciprocated when his family begins locking and bolting the door shut behind him in his room. Late in the story, he briefly considers what it means to be 'human'; if he can be so moved by his sister's music then surely he cannot be an animal. And ultimately, his acceptance that he must go shows an act of genuine humanity" (Archer).

Moral Teaching: Try interpreting the story without Gregor's transformation. "In this interpretation, the other characters in the story would not see a man-sized beetle. Instead, they see a man so alienated from reality that he chooses to reject it totally. He is still a man, the same man they saw the previous day, but now he is crawling awkwardly on the floor and squeaking rather than speaking. He would prefer the shame of living as an insect to the hopelessness of living as a man. He would rather live in squalor and eat scraps from the rubbish than deal with the mind-numbing sameness of his life and accept responsibility for changing it. The abhorrence the family displays upon seeing him would still be the same - perhaps it would be even greater if they still just saw a man. They would be forced to accept the situation in the same way; still hoping [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/litwiki/index.php/The_Metamorphosis#Gregory_Samsa Gregor] will put himself right before finally admitting the man they knew will never return. As nightmarish as the scenario presented in the book is, maybe the only thing worse than inexplicably transforming into a giant bug overnight is wishing you had" (Archer).

===Reversal of Roles===

At the begining Gregory is the one who supports his family. He is bringing home the money while his father sits in his chair and sleeps. This may have "crippled the father's self-esteem because he took over the father's position in the family" (Coulehan). After Gregory's transformation, the roles reversed and the father re-assumes his positon as the provider forthe family. Gregory now becomes weak and his father kills him.

===Loss of Humanity===

The theme of humanity is shown in the story by how it is taken away from Gregor. His humanity is slowly taken away from him throughout the story not just by his transformation into a bug. Gregor’s first link to humanity that is taken away was that of him being the bread winner for the family. “Gregors humanity, to the extent that his parents and sister acknowledge it, is inextricably tied to his function as economic provider.” (Rowe). Later in the story more is pulled away when Grete begins taking objects out of his room. This made Gregory reminisce about his human life. “They were clearing his room out, taking everything that was dear to him…”(p.1985). Here the last things that ever tied him to having a human existence were removed. When a person is inflicted with a severe illness it is easy for those around that person to be horrified by that person’s appearance (Rowe). The ill patient can not defend his or herself so the people around do not think about how the patient feels (Rowe). This causes the patient to lose their humanity (Rowe). Gregor is inflicted with a unique illness but the outcome is the same. The most famous occurrence of a patient losing their humanity is that of Terry Schiavo. Everybody had their own opinion of Shiavo’s fate. Schiavo could not defend herself or give her opinion of her fate. That situation was turned into a political circus and ultimately stripped Schiavo of her humanity. Rowe states that The Metamorphosis warns against this treatment of people with illnesses.

===Materialistic===

Modern Society is leading us down a path to care more about the material things rather than the things that truly matter. Gregory Samsa, the one person who cared more about his family than money, worked long hours at a job that he disliked not because of his love for the job, but so that his family could have a good life. His family on the other hand was enjoying a work free life. Mankind gets so caught up in the bureaucracy of society that we sometimes forget what what matters most. We get jobs so that we can buy the materialistic things we desire. This need for money and material things can change our mindset and forget what is truly important in our lives. In, The Metamorphosis, Gregory turns into some sort of insect, while this is something that is very dramatic and would be very hard to deal with, Kafka is trying to show how Gregory’s family rejects him, not only because of his appearance but because he can no longer go to work, no longer will his family be able live off the income he generates, no more material things without a little hard work. After the metamorphosis Gregory will no longer be able to fit into society, therefore his family begins to shun him. Not one of his family members ever tries to find out what happened and what could be done to fix it. One by one Gregory’s family members grow further away from him, forgetting all of the selfless deeds he did for all of them.

===Modern Spirituality===

Franz Kafka’s ''The Metamorphosis'' goes against what most writers would consider normal writing layout. His style is peculiar in that he places the climax at the beginning of the narrative-instead of at the end. By choosing to write in this fashion, Kafka steers his readers away from the traditional Aristotelian form of narrative (complication and denouncement) and instead creates his own form. ''The Metamorphosis'' is a brilliant novella that replaces the denouncement and conclusions one would normally expect with a form created from itself.
The first line of the novella proclaims Gregory’s death and the rest of the story a description of his slow dying: “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect” (Bloom 19). Gregory’s metamorphosis is the truth of his life, and his consciousness has lied to him about himself.

===The Reality of Dreams===

Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” was written as perhaps a reflection of his own inner turmoil. His insecurities began with his appearance. As an adult, he never quite grew into his strikingly tall, slender frame: huge eyes framed with thick, dark brows: prominent nose above a melancholy mouth: or his narrow forehead fringed with straight black hair. In fact, his unique looks were a subject of interest to psychologists who felt that his features seemed to fit Kretschmer’s model of the asthenic-schizoid type, which is characterized by a furry crown of hair extending down the forehead: His portrait became sort of a caricature for the model (Baumer 2). Such a categorization made him feel even odder than he already felt. This resulted in his pulling away from the outside world and subsequently plunged him into a loneliness that plagued his entire life.

Kafka developed a mental illness that grew out of his forced isolation. He spent so much time by himself as a child that he could not fathom everyday life. He lacked the ability to interpret everyday demands and compromises such as those required of a job. Even simple exchanges between two people were a mystery to him. Looking for a way to escape his reality, he began living as though he were in a dream because in his dreams, he could be the person he wished he was. Franz Baumer describes Kafka as:
This charming person who, almost like a saint, like St. Francis, talked to fish, who pronounced himself a dream so as not to have his gross, material appearance disturb the state of sleep he considered far more real, who was always sympathetic in his relations to the world and people, who never lost his smile and could often be very witty, who possessed a strong sense of responsibility and dedication to his job (3).

It was soon after this realization that he wrote “The Metamorphosis,” which is how he views the life he must escape. He was noted as saying: “The taste for describing my dreamlike inner existence has pushed everything into the background where it has atrophied in a terrifying way and does not cease to atrophy. Nothing else can satisfy me” (Baumer 3). By morphing Gregory into a bug, instead of a happy child, he is giving the reader an image of how he sees himself.

Both Kafka and Gregory are trapped by their daily reality and dreams of freedom, just as both are destined to die a lonely and tortured death through their metamorphosis. Kafka, who always thought in images that have a powerful impact, was first and foremost a poet. “Kafka’s dreamworlds will reveal themselves as realities only to those who dare gaze into the terrifying depths of our age. The dream is only denser reality” (Baumer 11).

==Characters==

===Gregory Samsa===
A traveling salesman responsible for providing for his family. His metamorphosis into a insect leaves a stuggle between his human mind and insect needs. The metamorphosis also strengthens his family at the end.

===Mother===
Gregory's mother seems to be the weakest and hit the hardest by her son’s metamorphosis. The effect of this metamorphosis on her health is terrible. Every time she sees him, she has some sort of panic attack. Gregory’s father and sister try to protect his mother from him.

===Father===
Gregor's father more less plays the role of dictator in the story and this is due to his hostilities and interpersonal power dynamics in the family, This is evident with passages such as, "His father looked hostile and clenched a fist as if to force Gregory back into his room;" (1973). Some would describe his father as "A slouching, defeated man whose business failure has seemingly sapped his vitality, Gregor's father finds new confidence and better posture once the economic necessity engendered by Gregor's misfortune forces him to work again. His fruit-flinging fit of rage is the catalyst for Gregor's declining health and eventual demise (Lichtenstein). Even though Gregor is the bread-winner and provider of the family, the Samsas are still a patriarch type of family.

===Grete===
The sister of Gregory Samsa who feeds him and takes care of him.

===The lodgers===
Rent out a room in the Samsa's flat.

==Literary Interpertation==

==Study Questions==
#What sort of bug does Gregory Samsa change into overnight?
#What is the significance of Gregory's job? How does his job effect his family?
#How does the chief clerk from Gregory's job act towards the Samsa's and in general about the entire situation?
#What two people does Gregory think would be the "strongest" and most able to help get him out of bed in the morning? What do you think that this signifies?
#What family member feeds Gregory after he is changed into a bug?
#What is the outside weather like during the "Metamorphosis"? Does this climate help set the mood at all?
#What type of relationship does Gregory have with his sister Meg? How would you describe it?
#How does Gregory die at the end of "The Metamorphosis"?

==External Links==
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/metamorph/

==Works Cited==
Altshuler, Roman. "GradeSaver: ClassicNote: The Metamorphosis - Major Themes." www.gradesaver.com. 17 April 2006. GradeSaver. 17 April 2006 <http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/metamorphosis/themes.html>.

Baumer, Franz. ''Franz Kafka''. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1971.

Bloom, Harold. “The Metamorphosis”. ''Modern Critical Interpretations''. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988.

Coulehan, Jack. "The Metamorphosis". Bantam (New York)1997.

Hughes, Katherine. "Seperate and Alone: Alienation as a Central Theme in Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Kafka's Metamorphosis." 9 November 2002. 17 April 2006. <http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/metamorphosis/essay1.html>

Fleissner, Robert F. "Is Gregor Samsa a Bed Bug? Kafka and Dickens Revisited." ''Studies in Short Fiction''. Vol. 22, Issue 2 (1985): p 225.

"Novella". Wikipedia. 11 April 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 17 April 2006.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novella>.

"Kafka's 'The Metamorphosis' ". Ed. Archer, Lincoln. 25 October 2004. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/home/d/ BBC]. 17 April 2006.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3023065>.

Rowe, Michael. "Metamorphosis: Defending the Human." Literature In Medicine. Baltimore: Fall 2002. vol 21, 264-281

Lichtenstein, Jesse. "SparkNote on The Metamorphosis". 16 April 2006. 17 Apr. 2006. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/metamorph/characters.html>

[[Category:World Literature]]

The Metamorphosis

2006-04-25T02:39:42Z

Swalker: /* Gregory Samsa */

==Summary==
Gregory Samsa is a traveling salesman who financially supports his family. He wakes up in the morning to find out he has been transformed into a Dung Beetle. He is in shock after his reality sets in and tries to figure out how he is going to get to work. Although they try to assimilate the change, his family is horrified and keeps Gregory locked in his room. Gregory eventually dies, leaving his family free.

==Study Guide==
*[[The Metamorphosis: Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
*[[The Metamorphosis: Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
*[[The Metamorphosis: Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]

===Chapter 1 Summary===
The first chapter of The Metamorphosis is the chapter that Gregory Samsa wakes up to find that he has morphed into a bug. The bug is never truly revealed and Kafka wanted it to be that way. Kafka said that a "concrete image would be too distracting and shut off sympathy" (Fleissner 225), so the true identity of the bug is left up to the reader.

Gregory's parents worry about him when he has not gotten up to go to work, so his family goes to his room and then Gregory's chief clerk comes to his house to see why Gregory has not come to work. Gregory hears that that the clerk has come to check on him so he tries to make it out of his room by turning the key with his mouth and when he opens door, he frightens his family and the clerk, sending the clerk running and sends his father into a frenzied state to put Gregory back in his room. Gregory’s mother faints when she sees him. His family stays away from him, careful not to disturb him or disturb themselves. Gregory eventually loses his human voice and takes on all appearances and actions of a bug. The chapter ends when “The door was banged to with the stick, and at last there was silence” (1976). This is when Gregory’s father successfully shoves him back to his room away from the rest of the family for the time being.

===Chapter 2 Summary===

After Gregor awakens he finds a bowl of sweet milk with slices of wheat bread. He soon finds that this food does not please him and leaves it alone. Later Grete brings in an assortment of food to find what he likes and discovers he can only eat the rotten stuff. For the next few days the routine was that Gregor would hide up under a couch whenever Grete brought in his food. Soon Gregor found enjoyment in crawling around on the ceiling and walls. Grete learned of this and decided to take the furniture out of the room so he could crawl easier. Grete and her mother began to take all the furniture out of the room and this made him upset. While trying to protect one of his pictures from being taken Gregor's mother saw him and fainted. This caused panic and Gregor left his room to follow Grete to get something to help their mother. When Gregor's father came home he got into a fight with Gregor in which he threw some apples at him striking him in the back.

===Chapter 3 Summary===

It has been a month since Gregory’s injury form the apple. He now resembles an “elderly invalid” and has trouble with mobility. Gregory’s parents and sister all have jobs now; his mother works as a seamstress, his father works at the bank and his sister works as a shop assistance. A new maid has also been hired. Gregory spends most of his days and nights sleeping and thinking about his family and his former job. His sister Meg begins spending less time with him and his appetite has begun to deplete. Three lodgers come to stay at his house. While they are there, the door where Gregory can see out of stays shut so he can not see out. One night, Meg plays the violin for the men. The door that is usually shut was left open by the maid and Gregory peeps out. The middle lodger spots him and is grossed out. He gives notice to Gregory’s parents that they will be leaving and that they do not intend to pay for their stay because of the filthy conditions. The next morning, the maid goes in to clean Gregory’s room and finds him dead. She informs his family and they decide to move to a smaller, less expensive apartment. The chapter ends with talk of finding Meg a husband.

==Major Themes==

===Alienation===
The theme of alienation plays a major role in the story because Gregory is alienated from his family and society before the metamorphosis occurs and even more so afterwards. Kafka uses the theme of alienation in this story to "comment on the human need to experience love and acceptance" (Hughes). Gregory's mother tells his boss when they first discover that something is wrong, "He's not well, sir, you can take it from me. What else would make him miss his train? Why, the boy thinks of nothing but his work! It makes me quite cross that he never goes out in the evening..." (1970). Before the metamorphosis, Gregory's work is what alienates him from his family and society.

After the metamorphosis, however, it is his distinct features that alienate him. One example of the alienation is that his family locks him in his bedroom. Gregory is not allowed to be a part of the family. Gregory then has to make the adjustment from being a man in the working world and traveling everyday, to being a prisoner in his own bedroom (Hughes). Another way that Gregory's family alienates him is that when they talk about him, they openly talk about his features in front of him because they think that he cannot understand what they are saying. "If he understood what we said...we might be able to come to an arrangement with him. But as things are..." (1995). They refer to Gregory as "it" rather than by his name. "It has to go...it's the only way, father. You must just try to get out of the habit of thinking that it's Gregory" (1995). In this way, the reader finds out that the family has stopped acknowledging Gregory as their son. The family also treats Gregory like an animal by the way that they feed him. Gregory's sister would bring in scraps from the table that the family wouldn't eat to feed him. "She brought him a whole selection of things, all laid out on an old newspaper, to see what he liked. There were some old half rotten vegetables; the bones from supper, covered with congealed white sauce; some raisins and almonds; a piece of cheese...two days old; a slice of dry bread..." (1978). The family treated him like an animal, rather than their son who got sick and needed his family to look after him.

===Guilt===
The theme of guilt is relevent to the story because it is a very powerful emotion. Gregory is upset that he can't go out and work because of what has happened to him. Even though the metamorphosis wasn't his fault, he still blams himself (Altshuler). Gregory also feels guilty because his family can't move on, literally and mentally. The thing that kept his family from moving on was "their feeling of utter dispair and the idea that they had been struck by a misfortune exceeding anything ever experienced within their entire circle of friends and relations" (1989). Gregory blams himself for this because if this tragedy hadn't happened, his family wouldn't feel the need that they had to move. Gregory also has a guilty feeling because he wants to see his mother, but he knows that he cannot because her reaction to seeing him would not be a good one. When Meg and her mother were moving furniture out of Gregory's room, the mother saw him on the wall. Her reaction was "in a shrill, strident voice, 'Oh God, oh God!' and with arms outstretched as if giving up altogether fell back on the couch and lay still" (1985). Gregory knew that his mother would not take well to seeing him like that, but he stayed on the wall just the same, to protect a painting.

===Novella===
Technically a theme, but more of a genre so to speak, that is unknown to most of us present day readers of Kafka is novella. "A novella is a short novel; a narrative work of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prose prose] fiction somewhat longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. A common length is about 50 to 100 pages. The extra length is generally used for more character development than is possible in a short story, but without the much greater character and plot development of a novel. Novellas often are characterized by satire or moral teaching" (Wikipedia).

Satire: This is clearly evident as "[http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/litwiki/index.php/The_Metamorphosis#Summary The Metamorphosis] is obviously a story about alienation. Gregor's life is dictated by his dead-end job and family responsibilities to the extent that even when he travels to different towns, he prefers to stay in his hotel room studying train timetables rather than experience what the new location has to offer. That isolation is mirrored in his relationship with his family, for whom he is the bread-winner but from whom he locks himself away at night. This alienation becomes so pronounced that, one day, he discovers himself to be literally no longer human. Gregor's earlier sentiment is reciprocated when his family begins locking and bolting the door shut behind him in his room. Late in the story, he briefly considers what it means to be 'human'; if he can be so moved by his sister's music then surely he cannot be an animal. And ultimately, his acceptance that he must go shows an act of genuine humanity" (Archer).

Moral Teaching: Try interpreting the story without Gregor's transformation. "In this interpretation, the other characters in the story would not see a man-sized beetle. Instead, they see a man so alienated from reality that he chooses to reject it totally. He is still a man, the same man they saw the previous day, but now he is crawling awkwardly on the floor and squeaking rather than speaking. He would prefer the shame of living as an insect to the hopelessness of living as a man. He would rather live in squalor and eat scraps from the rubbish than deal with the mind-numbing sameness of his life and accept responsibility for changing it. The abhorrence the family displays upon seeing him would still be the same - perhaps it would be even greater if they still just saw a man. They would be forced to accept the situation in the same way; still hoping [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/litwiki/index.php/The_Metamorphosis#Gregory_Samsa Gregor] will put himself right before finally admitting the man they knew will never return. As nightmarish as the scenario presented in the book is, maybe the only thing worse than inexplicably transforming into a giant bug overnight is wishing you had" (Archer).

===Reversal of Roles===

At the begining Gregory is the one who supports his family. He is bringing home the money while his father sits in his chair and sleeps. This may have "crippled the father's self-esteem because he took over the father's position in the family" (Coulehan). After Gregory's transformation, the roles reversed and the father re-assumes his positon as the provider forthe family. Gregory now becomes weak and his father kills him.

===Loss of Humanity===

The theme of humanity is shown in the story by how it is taken away from Gregor. His humanity is slowly taken away from him throughout the story not just by his transformation into a bug. Gregor’s first link to humanity that is taken away was that of him being the bread winner for the family. “Gregors humanity, to the extent that his parents and sister acknowledge it, is inextricably tied to his function as economic provider.” (Rowe). Later in the story more is pulled away when Grete begins taking objects out of his room. This made Gregory reminisce about his human life. “They were clearing his room out, taking everything that was dear to him…”(p.1985). Here the last things that ever tied him to having a human existence were removed. When a person is inflicted with a severe illness it is easy for those around that person to be horrified by that person’s appearance (Rowe). The ill patient can not defend his or herself so the people around do not think about how the patient feels (Rowe). This causes the patient to lose their humanity (Rowe). Gregor is inflicted with a unique illness but the outcome is the same. The most famous occurrence of a patient losing their humanity is that of Terry Schiavo. Everybody had their own opinion of Shiavo’s fate. Schiavo could not defend herself or give her opinion of her fate. That situation was turned into a political circus and ultimately stripped Schiavo of her humanity. Rowe states that The Metamorphosis warns against this treatment of people with illnesses.

===Materialistic===

Modern Society is leading us down a path to care more about the material things rather than the things that truly matter. Gregory Samsa, the one person who cared more about his family than money, worked long hours at a job that he disliked not because of his love for the job, but so that his family could have a good life. His family on the other hand was enjoying a work free life. Mankind gets so caught up in the bureaucracy of society that we sometimes forget what what matters most. We get jobs so that we can buy the materialistic things we desire. This need for money and material things can change our mindset and forget what is truly important in our lives. In, The Metamorphosis, Gregory turns into some sort of insect, while this is something that is very dramatic and would be very hard to deal with, Kafka is trying to show how Gregory’s family rejects him, not only because of his appearance but because he can no longer go to work, no longer will his family be able live off the income he generates, no more material things without a little hard work. After the metamorphosis Gregory will no longer be able to fit into society, therefore his family begins to shun him. Not one of his family members ever tries to find out what happened and what could be done to fix it. One by one Gregory’s family members grow further away from him, forgetting all of the selfless deeds he did for all of them.

===Modern Spirituality===

Franz Kafka’s ''The Metamorphosis'' goes against what most writers would consider normal writing layout. His style is peculiar in that he places the climax at the beginning of the narrative-instead of at the end. By choosing to write in this fashion, Kafka steers his readers away from the traditional Aristotelian form of narrative (complication and denouncement) and instead creates his own form. ''The Metamorphosis'' is a brilliant novella that replaces the denouncement and conclusions one would normally expect with a form created from itself.
The first line of the novella proclaims Gregory’s death and the rest of the story a description of his slow dying: “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect” (Bloom 19). Gregory’s metamorphosis is the truth of his life, and his consciousness has lied to him about himself.

===The Reality of Dreams===

Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” was written as perhaps a reflection of his own inner turmoil. His insecurities began with his appearance. As an adult, he never quite grew into his strikingly tall, slender frame: huge eyes framed with thick, dark brows: prominent nose above a melancholy mouth: or his narrow forehead fringed with straight black hair. In fact, his unique looks were a subject of interest to psychologists who felt that his features seemed to fit Kretschmer’s model of the asthenic-schizoid type, which is characterized by a furry crown of hair extending down the forehead: His portrait became sort of a caricature for the model (Baumer 2). Such a categorization made him feel even odder than he already felt. This resulted in his pulling away from the outside world and subsequently plunged him into a loneliness that plagued his entire life.

Kafka developed a mental illness that grew out of his forced isolation. He spent so much time by himself as a child that he could not fathom everyday life. He lacked the ability to interpret everyday demands and compromises such as those required of a job. Even simple exchanges between two people were a mystery to him. Looking for a way to escape his reality, he began living as though he were in a dream because in his dreams, he could be the person he wished he was. Franz Baumer describes Kafka as:
This charming person who, almost like a saint, like St. Francis, talked to fish, who pronounced himself a dream so as not to have his gross, material appearance disturb the state of sleep he considered far more real, who was always sympathetic in his relations to the world and people, who never lost his smile and could often be very witty, who possessed a strong sense of responsibility and dedication to his job (3).

It was soon after this realization that he wrote “The Metamorphosis,” which is how he views the life he must escape. He was noted as saying: “The taste for describing my dreamlike inner existence has pushed everything into the background where it has atrophied in a terrifying way and does not cease to atrophy. Nothing else can satisfy me” (Baumer 3). By morphing Gregory into a bug, instead of a happy child, he is giving the reader an image of how he sees himself.

Both Kafka and Gregory are trapped by their daily reality and dreams of freedom, just as both are destined to die a lonely and tortured death through their metamorphosis. Kafka, who always thought in images that have a powerful impact, was first and foremost a poet. “Kafka’s dreamworlds will reveal themselves as realities only to those who dare gaze into the terrifying depths of our age. The dream is only denser reality” (Baumer 11).

==Characters==

===Gregory Samsa===
A traveling salesman responsible for providing for his family. His metamorphosis into a insect leaves a stuggle between his human mind and insect needs. The metamorphosis also strengthens his family at the end.

===Mother===
Gregory's mother seems to be the weakest and hit the hardest by her son’s metamorphosis. The effect of this metamorphosis on her health is terrible. Every time she sees him, she has some sort of panic attack. Gregory’s father and sister try to protect his mother from him.

===Father===
Gregor's father more less plays the role of dictator in the story and this is due to his hostilities and interpersonal power dynamics in the family, This is evident with passages such as, "His father looked hostile and clenched a fist as if to force Gregory back into his room;" (1973). Some would describe his father as "A slouching, defeated man whose business failure has seemingly sapped his vitality, Gregor's father finds new confidence and better posture once the economic necessity engendered by Gregor's misfortune forces him to work again. His fruit-flinging fit of rage is the catalyst for Gregor's declining health and eventual demise (Lichtenstein). Even though Gregor is the bread-winner and provider of the family, the Samsas are still a patriarch type of family.

===Grete===
The sister of Gregory Samsa who feeds him and takes care of him.

===The lodgers===

==Literary Interpertation==

==Study Questions==
#What sort of bug does Gregory Samsa change into overnight?
#What is the significance of Gregory's job? How does his job effect his family?
#How does the chief clerk from Gregory's job act towards the Samsa's and in general about the entire situation?
#What two people does Gregory think would be the "strongest" and most able to help get him out of bed in the morning? What do you think that this signifies?
#What family member feeds Gregory after he is changed into a bug?
#What is the outside weather like during the "Metamorphosis"? Does this climate help set the mood at all?
#What type of relationship does Gregory have with his sister Meg? How would you describe it?
#How does Gregory die at the end of "The Metamorphosis"?

==External Links==
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/metamorph/

==Works Cited==
Altshuler, Roman. "GradeSaver: ClassicNote: The Metamorphosis - Major Themes." www.gradesaver.com. 17 April 2006. GradeSaver. 17 April 2006 <http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/metamorphosis/themes.html>.

Baumer, Franz. ''Franz Kafka''. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1971.

Bloom, Harold. “The Metamorphosis”. ''Modern Critical Interpretations''. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988.

Coulehan, Jack. "The Metamorphosis". Bantam (New York)1997.

Hughes, Katherine. "Seperate and Alone: Alienation as a Central Theme in Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Kafka's Metamorphosis." 9 November 2002. 17 April 2006. <http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/metamorphosis/essay1.html>

Fleissner, Robert F. "Is Gregor Samsa a Bed Bug? Kafka and Dickens Revisited." ''Studies in Short Fiction''. Vol. 22, Issue 2 (1985): p 225.

"Novella". Wikipedia. 11 April 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 17 April 2006.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novella>.

"Kafka's 'The Metamorphosis' ". Ed. Archer, Lincoln. 25 October 2004. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/home/d/ BBC]. 17 April 2006.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3023065>.

Rowe, Michael. "Metamorphosis: Defending the Human." Literature In Medicine. Baltimore: Fall 2002. vol 21, 264-281

Lichtenstein, Jesse. "SparkNote on The Metamorphosis". 16 April 2006. 17 Apr. 2006. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/metamorph/characters.html>

[[Category:World Literature]]

The Metamorphosis

2006-04-18T02:30:38Z

Swalker: /* Guilt */

==Summary==
Gregory Samsa is a traveling salesman who financially supports his family. He wakes up in the morning to find out he has been transformed into a Dung Beetle. He is in shock after his reality sets in and tries to figure out how he is going to get to work. Although they try to assimilate the change, his family is horrified and keeps Gregory locked in his room. Gregory eventually dies, leaving his family free.

==Study Guide==
*[[The Metamorphosis: Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
*[[The Metamorphosis: Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
*[[The Metamorphosis: Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]

===Chapter 1 Summary===
The first chapter of The Metamorphosis is the chapter that Gregory Samsa wakes up to find that he has morphed into a bug. The bug is never truly revealed and Kafka wanted it to be that way. Kafka said that a "concrete image would be too distracting and shut off sympathy" (Fleissner 225), so the true identity of the bug is left up to the reader.

Gregory's parents worry about him when he has not gotten up to go to work, so his family goes to his room and then Gregory's chief clerk comes to his house to see why Gregory has not come to work. Gregory hears that that the clerk has come to check on him so he tries to make it out of his room by turning the key with his mouth and when he opens door, he frightens his family and the clerk, sending the clerk running and sends his father into a frenzied state to put Gregory back in his room. Gregory’s mother faints when she sees him. His family stays away from him, careful not to disturb him or disturb themselves. Gregory eventually loses his human voice and takes on all appearances and actions of a bug. The chapter ends when “The door was banged to with the stick, and at last there was silence” (1976). This is when Gregory’s father successfully shoves him back to his room away from the rest of the family for the time being.

===Chapter 3 Summary===

It has been a month since Gregory’s injury form the apple. He now resembles an “elderly invalid” and has trouble with mobility. Gregory’s parents and sister all have jobs now; his mother works as a seamstress, his father works at the bank and his sister works as a shop assistance. A new maid has also been hired. Gregory spends most of his days and nights sleeping and thinking about his family and his former job. His sister Meg begins spending less time with him and his appetite has begun to deplete. Three lodgers come to stay at his house. While they are there, the door where Gregory can see out of stays shut so he can not see out. One night, Meg plays the violin for the men. The door that is usually shut was left open by the maid and Gregory peeps out. The middle lodger spots him and is grossed out. He gives notice to Gregory’s parents that they will be leaving and that they do not intend to pay for their stay because of the filthy conditions. The next morning, the maid goes in to clean Gregory’s room and finds him dead. She informs his family and they decide to move to a smaller, less expensive apartment. The chapter ends with talk of finding Meg a husband.

==Major Themes==

===Alienation===
The theme of alienation plays a major role in the story because Gregory is alienated from his family and society before the metamorphosis occurs and even more so afterwards. Kafka uses the theme of alienation in this story to "comment on the human need to experience love and acceptance" (Hughes). Gregory's mother tells his boss when they first discover that something is wrong, "He's not well, sir, you can take it from me. What else would make him miss his train? Why, the boy thinks of nothing but his work! It makes me quite cross that he never goes out in the evening..." (1970). Before the metamorphosis, Gregory's work is what alienates him from his family and society.

After the metamorphosis, however, it is his distinct features that alienate him. One example of the alienation is that his family locks him in his bedroom. Gregory is not allowed to be a part of the family. Gregory then has to make the adjustment from being a man in the working world and traveling everyday, to being a prisoner in his own bedroom (Hughes). Another way that Gregory's family alienates him is that when they talk about him, they openly talk about his features in front of him because they think that he cannot understand what they are saying. "If he understood what we said...we might be able to come to an arrangement with him. But as things are..." (1995). They refer to Gregory as "it" rather than by his name. "It has to go...it's the only way, father. You must just try to get out of the habit of thinking that it's Gregory" (1995). In this way, the reader finds out that the family has stopped acknowledging Gregory as their son. The family also treats Gregory like an animal by the way that they feed him. Gregory's sister would bring in scraps from the table that the family wouldn't eat to feed him. "She brought him a whole selection of things, all laid out on an old newspaper, to see what he liked. There were some old half rotten vegetables; the bones from supper, covered with congealed white sauce; some raisins and almonds; a piece of cheese...two days old; a slice of dry bread..." (1978). The family treated him like an animal, rather than their son who got sick and needed his family to look after him.

===Guilt===
The theme of guilt is relevent to the story because it is a very powerful emotion. Gregory is upset that he can't go out and work because of what has happened to him. Even though the metamorphosis wasn't his fault, he still blams himself (Altshuler). Gregory also feels guilty because his family can't move on, literally and mentally. The thing that kept his family from moving on was "their feeling of utter dispair and the idea that they had been struck by a misfortune exceeding anything ever experienced within their entire circle of friends and relations" (1989). Gregory blams himself for this because if this tragedy hadn't happened, his family wouldn't feel the need that they had to move. Gregory also has a guilty feeling because he wants to see his mother, but he knows that he cannot because her reaction to seeing him would not be a good one. When Meg and her mother were moving furniture out of Gregory's room, the mother saw him on the wall. Her reaction was "in a shrill, strident voice, 'Oh God, oh God!' and with arms outstretched as if giving up altogether fell back on the couch and lay still" (1985). Gregory knew that his mother would not take well to seeing him like that, but he stayed on the wall just the same, to protect a painting.

===Novella===
Technically a theme, but more of a genre so to speak, that is unknown to most of us present day readers of Kafka is novella. "A novella is a short novel; a narrative work of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prose prose] fiction somewhat longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. A common length is about 50 to 100 pages. The extra length is generally used for more character development than is possible in a short story, but without the much greater character and plot development of a novel. Novellas often are characterized by satire or moral teaching" (Wikipedia).

Satire: This is clearly evident as "[http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/litwiki/index.php/The_Metamorphosis#Summary The Metamorphosis] is obviously a story about alienation. Gregor's life is dictated by his dead-end job and family responsibilities to the extent that even when he travels to different towns, he prefers to stay in his hotel room studying train timetables rather than experience what the new location has to offer. That isolation is mirrored in his relationship with his family, for whom he is the bread-winner but from whom he locks himself away at night. This alienation becomes so pronounced that, one day, he discovers himself to be literally no longer human. Gregor's earlier sentiment is reciprocated when his family begins locking and bolting the door shut behind him in his room. Late in the story, he briefly considers what it means to be 'human'; if he can be so moved by his sister's music then surely he cannot be an animal. And ultimately, his acceptance that he must go shows an act of genuine humanity" (Archer).

Moral Teaching: Try interpreting the story without Gregor's transformation. "In this interpretation, the other characters in the story would not see a man-sized beetle. Instead, they see a man so alienated from reality that he chooses to reject it totally. He is still a man, the same man they saw the previous day, but now he is crawling awkwardly on the floor and squeaking rather than speaking. He would prefer the shame of living as an insect to the hopelessness of living as a man. He would rather live in squalor and eat scraps from the rubbish than deal with the mind-numbing sameness of his life and accept responsibility for changing it. The abhorrence the family displays upon seeing him would still be the same - perhaps it would be even greater if they still just saw a man. They would be forced to accept the situation in the same way; still hoping [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/litwiki/index.php/The_Metamorphosis#Gregory_Samsa Gregor] will put himself right before finally admitting the man they knew will never return. As nightmarish as the scenario presented in the book is, maybe the only thing worse than inexplicably transforming into a giant bug overnight is wishing you had" (Archer).

===Reversal of Roles===

At the begining Gregory is the one who supports his family. He is bringing home the money while his father sits in his chair and sleeps. This may have "crippled the father's self-esteem because he took over the father's position in the family" (Coulehan). After Gregory's transformation, the roles reversed and the father re-assumes his positon as the provider forthe family. Gregory now becomes weak and his father kills him.

===Loss of Humanity===

The theme of humanity is shown in the story by how it is taken away from Gregor. His humanity is slowly taken away from him throughout the story not just by his transformation into a bug. Gregor’s first link to humanity that is taken away was that of him being the bread winner for the family. “Gregors humanity, to the extent that his parents and sister acknowledge it, is inextricably tied to his function as economic provider.” (Rowe). Later in the story more is pulled away when Grete begins taking objects out of his room. This made Gregory reminisce about his human life. “They were clearing his room out, taking everything that was dear to him…”(p.1985). Here the last things that ever tied him to having a human existence were removed. When a person is inflicted with a severe illness it is easy for those around that person to be horrified by that person’s appearance (Rowe). The ill patient can not defend his or herself so the people around do not think about how the patient feels (Rowe). This causes the patient to lose their humanity (Rowe). Gregor is inflicted with a unique illness but the outcome is the same. The most famous occurrence of a patient losing their humanity is that of Terry Schiavo. Everybody had their own opinion of Shiavo’s fate. Schiavo could not defend herself or give her opinion of her fate. That situation was turned into a political circus and ultimately stripped Schiavo of her humanity. Rowe states that The Metamorphosis warns against this treatment of people with illnesses.

===Materialistic===

Modern Society is leading us down a path to care more about the material things rather than the things that truly matter. Gregory Samsa, the one person who cared more about his family than money, worked long hours at a job that he disliked not because of his love for the job, but so that his family could have a good life. His family on the other hand was enjoying a work free life. Mankind gets so caught up in the bureaucracy of society that we sometimes forget what what matters most. We get jobs so that we can buy the materialistic things we desire. This need for money and material things can change our mindset and forget what is truly important in our lives. In, The Metamorphosis, Gregory turns into some sort of insect, while this is something that is very dramatic and would be very hard to deal with, Kafka is trying to show how Gregory’s family rejects him, not only because of his appearance but because he can no longer go to work, no longer will his family be able live off the income he generates, no more material things without a little hard work. After the metamorphosis Gregory will no longer be able to fit into society, therefore his family begins to shun him. Not one of his family members ever tries to find out what happened and what could be done to fix it. One by one Gregory’s family members grow further away from him, forgetting all of the selfless deeds he did for all of them.

===Modern Spirituality===

Franz Kafka’s ''The Metamorphosis'' goes against what most writers would consider normal writing layout. His style is peculiar in that he places the climax at the beginning of the narrative-instead of at the end. By choosing to write in this fashion, Kafka steers his readers away from the traditional Aristotelian form of narrative (complication and denouncement) and instead creates his own form. ''The Metamorphosis'' is a brilliant novella that replaces the denouncement and conclusions one would normally expect with a form created from itself.
The first line of the novella proclaims Gregory’s death and the rest of the story a description of his slow dying: “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect” (Bloom 19). Gregory’s metamorphosis is the truth of his life, and his consciousness has lied to him about himself.

==Characters==

===Gregory Samsa===
A traveling salesman responsible for providing for his family. His metamorphosis into a insect leaves a stuggle between his human mind and insect needs.

===Mother===
Gregory's mother seems to be the weakest and hit the hardest by her son’s metamorphosis. The effect of this metamorphosis on her health is terrible. Every time she sees him, she has some sort of panic attack. Gregory’s father and sister try to protect his mother from him.

===Father===
Gregor's father more less plays the role of dictator in the story and this is due to his hostilities and interpersonal power dynamics in the family, This is evident with passages such as, "His father looked hostile and clenched a fist as if to force Gregory back into his room;" (1973). Some would describe his father as "A slouching, defeated man whose business failure has seemingly sapped his vitality, Gregor's father finds new confidence and better posture once the economic necessity engendered by Gregor's misfortune forces him to work again. His fruit-flinging fit of rage is the catalyst for Gregor's declining health and eventual demise (Lichtenstein). Even though Gregor is the bread-winner and provider of the family, the Samsas are still a patriarch type of family.

===Grete===
The sister of Gregory Samsa who feeds him and takes care of him.

==Study Questions==
#What sort of bug does Gregory Samsa change into overnight?
#What is the significance of Gregory's job? How does his job effect his family?
#How does the chief clerk from Gregory's job act towards the Samsa's and in general about the entire situation?
#What two people does Gregory think would be the "strongest" and most able to help get him out of bed in the morning? What do you think that this signifies?
#What family member feeds Gregory after he is changed into a bug?
#What is the outside weather like during the "Metamorphosis"? Does this climate help set the mood at all?
#What type of relationship does Gregory have with his sister Meg? How would you describe it?
#How does Gregory die at the end of "The Metamorphosis"?

==External Links==
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/metamorph/

==Works Cited==
Altshuler, Roman. "GradeSaver: ClassicNote: The Metamorphosis - Major Themes." www.gradesaver.com. 17 April 2006. GradeSaver. 17 April 2006 <http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/metamorphosis/themes.html>.

Bloom, Harold. “The Metamorphosis”. ''Modern Critical Interpretations''. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988.

Coulehan, Jack. "The Metamorphosis". Bantam (New York)1997.

Hughes, Katherine. "Seperate and Alone: Alienation as a Central Theme in Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Kafka's Metamorphosis." 9 November 2002. 17 April 2006. <http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/metamorphosis/essay1.html>

Fleissner, Robert F. "Is Gregor Samsa a Bed Bug? Kafka and Dickens Revisited." ''Studies in Short Fiction''. Vol. 22, Issue 2 (1985): p 225.

"Novella". Wikipedia. 11 April 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 17 April 2006.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novella>.

"Kafka's 'The Metamorphosis' ". Ed. Archer, Lincoln. 25 October 2004. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/home/d/ BBC]. 17 April 2006.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3023065>.

Rowe, Michael. "Metamorphosis: Defending the Human." Literature In Medicine. Baltimore: Fall 2002. vol 21, 264-281

Lichtenstein, Jesse. "SparkNote on The Metamorphosis". 16 April 2006. 17 Apr. 2006. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/metamorph/characters.html>

[[Category:World Literature]]

The Metamorphosis

2006-04-18T01:51:25Z

Swalker: /* Works Cited */

==Summary==
Gregory Samsa is a traveling salesman who financially supports his family. He wakes up in the morning to find out he has been transformed into a Dung Beetle. He is in shock after his reality sets in and tries to figure out how he is going to get to work. Although they try to assimilate the change, his family is horrified and keeps Gregory locked in his room. Gregory eventually dies, leaving his family free.

==Study Guide==
*[[The Metamorphosis: Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
*[[The Metamorphosis: Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
*[[The Metamorphosis: Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]

===Chapter 1 Summary===
The first chapter of The Metamorphosis is the chapter that Gregory Samsa wakes up to find that he has morphed into a bug. The bug is never truly revealed and Kafka wanted it to be that way. Kafka said that a "concrete image would be too distracting and shut off sympathy" (Fleissner 225), so the true identity of the bug is left up to the reader.

Gregory's parents worry about him when he has not gotten up to go to work, so his family goes to his room and then Gregory's chief clerk comes to his house to see why Gregory has not come to work. Gregory hears that that the clerk has come to check on him so he tries to make it out of his room by turning the key with his mouth and when he opens door, he frightens his family and the clerk, sending the clerk running and sends his father into a frenzied state to put Gregory back in his room. Gregory’s mother faints when she sees him. His family stays away from him, careful not to disturb him or disturb themselves. Gregory eventually loses his human voice and takes on all appearances and actions of a bug. The chapter ends when “The door was banged to with the stick, and at last there was silence” (1976). This is when Gregory’s father successfully shoves him back to his room away from the rest of the family for the time being.

===Chapter 3 Summary===

It has been a month since Gregory’s injury form the apple. He now resembles an “elderly invalid” and has trouble with mobility. Gregory’s parents and sister all have jobs now; his mother works as a seamstress, his father works at the bank and his sister works as a shop assistance. A new maid has also been hired. Gregory spends most of his days and nights sleeping and thinking about his family and his former job. His sister Meg begins spending less time with him and his appetite has begun to deplete. Three lodgers come to stay at his house. While they are there, the door where Gregory can see out of stays shut so he can not see out. One night, Meg plays the violin for the men. The door that is usually shut was left open by the maid and Gregory peeps out. The middle lodger spots him and is grossed out. He gives notice to Gregory’s parents that they will be leaving and that they do not intend to pay for their stay because of the filthy conditions. The next morning, the maid goes in to clean Gregory’s room and finds him dead. She informs his family and they decide to move to a smaller, less expensive apartment. The chapter ends with talk of finding Meg a husband.

==Major Themes==

===Alienation===
The theme of alienation plays a major role in the story because Gregory is alienated from his family and society before the metamorphosis occurs and even more so afterwards. Kafka uses the theme of alienation in this story to "comment on the human need to experience love and acceptance" (Hughes). Gregory's mother tells his boss when they first discover that something is wrong, "He's not well, sir, you can take it from me. What else would make him miss his train? Why, the boy thinks of nothing but his work! It makes me quite cross that he never goes out in the evening..." (1970). Before the metamorphosis, Gregory's work is what alienates him from his family and society.

After the metamorphosis, however, it is his distinct features that alienate him. One example of the alienation is that his family locks him in his bedroom. Gregory is not allowed to be a part of the family. Gregory then has to make the adjustment from being a man in the working world and traveling everyday, to being a prisoner in his own bedroom (Hughes). Another way that Gregory's family alienates him is that when they talk about him, they openly talk about his features in front of him because they think that he cannot understand what they are saying. "If he understood what we said...we might be able to come to an arrangement with him. But as things are..." (1995). They refer to Gregory as "it" rather than by his name. "It has to go...it's the only way, father. You must just try to get out of the habit of thinking that it's Gregory" (1995). In this way, the reader finds out that the family has stopped acknowledging Gregory as their son. The family also treats Gregory like an animal by the way that they feed him. Gregory's sister would bring in scraps from the table that the family wouldn't eat to feed him. "She brought him a whole selection of things, all laid out on an old newspaper, to see what he liked. There were some old half rotten vegetables; the bones from supper, covered with congealed white sauce; some raisins and almonds; a piece of cheese...two days old; a slice of dry bread..." (1978). The family treated him like an animal, rather than their son who got sick and needed his family to look after him.

===Guilt===
The theme of guilt is relevent to the story because it is a very powerful emotion. Gregory feels that it is his fault that he can't go out and work because of what has happened to him. Even though the metamorphosis wasn't his fault, he still blams himself (Altshuler). Gregory also feels guilty because his family can't move on, literally and mentally. The thing that kept his family from moving on was "their feeling of utter dispair and the idea that they had been struck by a misfortune exceeding anything ever experienced within their entire circle of friends and relations" (1989). Gregory blams himself for this because if this tragedy hadn't happened, his family wouldn't feel the need that they had to move. Gregory also has a guilty feeling because he wants to see his mother, but he knows that he cannot because her reaction to seeing him would not be a good one. When Meg and her mother were moving furniture out of Gregory's room, the mother saw him on the wall. Her reaction was "in a shrill, strident voice, 'Oh God, oh God!' and with arms outstretched as if giving up altogether fell back on the couch and lay still" (1985). Gregory knew that his mother would not take well to seeing him like that, but he stayed on the wall just the same, to protect a painting.

===Novella===
Technically a theme, but more of a genre so to speak, that is unknown to most of us present day readers of Kafka is novella. "A novella is a short novel; a narrative work of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prose prose] fiction somewhat longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. A common length is about 50 to 100 pages. The extra length is generally used for more character development than is possible in a short story, but without the much greater character and plot development of a novel. Novellas often are characterized by satire or moral teaching" (Wikipedia).

Satire: This is clearly evident as "[http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/litwiki/index.php/The_Metamorphosis#Summary The Metamorphosis] is obviously a story about alienation. Gregor's life is dictated by his dead-end job and family responsibilities to the extent that even when he travels to different towns, he prefers to stay in his hotel room studying train timetables rather than experience what the new location has to offer. That isolation is mirrored in his relationship with his family, for whom he is the bread-winner but from whom he locks himself away at night. This alienation becomes so pronounced that, one day, he discovers himself to be literally no longer human. Gregor's earlier sentiment is reciprocated when his family begins locking and bolting the door shut behind him in his room. Late in the story, he briefly considers what it means to be 'human'; if he can be so moved by his sister's music then surely he cannot be an animal. And ultimately, his acceptance that he must go shows an act of genuine humanity" (Archer).

Moral Teaching: Try interpreting the story without Gregor's transformation. "In this interpretation, the other characters in the story would not see a man-sized beetle. Instead, they see a man so alienated from reality that he chooses to reject it totally. He is still a man, the same man they saw the previous day, but now he is crawling awkwardly on the floor and squeaking rather than speaking. He would prefer the shame of living as an insect to the hopelessness of living as a man. He would rather live in squalor and eat scraps from the rubbish than deal with the mind-numbing sameness of his life and accept responsibility for changing it. The abhorrence the family displays upon seeing him would still be the same - perhaps it would be even greater if they still just saw a man. They would be forced to accept the situation in the same way; still hoping [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/litwiki/index.php/The_Metamorphosis#Gregory_Samsa Gregor] will put himself right before finally admitting the man they knew will never return. As nightmarish as the scenario presented in the book is, maybe the only thing worse than inexplicably transforming into a giant bug overnight is wishing you had" (Archer).

===Reversal of Roles===

At the begining Gregory is the one who supports his family. He is bringing home the money while his father sits in his chair and sleeps. This may have "crippled the father's self-esteem because he took over the father's position in the family" (Coulehan). After Gregory's transformation, the roles reversed and the father re-assumes his positon as the provider forthe family. Gregory now becomes weak and his father kills him.

===Loss of Humanity===

The theme of humanity is shown in the story by how it is taken away from Gregor. His humanity is slowly taken away from him throughout the story not just by his transformation into a bug. Gregor’s first link to humanity that is taken away was that of him being the bread winner for the family. “Gregors humanity, to the extent that his parents and sister acknowledge it, is inextricably tied to his function as economic provider.” (Rowe). Later in the story more is pulled away when Grete begins taking objects out of his room. This made Gregory reminisce about his human life. “They were clearing his room out, taking everything that was dear to him…”(p.1985). Here the last things that ever tied him to having a human existence were removed. When a person is inflicted with a severe illness it is easy for those around that person to be horrified by that person’s appearance (Rowe). The ill patient can not defend his or herself so the people around do not think about how the patient feels (Rowe). This causes the patient to lose their humanity (Rowe). Gregor is inflicted with a unique illness but the outcome is the same. The most famous occurrence of a patient losing their humanity is that of Terry Schiavo. Everybody had their own opinion of Shiavo’s fate. Schiavo could not defend herself or give her opinion of her fate. That situation was turned into a political circus and ultimately stripped Schiavo of her humanity. Rowe states that The Metamorphosis warns against this treatment of people with illnesses.

===Materialistic===

Modern Society is leading us down a path to care more about the material things rather than the things that truly matter. Gregory Samsa, the one person who cared more about his family than money, worked long hours at a job that he disliked not because of his love for the job, but so that his family could have a good life. His family on the other hand was enjoying a work free life. Mankind gets so caught up in the bureaucracy of society that we sometimes forget what what matters most. We get jobs so that we can buy the materialistic things we desire. This need for money and material things can change our mindset and forget what is truly important in our lives. In, The Metamorphosis, Gregory turns into some sort of insect, while this is something that is very dramatic and would be very hard to deal with, Kafka is trying to show how Gregory’s family rejects him, not only because of his appearance but because he can no longer go to work, no longer will his family be able live off the income he generates, no more material things without a little hard work. After the metamorphosis Gregory will no longer be able to fit into society, therefore his family begins to shun him. Not one of his family members ever tries to find out what happened and what could be done to fix it. One by one Gregory’s family members grow further away from him, forgetting all of the selfless deeds he did for all of them.

===Modern Spirituality===

Franz Kafka’s ''The Metamorphosis'' goes against what most writers would consider normal writing layout. His style is peculiar in that he places the climax at the beginning of the narrative-instead of at the end. By choosing to write in this fashion, Kafka steers his readers away from the traditional Aristotelian form of narrative (complication and denouncement) and instead creates his own form. ''The Metamorphosis'' is a brilliant novella that replaces the denouncement and conclusions one would normally expect with a form created from itself.
The first line of the novella proclaims Gregory’s death and the rest of the story a description of his slow dying: “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect” (Bloom 19). Gregory’s metamorphosis is the truth of his life, and his consciousness has lied to him about himself.

==Characters==

===Gregory Samsa===
A traveling salesman responsible for providing for his family. His metamorphosis into a insect leaves a stuggle between his human mind and insect needs.

===Mother===
Gregory's mother seems to be the weakest and hit the hardest by her son’s metamorphosis. The effect of this metamorphosis on her health is terrible. Every time she sees him, she has some sort of panic attack. Gregory’s father and sister try to protect his mother from him.

===Father===
Gregor's father more less plays the role of dictator in the story and this is due to his hostilities and interpersonal power dynamics in the family, This is evident with passages such as, "His father looked hostile and clenched a fist as if to force Gregory back into his room;" (1973). Some would describe his father as "A slouching, defeated man whose business failure has seemingly sapped his vitality, Gregor's father finds new confidence and better posture once the economic necessity engendered by Gregor's misfortune forces him to work again. His fruit-flinging fit of rage is the catalyst for Gregor's declining health and eventual demise (Lichtenstein). Even though Gregor is the bread-winner and provider of the family, the Samsas are still a patriarch type of family.

===Grete===
The sister of Gregory Samsa who feeds him and takes care of him.

==Study Questions==
#What sort of bug does Gregory Samsa change into overnight?
#What is the significance of Gregory's job? How does his job effect his family?
#How does the chief clerk from Gregory's job act towards the Samsa's and in general about the entire situation?
#What two people does Gregory think would be the "strongest" and most able to help get him out of bed in the morning? What do you think that this signifies?
#What family member feeds Gregory after he is changed into a bug?
#What is the outside weather like during the "Metamorphosis"? Does this climate help set the mood at all?
#What type of relationship does Gregory have with his sister Meg? How would you describe it?
#How does Gregory die at the end of "The Metamorphosis"?

==External Links==
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/metamorph/

==Works Cited==
Altshuler, Roman. "GradeSaver: ClassicNote: The Metamorphosis - Major Themes." www.gradesaver.com. 17 April 2006. GradeSaver. 17 April 2006 <http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/metamorphosis/themes.html>.

Bloom, Harold. “The Metamorphosis”. ''Modern Critical Interpretations''. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988.

Coulehan, Jack. "The Metamorphosis". Bantam (New York)1997.

Hughes, Katherine. "Seperate and Alone: Alienation as a Central Theme in Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Kafka's Metamorphosis." 9 November 2002. 17 April 2006. <http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/metamorphosis/essay1.html>

Fleissner, Robert F. "Is Gregor Samsa a Bed Bug? Kafka and Dickens Revisited." ''Studies in Short Fiction''. Vol. 22, Issue 2 (1985): p 225.

"Novella". Wikipedia. 11 April 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 17 April 2006.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novella>.

"Kafka's 'The Metamorphosis' ". Ed. Archer, Lincoln. 25 October 2004. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/home/d/ BBC]. 17 April 2006.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3023065>.

Rowe, Michael. "Metamorphosis: Defending the Human." Literature In Medicine. Baltimore: Fall 2002. vol 21, 264-281

Lichtenstein, Jesse. "SparkNote on The Metamorphosis". 16 April 2006. 17 Apr. 2006. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/metamorph/characters.html>

[[Category:World Literature]]

The Metamorphosis

2006-04-18T01:50:14Z

Swalker: /* Major Themes */

==Summary==
Gregory Samsa is a traveling salesman who financially supports his family. He wakes up in the morning to find out he has been transformed into a Dung Beetle. He is in shock after his reality sets in and tries to figure out how he is going to get to work. Although they try to assimilate the change, his family is horrified and keeps Gregory locked in his room. Gregory eventually dies, leaving his family free.

==Study Guide==
*[[The Metamorphosis: Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
*[[The Metamorphosis: Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
*[[The Metamorphosis: Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]

===Chapter 1 Summary===
The first chapter of The Metamorphosis is the chapter that Gregory Samsa wakes up to find that he has morphed into a bug. The bug is never truly revealed and Kafka wanted it to be that way. Kafka said that a "concrete image would be too distracting and shut off sympathy" (Fleissner 225), so the true identity of the bug is left up to the reader.

Gregory's parents worry about him when he has not gotten up to go to work, so his family goes to his room and then Gregory's chief clerk comes to his house to see why Gregory has not come to work. Gregory hears that that the clerk has come to check on him so he tries to make it out of his room by turning the key with his mouth and when he opens door, he frightens his family and the clerk, sending the clerk running and sends his father into a frenzied state to put Gregory back in his room. Gregory’s mother faints when she sees him. His family stays away from him, careful not to disturb him or disturb themselves. Gregory eventually loses his human voice and takes on all appearances and actions of a bug. The chapter ends when “The door was banged to with the stick, and at last there was silence” (1976). This is when Gregory’s father successfully shoves him back to his room away from the rest of the family for the time being.

===Chapter 3 Summary===

It has been a month since Gregory’s injury form the apple. He now resembles an “elderly invalid” and has trouble with mobility. Gregory’s parents and sister all have jobs now; his mother works as a seamstress, his father works at the bank and his sister works as a shop assistance. A new maid has also been hired. Gregory spends most of his days and nights sleeping and thinking about his family and his former job. His sister Meg begins spending less time with him and his appetite has begun to deplete. Three lodgers come to stay at his house. While they are there, the door where Gregory can see out of stays shut so he can not see out. One night, Meg plays the violin for the men. The door that is usually shut was left open by the maid and Gregory peeps out. The middle lodger spots him and is grossed out. He gives notice to Gregory’s parents that they will be leaving and that they do not intend to pay for their stay because of the filthy conditions. The next morning, the maid goes in to clean Gregory’s room and finds him dead. She informs his family and they decide to move to a smaller, less expensive apartment. The chapter ends with talk of finding Meg a husband.

==Major Themes==

===Alienation===
The theme of alienation plays a major role in the story because Gregory is alienated from his family and society before the metamorphosis occurs and even more so afterwards. Kafka uses the theme of alienation in this story to "comment on the human need to experience love and acceptance" (Hughes). Gregory's mother tells his boss when they first discover that something is wrong, "He's not well, sir, you can take it from me. What else would make him miss his train? Why, the boy thinks of nothing but his work! It makes me quite cross that he never goes out in the evening..." (1970). Before the metamorphosis, Gregory's work is what alienates him from his family and society.

After the metamorphosis, however, it is his distinct features that alienate him. One example of the alienation is that his family locks him in his bedroom. Gregory is not allowed to be a part of the family. Gregory then has to make the adjustment from being a man in the working world and traveling everyday, to being a prisoner in his own bedroom (Hughes). Another way that Gregory's family alienates him is that when they talk about him, they openly talk about his features in front of him because they think that he cannot understand what they are saying. "If he understood what we said...we might be able to come to an arrangement with him. But as things are..." (1995). They refer to Gregory as "it" rather than by his name. "It has to go...it's the only way, father. You must just try to get out of the habit of thinking that it's Gregory" (1995). In this way, the reader finds out that the family has stopped acknowledging Gregory as their son. The family also treats Gregory like an animal by the way that they feed him. Gregory's sister would bring in scraps from the table that the family wouldn't eat to feed him. "She brought him a whole selection of things, all laid out on an old newspaper, to see what he liked. There were some old half rotten vegetables; the bones from supper, covered with congealed white sauce; some raisins and almonds; a piece of cheese...two days old; a slice of dry bread..." (1978). The family treated him like an animal, rather than their son who got sick and needed his family to look after him.

===Guilt===
The theme of guilt is relevent to the story because it is a very powerful emotion. Gregory feels that it is his fault that he can't go out and work because of what has happened to him. Even though the metamorphosis wasn't his fault, he still blams himself (Altshuler). Gregory also feels guilty because his family can't move on, literally and mentally. The thing that kept his family from moving on was "their feeling of utter dispair and the idea that they had been struck by a misfortune exceeding anything ever experienced within their entire circle of friends and relations" (1989). Gregory blams himself for this because if this tragedy hadn't happened, his family wouldn't feel the need that they had to move. Gregory also has a guilty feeling because he wants to see his mother, but he knows that he cannot because her reaction to seeing him would not be a good one. When Meg and her mother were moving furniture out of Gregory's room, the mother saw him on the wall. Her reaction was "in a shrill, strident voice, 'Oh God, oh God!' and with arms outstretched as if giving up altogether fell back on the couch and lay still" (1985). Gregory knew that his mother would not take well to seeing him like that, but he stayed on the wall just the same, to protect a painting.

===Novella===
Technically a theme, but more of a genre so to speak, that is unknown to most of us present day readers of Kafka is novella. "A novella is a short novel; a narrative work of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prose prose] fiction somewhat longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. A common length is about 50 to 100 pages. The extra length is generally used for more character development than is possible in a short story, but without the much greater character and plot development of a novel. Novellas often are characterized by satire or moral teaching" (Wikipedia).

Satire: This is clearly evident as "[http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/litwiki/index.php/The_Metamorphosis#Summary The Metamorphosis] is obviously a story about alienation. Gregor's life is dictated by his dead-end job and family responsibilities to the extent that even when he travels to different towns, he prefers to stay in his hotel room studying train timetables rather than experience what the new location has to offer. That isolation is mirrored in his relationship with his family, for whom he is the bread-winner but from whom he locks himself away at night. This alienation becomes so pronounced that, one day, he discovers himself to be literally no longer human. Gregor's earlier sentiment is reciprocated when his family begins locking and bolting the door shut behind him in his room. Late in the story, he briefly considers what it means to be 'human'; if he can be so moved by his sister's music then surely he cannot be an animal. And ultimately, his acceptance that he must go shows an act of genuine humanity" (Archer).

Moral Teaching: Try interpreting the story without Gregor's transformation. "In this interpretation, the other characters in the story would not see a man-sized beetle. Instead, they see a man so alienated from reality that he chooses to reject it totally. He is still a man, the same man they saw the previous day, but now he is crawling awkwardly on the floor and squeaking rather than speaking. He would prefer the shame of living as an insect to the hopelessness of living as a man. He would rather live in squalor and eat scraps from the rubbish than deal with the mind-numbing sameness of his life and accept responsibility for changing it. The abhorrence the family displays upon seeing him would still be the same - perhaps it would be even greater if they still just saw a man. They would be forced to accept the situation in the same way; still hoping [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/litwiki/index.php/The_Metamorphosis#Gregory_Samsa Gregor] will put himself right before finally admitting the man they knew will never return. As nightmarish as the scenario presented in the book is, maybe the only thing worse than inexplicably transforming into a giant bug overnight is wishing you had" (Archer).

===Reversal of Roles===

At the begining Gregory is the one who supports his family. He is bringing home the money while his father sits in his chair and sleeps. This may have "crippled the father's self-esteem because he took over the father's position in the family" (Coulehan). After Gregory's transformation, the roles reversed and the father re-assumes his positon as the provider forthe family. Gregory now becomes weak and his father kills him.

===Loss of Humanity===

The theme of humanity is shown in the story by how it is taken away from Gregor. His humanity is slowly taken away from him throughout the story not just by his transformation into a bug. Gregor’s first link to humanity that is taken away was that of him being the bread winner for the family. “Gregors humanity, to the extent that his parents and sister acknowledge it, is inextricably tied to his function as economic provider.” (Rowe). Later in the story more is pulled away when Grete begins taking objects out of his room. This made Gregory reminisce about his human life. “They were clearing his room out, taking everything that was dear to him…”(p.1985). Here the last things that ever tied him to having a human existence were removed. When a person is inflicted with a severe illness it is easy for those around that person to be horrified by that person’s appearance (Rowe). The ill patient can not defend his or herself so the people around do not think about how the patient feels (Rowe). This causes the patient to lose their humanity (Rowe). Gregor is inflicted with a unique illness but the outcome is the same. The most famous occurrence of a patient losing their humanity is that of Terry Schiavo. Everybody had their own opinion of Shiavo’s fate. Schiavo could not defend herself or give her opinion of her fate. That situation was turned into a political circus and ultimately stripped Schiavo of her humanity. Rowe states that The Metamorphosis warns against this treatment of people with illnesses.

===Materialistic===

Modern Society is leading us down a path to care more about the material things rather than the things that truly matter. Gregory Samsa, the one person who cared more about his family than money, worked long hours at a job that he disliked not because of his love for the job, but so that his family could have a good life. His family on the other hand was enjoying a work free life. Mankind gets so caught up in the bureaucracy of society that we sometimes forget what what matters most. We get jobs so that we can buy the materialistic things we desire. This need for money and material things can change our mindset and forget what is truly important in our lives. In, The Metamorphosis, Gregory turns into some sort of insect, while this is something that is very dramatic and would be very hard to deal with, Kafka is trying to show how Gregory’s family rejects him, not only because of his appearance but because he can no longer go to work, no longer will his family be able live off the income he generates, no more material things without a little hard work. After the metamorphosis Gregory will no longer be able to fit into society, therefore his family begins to shun him. Not one of his family members ever tries to find out what happened and what could be done to fix it. One by one Gregory’s family members grow further away from him, forgetting all of the selfless deeds he did for all of them.

===Modern Spirituality===

Franz Kafka’s ''The Metamorphosis'' goes against what most writers would consider normal writing layout. His style is peculiar in that he places the climax at the beginning of the narrative-instead of at the end. By choosing to write in this fashion, Kafka steers his readers away from the traditional Aristotelian form of narrative (complication and denouncement) and instead creates his own form. ''The Metamorphosis'' is a brilliant novella that replaces the denouncement and conclusions one would normally expect with a form created from itself.
The first line of the novella proclaims Gregory’s death and the rest of the story a description of his slow dying: “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect” (Bloom 19). Gregory’s metamorphosis is the truth of his life, and his consciousness has lied to him about himself.

==Characters==

===Gregory Samsa===
A traveling salesman responsible for providing for his family. His metamorphosis into a insect leaves a stuggle between his human mind and insect needs.

===Mother===
Gregory's mother seems to be the weakest and hit the hardest by her son’s metamorphosis. The effect of this metamorphosis on her health is terrible. Every time she sees him, she has some sort of panic attack. Gregory’s father and sister try to protect his mother from him.

===Father===
Gregor's father more less plays the role of dictator in the story and this is due to his hostilities and interpersonal power dynamics in the family, This is evident with passages such as, "His father looked hostile and clenched a fist as if to force Gregory back into his room;" (1973). Some would describe his father as "A slouching, defeated man whose business failure has seemingly sapped his vitality, Gregor's father finds new confidence and better posture once the economic necessity engendered by Gregor's misfortune forces him to work again. His fruit-flinging fit of rage is the catalyst for Gregor's declining health and eventual demise (Lichtenstein). Even though Gregor is the bread-winner and provider of the family, the Samsas are still a patriarch type of family.

===Grete===
The sister of Gregory Samsa who feeds him and takes care of him.

==Study Questions==
#What sort of bug does Gregory Samsa change into overnight?
#What is the significance of Gregory's job? How does his job effect his family?
#How does the chief clerk from Gregory's job act towards the Samsa's and in general about the entire situation?
#What two people does Gregory think would be the "strongest" and most able to help get him out of bed in the morning? What do you think that this signifies?
#What family member feeds Gregory after he is changed into a bug?
#What is the outside weather like during the "Metamorphosis"? Does this climate help set the mood at all?
#What type of relationship does Gregory have with his sister Meg? How would you describe it?
#How does Gregory die at the end of "The Metamorphosis"?

==External Links==
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/metamorph/

==Works Cited==

Bloom, Harold. “The Metamorphosis”. ''Modern Critical Interpretations''. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988.

Coulehan, Jack. "The Metamorphosis". Bantam (New York)1997.

Hughes, Katherine. "Seperate and Alone: Alienation as a Central Theme in Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Kafka's Metamorphosis." 9 November 2002. 17 April 2006. <http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/metamorphosis/essay1.html>

Fleissner, Robert F. "Is Gregor Samsa a Bed Bug? Kafka and Dickens Revisited." ''Studies in Short Fiction''. Vol. 22, Issue 2 (1985): p 225.

"Novella". Wikipedia. 11 April 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 17 April 2006.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novella>.

"Kafka's 'The Metamorphosis' ". Ed. Archer, Lincoln. 25 October 2004. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/home/d/ BBC]. 17 April 2006.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3023065>.

Rowe, Michael. "Metamorphosis: Defending the Human." Literature In Medicine. Baltimore: Fall 2002. vol 21, 264-281

Lichtenstein, Jesse. "SparkNote on The Metamorphosis". 16 April 2006. 17 Apr. 2006. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/metamorph/characters.html>

[[Category:World Literature]]

The Metamorphosis

2006-04-17T17:37:31Z

Swalker: /* Works Cited */

The Metamorphosis

2006-04-17T17:32:10Z

Swalker: /* Major Themes */

The Metamorphosis

2006-04-17T17:11:57Z

Swalker: /* Works Cited */

Notes from Underground

2006-03-27T04:06:35Z

Swalker: /* The Artificiality of Russian Culture */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein"(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
During the nineteenth century, the Russian culture became artificial because it no longer was "European". "Russia's ethical, cultural, and spiritial pricipals were changing to look more like the Western culture of that time" (Kireyesky). The Russian culture was slowly moving more westward. Part of the reason as to why this was occuring could be in part due to the nature of how the Western culture was flourishing. "In Russia, a man was considered 'developed' and 'educated' only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England" (Madden). If this was the normal view of Russia at the time, a man who based all his ideas and opinions on the Westward culture may not have been preceved as smart. Russian culture was also strongly based on strong religious principles. Those principles were sometimes different than that of the other European countries. Philosphers such as Aristotle and Descartes influenced the Russian culture. "Russia had seperated from Europe in spirit, thus living a totally different life than the rest of Europe" (Kireyesky). Russia was still part of the European country, but just in the regional sense. Their government and religious beliefs took on a more Western feel, rather than the traditional European feel. "Russia nearly had to destroy their national personality in order to conform to Western civiliazation" (Kireyevsky). "In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life, the life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced" (Madden). "The artifical Russian culture could, in part, be responsible for the Underground Man's retreat to 'underground'. He may have found that conforming to foreign sets of values was just too hard" (Madden).

===The Human Mind According to Freud===

One very prominent theme in ''Notes from Underground'' is the Narrators incessant struggle with his conscious. He is constantly stranded between achieving his own selfish desires and doing what’s right according to society’s standards. Even though the never-ending battle causes the Underground Man great anguish, he cannot seem to control it. Instead, he spends his life searching for the “advantage”, which will grant him “One’s own free unfettered choice, one’s own whim no matter what” (Nabokov 118). This brings up Freud’s theory of the personality model, otherwise known as the id, the ego, and the superego.

The [http://allpsych.com/psychology101/ego.html id, ego, and superego] are the building blocks of our personalities. They determine how we handle everyday situations, in other words-reality. According to Freud, “In a healthy person, the ego is the strongest so that it can satisfy the needs of the id, not upset the superego, and still take into consideration the reality of every situation. Not an easy job by any means, but if the id gets too strong, impulses and self gratification take over the person's life. If the superego becomes too strong, the person would be driven by rigid morals, would be judgmental and unbending in his or her interactions with the world” (Psychology 101). The Underground Man’s inability to control his impulses and lust for self gratification suggests that he is ruled by his id. However, a careful analysis of each stage will provide a more through understanding of the complex human mind.

According to Freud, we are born with our [http://allpsych.com/dictionary/i.html Id]. He states that as newborns, the id is responsible for allowing the basic needs to be met. The id also operates on the pleasure principle; in other words, the id only wants what feels good at that specific moment. The id also does not care about reality or about anyone else’s needs; it only cares about its own satisfaction. This type of behavior is fine for a baby, but is considered selfish when displayed by adults. The Underground man is controlled by his id on more times than not. One prime example is his refusal to pay Apollon his wages. Even though the narrator is clearly in the wrong, he tries to force his servant to beg for forgiveness merely out of selfish spite. “Here’s the money, you see! Here it is! (I pulled it out of a drawer.) All seven rubles. But you won’t get it, you won’t until you come to me respectfully, with your head bowed, to ask my forgiveness. Do you hear? (1319)” However, when the narrator needs Apollon’s help, he changes his attitude. “Apollon,” I whispered in feverish haste, tossing down the seven rubles which had been in my hand the whole time, “here are your wages. There, you see, I’ve given them to you. But now you must rescue me: bring us some tea and a dozen rusks the tavern at once. If you don’t go, you’ll make me a very miserable man. (1320)” This is why our personalities are governed by another more mature stage-the Ego.

The second stage of the personality model is the [http://allpsych.com/dictionary/e.html Ego], which is responsible for keeping the id rooted to reality. The ego is based on the reality principle, which takes other people’s needs and desires into consideration. The ego also understands that being selfish may have consequences; so its purpose is to meet the needs of the id while taking into consideration the reality of the situation. One of the Underground Man’s only sane moments is during the farewell dinner. He suddenly realizes that he invited himself somewhere that he is not wanted. Consequently, his presence is ruining the affair and for just a moment, he faces reality. “Good heavens, these are not the people for me” I thought. “And what a fool I have made of myself before them” (Nabokov 122)!

The last stage of the personality model is the [http://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/engl/theory/psychoanalysis/definitions/superego.html Superego], which is responsible for introducing morals into the everyday situation. This stage is most prevalent when moral and ethical restraints must be addressed. The superego is also known as the conscious because it establishes the belief of right and wrong. The last scene of the play is when the Underground Man finally feels regret for his behavior. After Liza is gone, he realizes that he wanted her to stay, but it’s too late. “The Underground Man is distraught and wants to beg her forgiveness. He declares that he will never remember this moment with indifference. A moment later, though, he convinces himself that Liza will be purified and elevated by the hatred and forgiveness that his insult will inspire in her. At the same time, he is conscious of the literary merit of his own thoughts, and feels ashamed that he is focusing on that literary merit rather than on Liza’s welfare” (Madden). The last scene with Liza takes the Underground Man into a downward spiral that he can't escape. His conscious finally won.

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

"The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism" (Marder). All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy, and this lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
(Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kireyevsky, Ivan. "On the Nature of European Culture and On It's Relationship to Russian Culture". 23 Mar. 2006 http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/kireyevsky_culture.html

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen, Mike Meyer, & Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*"Psychology 101." ''AllPsych Online''. 23 Mar. 2006 http://allpsych.com/psychology101/ego.html

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

[[Category:World Literature]]

Notes from Underground

2006-03-27T04:06:10Z

Swalker: /* The Artificiality of Russian Culture */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein"(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
During the nineteenth century, the Russian culture became artificial because it no longer was "European". "Russia's ethical, cultural, and spiritial pricipals were changing to look more like the Western culture of that time" (Kireyesky). The Russian culture was slowly moving more westward. Part of the reason as to why this was occuring could be in part due to the nature of how the Western culture was flourishing. "In Russia, a man was considered 'developed' and 'educated' only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England" (Madden). If this was the normal view of Russia at the time, a man who based all his ideas and opinions on the Westward culture may not have been preceved as smart. Russian culture was also strongly based on strong religious principles. Those principals were sometimes different than that of the other European countries. Philosphers such as Aristotle and Descartes influenced the Russian culture. "Russia had seperated from Europe in spirit, thus living a totally different life than the rest of Europe" (Kireyesky). Russia was still part of the European country, but just in the regional sense. Their government and religious beliefs took on a more Western feel, rather than the traditional European feel. "Russia nearly had to destroy their national personality in order to conform to Western civiliazation" (Kireyevsky). "In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life, the life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced" (Madden). "The artifical Russian culture could, in part, be responsible for the Underground Man's retreat to 'underground'. He may have found that conforming to foreign sets of values was just too hard" (Madden).

===The Human Mind According to Freud===

One very prominent theme in ''Notes from Underground'' is the Narrators incessant struggle with his conscious. He is constantly stranded between achieving his own selfish desires and doing what’s right according to society’s standards. Even though the never-ending battle causes the Underground Man great anguish, he cannot seem to control it. Instead, he spends his life searching for the “advantage”, which will grant him “One’s own free unfettered choice, one’s own whim no matter what” (Nabokov 118). This brings up Freud’s theory of the personality model, otherwise known as the id, the ego, and the superego.

The [http://allpsych.com/psychology101/ego.html id, ego, and superego] are the building blocks of our personalities. They determine how we handle everyday situations, in other words-reality. According to Freud, “In a healthy person, the ego is the strongest so that it can satisfy the needs of the id, not upset the superego, and still take into consideration the reality of every situation. Not an easy job by any means, but if the id gets too strong, impulses and self gratification take over the person's life. If the superego becomes too strong, the person would be driven by rigid morals, would be judgmental and unbending in his or her interactions with the world” (Psychology 101). The Underground Man’s inability to control his impulses and lust for self gratification suggests that he is ruled by his id. However, a careful analysis of each stage will provide a more through understanding of the complex human mind.

According to Freud, we are born with our [http://allpsych.com/dictionary/i.html Id]. He states that as newborns, the id is responsible for allowing the basic needs to be met. The id also operates on the pleasure principle; in other words, the id only wants what feels good at that specific moment. The id also does not care about reality or about anyone else’s needs; it only cares about its own satisfaction. This type of behavior is fine for a baby, but is considered selfish when displayed by adults. The Underground man is controlled by his id on more times than not. One prime example is his refusal to pay Apollon his wages. Even though the narrator is clearly in the wrong, he tries to force his servant to beg for forgiveness merely out of selfish spite. “Here’s the money, you see! Here it is! (I pulled it out of a drawer.) All seven rubles. But you won’t get it, you won’t until you come to me respectfully, with your head bowed, to ask my forgiveness. Do you hear? (1319)” However, when the narrator needs Apollon’s help, he changes his attitude. “Apollon,” I whispered in feverish haste, tossing down the seven rubles which had been in my hand the whole time, “here are your wages. There, you see, I’ve given them to you. But now you must rescue me: bring us some tea and a dozen rusks the tavern at once. If you don’t go, you’ll make me a very miserable man. (1320)” This is why our personalities are governed by another more mature stage-the Ego.

The second stage of the personality model is the [http://allpsych.com/dictionary/e.html Ego], which is responsible for keeping the id rooted to reality. The ego is based on the reality principle, which takes other people’s needs and desires into consideration. The ego also understands that being selfish may have consequences; so its purpose is to meet the needs of the id while taking into consideration the reality of the situation. One of the Underground Man’s only sane moments is during the farewell dinner. He suddenly realizes that he invited himself somewhere that he is not wanted. Consequently, his presence is ruining the affair and for just a moment, he faces reality. “Good heavens, these are not the people for me” I thought. “And what a fool I have made of myself before them” (Nabokov 122)!

The last stage of the personality model is the [http://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/engl/theory/psychoanalysis/definitions/superego.html Superego], which is responsible for introducing morals into the everyday situation. This stage is most prevalent when moral and ethical restraints must be addressed. The superego is also known as the conscious because it establishes the belief of right and wrong. The last scene of the play is when the Underground Man finally feels regret for his behavior. After Liza is gone, he realizes that he wanted her to stay, but it’s too late. “The Underground Man is distraught and wants to beg her forgiveness. He declares that he will never remember this moment with indifference. A moment later, though, he convinces himself that Liza will be purified and elevated by the hatred and forgiveness that his insult will inspire in her. At the same time, he is conscious of the literary merit of his own thoughts, and feels ashamed that he is focusing on that literary merit rather than on Liza’s welfare” (Madden). The last scene with Liza takes the Underground Man into a downward spiral that he can't escape. His conscious finally won.

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

"The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism" (Marder). All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy, and this lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
(Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kireyevsky, Ivan. "On the Nature of European Culture and On It's Relationship to Russian Culture". 23 Mar. 2006 http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/kireyevsky_culture.html

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen, Mike Meyer, & Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*"Psychology 101." ''AllPsych Online''. 23 Mar. 2006 http://allpsych.com/psychology101/ego.html

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

[[Category:World Literature]]

Notes from Underground

2006-03-27T04:04:21Z

Swalker: /* The Artificiality of Russian Culture */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein"(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
During the nineteenth century, the Russian culture became artificial because it no longer was "European". "Russia's ethical, cultural, and spiritial pricipals were changing to look more like the Western culture of that time" (Kireyesky). The Russian culture was slowly moving more westward. Part of the reason as to why this was occuring could be in part due to the nature of how the Western culture was flourishing. "In Russia, a man was considered 'developed' and 'educated' only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England" (Madden). If this was the normal view of Russia at the time, a man who based all his ideas and opinions on the Westward culture may not have been preceved as smart. Russian culture was also strongly based on strong religious principals. Those principals were sometimes different than that of the other European countries. Philosphers such as Aristotle and Descartes influenced the Russian culture. "Russia had seperated from Europe in spirit, thus living a totally different life than the rest of Europe" (Kireyesky). Russia was still part of the European country, but just in the regional sense. Their government and religious beliefs took on a more Western feel, rather than the traditional European feel. "Russia nearly had to destroy their national personality in order to conform to Western civiliazation" (Kireyevsky). "In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life, the life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced" (Madden). "The artifical Russian culture could, in part, be responsible for the Underground Man's retreat to 'underground'. He may have found that conforming to foreign sets of values was just too hard" (Madden).

===The Human Mind According to Freud===

One very prominent theme in ''Notes from Underground'' is the Narrators incessant struggle with his conscious. He is constantly stranded between achieving his own selfish desires and doing what’s right according to society’s standards. Even though the never-ending battle causes the Underground Man great anguish, he cannot seem to control it. Instead, he spends his life searching for the “advantage”, which will grant him “One’s own free unfettered choice, one’s own whim no matter what” (Nabokov 118). This brings up Freud’s theory of the personality model, otherwise known as the id, the ego, and the superego.

The [http://allpsych.com/psychology101/ego.html id, ego, and superego] are the building blocks of our personalities. They determine how we handle everyday situations, in other words-reality. According to Freud, “In a healthy person, the ego is the strongest so that it can satisfy the needs of the id, not upset the superego, and still take into consideration the reality of every situation. Not an easy job by any means, but if the id gets too strong, impulses and self gratification take over the person's life. If the superego becomes too strong, the person would be driven by rigid morals, would be judgmental and unbending in his or her interactions with the world” (Psychology 101). The Underground Man’s inability to control his impulses and lust for self gratification suggests that he is ruled by his id. However, a careful analysis of each stage will provide a more through understanding of the complex human mind.

According to Freud, we are born with our [http://allpsych.com/dictionary/i.html Id]. He states that as newborns, the id is responsible for allowing the basic needs to be met. The id also operates on the pleasure principle; in other words, the id only wants what feels good at that specific moment. The id also does not care about reality or about anyone else’s needs; it only cares about its own satisfaction. This type of behavior is fine for a baby, but is considered selfish when displayed by adults. The Underground man is controlled by his id on more times than not. One prime example is his refusal to pay Apollon his wages. Even though the narrator is clearly in the wrong, he tries to force his servant to beg for forgiveness merely out of selfish spite. “Here’s the money, you see! Here it is! (I pulled it out of a drawer.) All seven rubles. But you won’t get it, you won’t until you come to me respectfully, with your head bowed, to ask my forgiveness. Do you hear? (1319)” However, when the narrator needs Apollon’s help, he changes his attitude. “Apollon,” I whispered in feverish haste, tossing down the seven rubles which had been in my hand the whole time, “here are your wages. There, you see, I’ve given them to you. But now you must rescue me: bring us some tea and a dozen rusks the tavern at once. If you don’t go, you’ll make me a very miserable man. (1320)” This is why our personalities are governed by another more mature stage-the Ego.

The second stage of the personality model is the [http://allpsych.com/dictionary/e.html Ego], which is responsible for keeping the id rooted to reality. The ego is based on the reality principle, which takes other people’s needs and desires into consideration. The ego also understands that being selfish may have consequences; so its purpose is to meet the needs of the id while taking into consideration the reality of the situation. One of the Underground Man’s only sane moments is during the farewell dinner. He suddenly realizes that he invited himself somewhere that he is not wanted. Consequently, his presence is ruining the affair and for just a moment, he faces reality. “Good heavens, these are not the people for me” I thought. “And what a fool I have made of myself before them” (Nabokov 122)!

The last stage of the personality model is the [http://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/engl/theory/psychoanalysis/definitions/superego.html Superego], which is responsible for introducing morals into the everyday situation. This stage is most prevalent when moral and ethical restraints must be addressed. The superego is also known as the conscious because it establishes the belief of right and wrong. The last scene of the play is when the Underground Man finally feels regret for his behavior. After Liza is gone, he realizes that he wanted her to stay, but it’s too late. “The Underground Man is distraught and wants to beg her forgiveness. He declares that he will never remember this moment with indifference. A moment later, though, he convinces himself that Liza will be purified and elevated by the hatred and forgiveness that his insult will inspire in her. At the same time, he is conscious of the literary merit of his own thoughts, and feels ashamed that he is focusing on that literary merit rather than on Liza’s welfare” (Madden). The last scene with Liza takes the Underground Man into a downward spiral that he can't escape. His conscious finally won.

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

"The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism" (Marder). All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy, and this lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
(Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kireyevsky, Ivan. "On the Nature of European Culture and On It's Relationship to Russian Culture". 23 Mar. 2006 http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/kireyevsky_culture.html

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen, Mike Meyer, & Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*"Psychology 101." ''AllPsych Online''. 23 Mar. 2006 http://allpsych.com/psychology101/ego.html

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

[[Category:World Literature]]

Notes from Underground

2006-03-27T03:56:01Z

Swalker: /* The Artificiality of Russian Culture */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein"(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
During the nineteenth century, the Russian culture became artificial because it no longer was "European". Russia's ethical, cultural, and spiritial pricipals were changing to look more like the Western culture of that time (Kireyesky). The Russian culture was slowly moving more westward. Part of the reason as to why this was occuring could be in part due to the nature of how the Western culture was flourishing. "In Russia, a man was considered 'developed' and 'educated' only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England" (Madden). If this was the normal view of Russia at the time, a man who based all his ideas and opinions on the Westward culture may not have been preceved as smart. Russian culture was also strongly based on strong religious principals. Those principals were sometimes different than that of the other European countries. Philosphers such as Aristotle and Descartes influenced the Russian culture. "Russia had seperated from Europe in spirit, thus living a totally different life than the rest of Europe" (Kireyesky). Russia was still part of the European country, but just in the regional sense. Their government and religious beliefs took on a more Western feel, rather than the traditional European feel. "Russia nearly had to destroy their national personality in order to conform to Western civiliazation" (Kireyevsky). "In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life, the life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced" (Madden). "The artifical Russian culture could, in part, be responsible for the Underground Man's retreat to 'underground'. He may have found that conforming to foreign sets of values was just too hard" (Madden).

===The Human Mind According to Freud===

One very prominent theme in ''Notes from Underground'' is the Narrators incessant struggle with his conscious. He is constantly stranded between achieving his own selfish desires and doing what’s right according to society’s standards. Even though the never-ending battle causes the Underground Man great anguish, he cannot seem to control it. Instead, he spends his life searching for the “advantage”, which will grant him “One’s own free unfettered choice, one’s own whim no matter what” (Nabokov 118). This brings up Freud’s theory of the personality model, otherwise known as the id, the ego, and the superego.

The [http://allpsych.com/psychology101/ego.html id, ego, and superego] are the building blocks of our personalities. They determine how we handle everyday situations, in other words-reality. According to Freud, “In a healthy person, the ego is the strongest so that it can satisfy the needs of the id, not upset the superego, and still take into consideration the reality of every situation. Not an easy job by any means, but if the id gets too strong, impulses and self gratification take over the person's life. If the superego becomes too strong, the person would be driven by rigid morals, would be judgmental and unbending in his or her interactions with the world” (Psychology 101). The Underground Man’s inability to control his impulses and lust for self gratification suggests that he is ruled by his id. However, a careful analysis of each stage will provide a more through understanding of the complex human mind.

According to Freud, we are born with our [http://allpsych.com/dictionary/i.html Id]. He states that as newborns, the id is responsible for allowing the basic needs to be met. The id also operates on the pleasure principle; in other words, the id only wants what feels good at that specific moment. The id also does not care about reality or about anyone else’s needs; it only cares about its own satisfaction. This type of behavior is fine for a baby, but is considered selfish when displayed by adults. The Underground man is controlled by his id on more times than not. One prime example is his refusal to pay Apollon his wages. Even though the narrator is clearly in the wrong, he tries to force his servant to beg for forgiveness merely out of selfish spite. “Here’s the money, you see! Here it is! (I pulled it out of a drawer.) All seven rubles. But you won’t get it, you won’t until you come to me respectfully, with your head bowed, to ask my forgiveness. Do you hear? (1319)” However, when the narrator needs Apollon’s help, he changes his attitude. “Apollon,” I whispered in feverish haste, tossing down the seven rubles which had been in my hand the whole time, “here are your wages. There, you see, I’ve given them to you. But now you must rescue me: bring us some tea and a dozen rusks the tavern at once. If you don’t go, you’ll make me a very miserable man. (1320)” This is why our personalities are governed by another more mature stage-the Ego.

The second stage of the personality model is the [http://allpsych.com/dictionary/e.html Ego], which is responsible for keeping the id rooted to reality. The ego is based on the reality principle, which takes other people’s needs and desires into consideration. The ego also understands that being selfish may have consequences; so its purpose is to meet the needs of the id while taking into consideration the reality of the situation. One of the Underground Man’s only sane moments is during the farewell dinner. He suddenly realizes that he invited himself somewhere that he is not wanted. Consequently, his presence is ruining the affair and for just a moment, he faces reality. “Good heavens, these are not the people for me” I thought. “And what a fool I have made of myself before them” (Nabokov 122)!

The last stage of the personality model is the [http://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/engl/theory/psychoanalysis/definitions/superego.html Superego], which is responsible for introducing morals into the everyday situation. This stage is most prevalent when moral and ethical restraints must be addressed. The superego is also known as the conscious because it establishes the belief of right and wrong. The last scene of the play is when the Underground Man finally feels regret for his behavior. After Liza is gone, he realizes that he wanted her to stay, but it’s too late. “The Underground Man is distraught and wants to beg her forgiveness. He declares that he will never remember this moment with indifference. A moment later, though, he convinces himself that Liza will be purified and elevated by the hatred and forgiveness that his insult will inspire in her. At the same time, he is conscious of the literary merit of his own thoughts, and feels ashamed that he is focusing on that literary merit rather than on Liza’s welfare” (Madden). The last scene with Liza takes the Underground Man into a downward spiral that he can't escape. His conscious finally won.

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

"The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism" (Marder). All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy, and this lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
(Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kireyevsky, Ivan. "On the Nature of European Culture and On It's Relationship to Russian Culture". 23 Mar. 2006 http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/kireyevsky_culture.html

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen, Mike Meyer, & Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*"Psychology 101." ''AllPsych Online''. 23 Mar. 2006 http://allpsych.com/psychology101/ego.html

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

[[Category:World Literature]]

Notes from Underground

2006-03-27T03:45:39Z

Swalker: /* The Artificiality of Russian Culture */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein"(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
During the nineteenth century, the Russian culture became artificial because it no longer was "European". Russia's ethical, cultural, and spiritial pricipals were changing to look more like the Western culture of that time (Kireyesky). The Russian culture was slowly moving more westward. "In Russia, a man was considered 'developed' and 'educated' only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England" (Madden). If this was the normal view of Russia at the time, a man who based all his ideas and opinions on the Westward culture may not have been preceved as smart. Russian culture was also strongly based on strong religious principals. Those principals were sometimes different than that of the other European countries. Philosphers such as Aristotle and Descartes influenced the Russian culture. "Russia had seperated from Europe in spirit, thus living a totally different life than the rest of Europe" (Kireyesky). Russia was still part of the European country, but just in the regional sense. Their government and religious beliefs took on a more Western feel, rather than the traditional European feel. "Russia nearly had to destroy their national personality in order to conform to Western civiliazation" (Kireyevsky). "In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life, the life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced" (Madden). "The artifical Russian culture could, in part, be responsible for the Underground Man's retreat to 'underground'. He may have found that conforming to foreign sets of values was just too hard" (Madden).

===The Human Mind According to Freud===

One very prominent theme in ''Notes from Underground'' is the Narrators incessant struggle with his conscious. He is constantly stranded between achieving his own selfish desires and doing what’s right according to society’s standards. Even though the never-ending battle causes the Underground Man great anguish, he cannot seem to control it. Instead, he spends his life searching for the “advantage”, which will grant him “One’s own free unfettered choice, one’s own whim no matter what” (Nabokov 118). This brings up Freud’s theory of the personality model, otherwise known as the id, the ego, and the superego.

The [http://allpsych.com/psychology101/ego.html id, ego, and superego] are the building blocks of our personalities. They determine how we handle everyday situations, in other words-reality. According to Freud, “In a healthy person, the ego is the strongest so that it can satisfy the needs of the id, not upset the superego, and still take into consideration the reality of every situation. Not an easy job by any means, but if the id gets too strong, impulses and self gratification take over the person's life. If the superego becomes too strong, the person would be driven by rigid morals, would be judgmental and unbending in his or her interactions with the world” (Psychology 101). The Underground Man’s inability to control his impulses and lust for self gratification suggests that he is ruled by his id. However, a careful analysis of each stage will provide a more through understanding of the complex human mind.

According to Freud, we are born with our [http://allpsych.com/dictionary/i.html Id]. He states that as newborns, the id is responsible for allowing the basic needs to be met. The id also operates on the pleasure principle; in other words, the id only wants what feels good at that specific moment. The id also does not care about reality or about anyone else’s needs; it only cares about its own satisfaction. This type of behavior is fine for a baby, but is considered selfish when displayed by adults. The Underground man is controlled by his id on more times than not. One prime example is his refusal to pay Apollon his wages. Even though the narrator is clearly in the wrong, he tries to force his servant to beg for forgiveness merely out of selfish spite. “Here’s the money, you see! Here it is! (I pulled it out of a drawer.) All seven rubles. But you won’t get it, you won’t until you come to me respectfully, with your head bowed, to ask my forgiveness. Do you hear? (1319)” However, when the narrator needs Apollon’s help, he changes his attitude. “Apollon,” I whispered in feverish haste, tossing down the seven rubles which had been in my hand the whole time, “here are your wages. There, you see, I’ve given them to you. But now you must rescue me: bring us some tea and a dozen rusks the tavern at once. If you don’t go, you’ll make me a very miserable man. (1320)” This is why our personalities are governed by another more mature stage-the Ego.

The second stage of the personality model is the [http://allpsych.com/dictionary/e.html Ego], which is responsible for keeping the id rooted to reality. The ego is based on the reality principle, which takes other people’s needs and desires into consideration. The ego also understands that being selfish may have consequences; so its purpose is to meet the needs of the id while taking into consideration the reality of the situation. One of the Underground Man’s only sane moments is during the farewell dinner. He suddenly realizes that he invited himself somewhere that he is not wanted. Consequently, his presence is ruining the affair and for just a moment, he faces reality. “Good heavens, these are not the people for me” I thought. “And what a fool I have made of myself before them” (Nabokov 122)!

The last stage of the personality model is the [http://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/engl/theory/psychoanalysis/definitions/superego.html Superego], which is responsible for introducing morals into the everyday situation. This stage is most prevalent when moral and ethical restraints must be addressed. The superego is also known as the conscious because it establishes the belief of right and wrong. The last scene of the play is when the Underground Man finally feels regret for his behavior. After Liza is gone, he realizes that he wanted her to stay, but it’s too late. “The Underground Man is distraught and wants to beg her forgiveness. He declares that he will never remember this moment with indifference. A moment later, though, he convinces himself that Liza will be purified and elevated by the hatred and forgiveness that his insult will inspire in her. At the same time, he is conscious of the literary merit of his own thoughts, and feels ashamed that he is focusing on that literary merit rather than on Liza’s welfare” (Madden). The last scene with Liza takes the Underground Man into a downward spiral that he can't escape. His conscious finally won.

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

"The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism" (Marder). All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy, and this lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
(Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kireyevsky, Ivan. "On the Nature of European Culture and On It's Relationship to Russian Culture". 23 Mar. 2006 http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/kireyevsky_culture.html

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen, Mike Meyer, & Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*"Psychology 101." ''AllPsych Online''. 23 Mar. 2006 http://allpsych.com/psychology101/ego.html

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

[[Category:World Literature]]

Notes from Underground

2006-03-24T12:44:42Z

Swalker: /* The Artificiality of Russian Culture */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein"(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
During the nineteenth century, the Russian culture became artificial because it no longer was "European". Russia's ethical, cultural, and spiritial pricipals were changing to look more like the Western culture of that time (Kireyesky). The Russian culture was slowly moving more westward. In Russia, a man was considered "developed" and "educated" only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England (Madden). If this was the normal view of Russia at the time, a man who based all his ideas and opinions on the Westward culture may not have been preceved as smart. Russian culture was also strongly based on strong religious principals. Those principals were sometimes different than that of the other European countries. Philosphers such as Aristotle and Descartes influenced the Russian culture. "Russia had seperated from Europe in spirit, thus living a totally different life than the rest of Europe" (Kireyesky). Russia was still part of the European country, but just in the regional sense. Their government and religious beliefs took on a more Western feel, rather than the tradition European feel. "Russia nearly had to destroy their national personality in order to conform to Western civiliazation" (Kireyevsky). "In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life, the life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced" (Madden). "The artifical Russian culture could, in part, be responsible for the Underground Man's retreat to 'underground'. He may have found that conforming to foreign sets of values was just too hard" (Madden).

===The Human Mind According to Freud===

One very prominent theme in ''Notes from Underground'' is the Narrators incessant struggle with his conscious. He is constantly stranded between achieving his own selfish desires and doing what’s right according to society’s standards. Even though the never-ending battle causes the Underground Man great anguish, he cannot seem to control it. Instead, he spends his life searching for the “advantage”, which will grant him “One’s own free unfettered choice, one’s own whim no matter what” (Nabokov 118). This brings up Freud’s theory of the personality model, otherwise known as the id, the ego, and the superego.

The [http://allpsych.com/psychology101/ego.html id, ego, and superego] are the building blocks of our personalities. They determine how we handle everyday situations, in other words-reality. According to Freud, “In a healthy person, the ego is the strongest so that it can satisfy the needs of the id, not upset the superego, and still take into consideration the reality of every situation. Not an easy job by any means, but if the id gets too strong, impulses and self gratification take over the person's life. If the superego becomes too strong, the person would be driven by rigid morals, would be judgmental and unbending in his or her interactions with the world” (Psychology 101). The Underground Man’s inability to control his impulses and lust for self gratification suggests that he is ruled by his id. However, a careful analysis of each stage will provide a more through understanding of the complex human mind.

According to Freud, we are born with our [http://allpsych.com/dictionary/i.html Id]. He states that as newborns, the id is responsible for allowing the basic needs to be met. The id also operates on the pleasure principle; in other words, the id only wants what feels good at that specific moment. The id also does not care about reality or about anyone else’s needs; it only cares about its own satisfaction. This type of behavior is fine for a baby, but is considered selfish when displayed by adults. The Underground man is controlled by his id on more times than not. One prime example is his refusal to pay Apollon his wages. Even though the narrator is clearly in the wrong, he tries to force his servant to beg for forgiveness merely out of selfish spite. “Here’s the money, you see! Here it is! (I pulled it out of a drawer.) All seven rubles. But you won’t get it, you won’t until you come to me respectfully, with your head bowed, to ask my forgiveness. Do you hear? (1319)” However, when the narrator needs Apollon’s help, he changes his attitude. “Apollon,” I whispered in feverish haste, tossing down the seven rubles which had been in my hand the whole time, “here are your wages. There, you see, I’ve given them to you. But now you must rescue me: bring us some tea and a dozen rusks the tavern at once. If you don’t go, you’ll make me a very miserable man. (1320)” This is why our personalities are governed by another more mature stage-the Ego.

The second stage of the personality model is the [http://allpsych.com/dictionary/e.html Ego], which is responsible for keeping the id rooted to reality. The ego is based on the reality principle, which takes other people’s needs and desires into consideration. The ego also understands that being selfish may have consequences; so its purpose is to meet the needs of the id while taking into consideration the reality of the situation. One of the Underground Man’s only sane moments is during the farewell dinner. He suddenly realizes that he invited himself somewhere that he is not wanted. Consequently, his presence is ruining the affair and for just a moment, he faces reality. “Good heavens, these are not the people for me” I thought. “And what a fool I have made of myself before them” (Nabokov 122)!

The last stage of the personality model is the [http://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/engl/theory/psychoanalysis/definitions/superego.html Superego], which is responsible for introducing morals into the everyday situation. This stage is most prevalent when moral and ethical restraints must be addressed. The superego is also known as the conscious because it establishes the belief of right and wrong. The last scene of the play is when the Underground Man finally feels regret for his behavior. After Liza is gone, he realizes that he wanted her to stay, but it’s too late. “The Underground Man is distraught and wants to beg her forgiveness. He declares that he will never remember this moment with indifference. A moment later, though, he convinces himself that Liza will be purified and elevated by the hatred and forgiveness that his insult will inspire in her. At the same time, he is conscious of the literary merit of his own thoughts, and feels ashamed that he is focusing on that literary merit rather than on Liza’s welfare” (Madden). The last scene with Liza takes the Underground Man into a downward spiral that he can't escape. His conscious finally won.

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

"The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism" (Marder). All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy, and this lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
(Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kireyevsky, Ivan. "On the Nature of European Culture and On It's Relationship to Russian Culture". 23 Mar. 2006 http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/kireyevsky_culture.html

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen, Mike Meyer, & Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*"Psychology 101." ''AllPsych Online''. 23 Mar. 2006 http://allpsych.com/psychology101/ego.html

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

[[Category:World Literature]]

Notes from Underground

2006-03-23T22:36:21Z

Swalker: /* The Artificiality of Russian Culture */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein"(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
During the nineteenth century, the Russian culture became artificial because it no longer was "European". Russia's ethical, cultural, and spiritial pricipals were changing to look more like the Western culture of that time (Kireyesky). The Russian culture was slowly moving more westward. In Russia, a man was considered "developed" and "educated" only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England (Madden). If this was the normal view of Russia at the time, a man who based all his ideas and opinions on the Westward culture may not have been preceved as smart. Russian culture was also strongly based on strong religious principals. Those principals were sometimes different than that of the other European countries. Philosphers such as Aristotle and Descartes influenced the Russian culture. "Russia had seperated from Europe in spirit, thus living a totally different life than the rest of Europe" (Kireyesky). Russia was still part of the European country, but just in the regional sense. Their government and religious beliefs took on a more Western feel, rather than the tradition European feel. "Russia nearly had to destroy their national personality in order to conform to Western civiliazation" (Kireyevsky). "In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life, the life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced" (Madden). The artifical Russian culture could, in part, be responsible for the Underground Man's retreat to "underground". He may have found that conforming to foreign sets of values was just too hard (Madden).

===Paralysis of the Conscious Man in Modern Society===

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

"The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism" (Marder). All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy, and this lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
(Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kireyevsky, Ivan. "On the Nature of European Culture and On It's Relationship to Russian Culture". 23 Mar. 2006 http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/kireyevsky_culture.html

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen, Mike Meyer, & Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

[[Category:World Literature]]

Notes from Underground

2006-03-23T17:27:24Z

Swalker: /* The Artificiality of Russian Culture */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein..."(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
During the nineteenth century, the Russian culture became artificial because it no longer was "European". Russia's ethical, cultural, and spiritial pricipals were changing to look more like the Western culture of that time (Kireyesky). The Russian culture was slowly moving more westward. In Russia, a man was considered "developed" and "educated" only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England (Madden). If this was the normal view of Russia at the time, a man who based all his ideas and opinions on the Westward culture may not have been preceved as smart. Russian culture was also strongly based on strong religious principals. Thos principals were sometimes different than that of the other European countries. Philosphers such as Aristotle and Descartes influenced the Russian culture. "Russia had seperated from Europe in spirit, thus living a totally different life than the rest of Europe" (Kireyesky). Russia was still part of the European country, but just in the regional sense. Their government and religious beliefs took on a more Western fell, rather than the tradition European feel. "Russia nearly had to destroy their national personality in order to conform to Western civiliazation" (Kireyevsky). "In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life, the life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced" (Madden). The artifical Russian culture could, in part, be responsible for the Underground Man's retreat to "underground". He may have found that conforming to foreign sets of values was just too hard (Madden).

===Paralysis of the Conscious Man in Modern Society===

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

"The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism" (Marder). All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy, and this lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
( Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kireyevsky, Ivan. "On the Nature of European Culture and On It's Relationship to Russian Culture". 23 Mar. 2006 http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/kireyevsky_culture.html

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen, Mike Meyer, & Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.][[Category:World Literature]]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

Notes from Underground

2006-03-23T17:23:42Z

Swalker: /* The Artificiality of Russian Culture */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein..."(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
During the nineteenth century, the Russian culture became artificial because it no longer was "European". Russia's ethical, cultural, and spiritial pricipals were changing to look more like the Western culture of that time (Kireyesky). The Russian culture was slowly moving more westward. In Russia, a man was considered "developed" and "educated" only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England (Madden). If this was the normal view of Russia at the time, a man who based all his ideas and opinions on the Westward culture may not have been preceved as smart. Russian culture was also strongly based on strong religious principals. Thos principals were sometimes different than that of the other European countries. Philosphers such as Aristotle and Descartes influenced the Russian culture. "Russia had seperated from Europe in spirit, thus living a totally different life than the rest of Europe" (Kireyesky). Russia was still part of the European country, but just in the regional sense. Their government and religious beliefs took on a more Western fell, rather than the tradition European feel. "Russia nearly had to destroy their national personality in order to conform to Western civiliazation" (Kireyevsky). "In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life, the life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced" (Madden).

===Paralysis of the Conscious Man in Modern Society===

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

"The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism" (Marder). All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy, and this lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
( Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kireyevsky, Ivan. "On the Nature of European Culture and On It's Relationship to Russian Culture". 23 Mar. 2006 http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/kireyevsky_culture.html

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen, Mike Meyer, & Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.][[Category:World Literature]]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

Notes from Underground

2006-03-23T17:15:50Z

Swalker: /* The Crystal Palace */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein..."(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
During the nineteenth century, the Russian culture became artificial because it no longer was "European". Russia's ethical, cultural, and spiritial pricipals were changing to look more like the Western culture of that time. The Russian culure was slowly moving more westward. In Russia, a man was considered "developed" and "educated" only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England (Madden). If this was the normal view of Russia at the time, a man who based all his ideas and opinions on the Westward culture may not have been preceved as smart. Philosphers such as Aristotle and Descartes influenced the Russian culture. "Russia had seperated from Europe in spirit, thus living a totally different life than the rest of Europe" (Kireyesky). Russia was still part of the European country, but just in the regional sense. Their government and religious beliefs took on a more Western fell, rather than the tradition European feel. "Russia nearly had to destroy their national personality in order to conform to Western civiliazation" (Kireyevsky). "In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life, the life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced" (Madden).

===Paralysis of the Conscious Man in Modern Society===

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

"The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism" (Marder). All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy, and this lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
( Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kireyevsky, Ivan. "On the Nature of European Culture and On It's Relationship to Russian Culture". 23 Mar. 2006 http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/kireyevsky_culture.html

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen, Mike Meyer, & Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.][[Category:World Literature]]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

Notes from Underground

2006-03-23T17:15:11Z

Swalker: /* The Artificiality of Russian Culture */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein..."(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
During the nineteenth century, the Russian culture became artificial because it no longer was "European". Russia's ethical, cultural, and spiritial pricipals were changing to look more like the Western culture of that time. The Russian culure was slowly moving more westward. In Russia, a man was considered "developed" and "educated" only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England (Madden). If this was the normal view of Russia at the time, a man who based all his ideas and opinions on the Westward culture may not have been preceved as smart. Philosphers such as Aristotle and Descartes influenced the Russian culture. "Russia had seperated from Europe in spirit, thus living a totally different life than the rest of Europe" (Kireyesky). Russia was still part of the European country, but just in the regional sense. Their government and religious beliefs took on a more Western fell, rather than the tradition European feel. "Russia nearly had to destroy their national personality in order to conform to Western civiliazation" (Kireyevsky). "In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life, the life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced" (Madden).

===Paralysis of the Conscious Man in Modern Society===

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism (Marder). All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy, and this lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
( Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kireyevsky, Ivan. "On the Nature of European Culture and On It's Relationship to Russian Culture". 23 Mar. 2006 http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/kireyevsky_culture.html

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen, Mike Meyer, & Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.][[Category:World Literature]]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

Notes from Underground

2006-03-23T15:47:51Z

Swalker: /* The Crystal Palace */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein..."(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
During the nineteenth century, the Russian culture became artificial because it no longer was "European". Russia's ethical, cultural, and spiritial pricipals were changing to look more like the Western culture of that time. The Russian culure was slowly moving more westward. In Russia, a man was considered "developed" and "educated" only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England (Madden). If this was the normal view of Russia at the time, a man who based all his ideas and opinions on the Westward culture may not be perceved as smart. Philosphers such as Aristotle and Descartes influenced the Russian culture. Russia had seperated from Europe in spirit, thus living a totally different life than the rest of Europe (Kireyesky). They nearly had to destroy their national personality in order to conform to Western civiliazation (Kireyevsky). In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life, the life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced (Madden).

===Paralysis of the Conscious Man in Modern Society===

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism (Marder). All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy, and this lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
( Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kireyevsky, Ivan. "On the Nature of European Culture and On It's Relationship to Russian Culture". 23 Mar. 2006 http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/kireyevsky_culture.html

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen, Mike Meyer, & Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.][[Category:World Literature]]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

Notes from Underground

2006-03-23T15:39:41Z

Swalker: /* The Artificiality of Russian Culture */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein..."(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
During the nineteenth century, the Russian culture became artificial because it no longer was "European". Russia's ethical, cultural, and spiritial pricipals were changing to look more like the Western culture of that time. The Russian culure was slowly moving more westward. In Russia, a man was considered "developed" and "educated" only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England (Madden). If this was the normal view of Russia at the time, a man who based all his ideas and opinions on the Westward culture may not be perceved as smart. Philosphers such as Aristotle and Descartes influenced the Russian culture. Russia had seperated from Europe in spirit, thus living a totally different life than the rest of Europe (Kireyesky). They nearly had to destroy their national personality in order to conform to Western civiliazation (Kireyevsky). In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life, the life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced (Madden).

===Paralysis of the Conscious Man in Modern Society===

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism. The Crystal Palace was built in London in 1851. It was built entirely out of glass and iron. The palace represented reason, science and logic to Dostoevsky. All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy. This lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
( Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kireyevsky, Ivan. "On the Nature of European Culture and On It's Relationship to Russian Culture". 23 Mar. 2006 http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/kireyevsky_culture.html

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen, Mike Meyer, & Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.][[Category:World Literature]]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

Notes from Underground

2006-03-23T15:32:26Z

Swalker: /* Works Cited */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein..."(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
For decades, the Russian social and intellectual elite had been imitating western Eropean culture, in the middle of the nineteenth century. In Russia, a man was considered "developed" and "educated" only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England (Madden). Philosphers such as Aristotle and Descartes influenced the Russian culture. Isolated monistaries dotted the countryside of Russia (Kireyevsky). Not only did the Russians get their spiritual notions from them, but also their ethical, social, and legal concepts (Kireyevsky). This could have possibly lead the way to the Christian conversion of Russia. Russia had seperated from Europe in spirit, thus living a totally different life than the rest of Europe (Kireyesky). They nearly had to destroy their national personality in order to conform to Western civiliazation (Kireyevsky). In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life, the life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced (Madden).

===Paralysis of the Conscious Man in Modern Society===

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism. The Crystal Palace was built in London in 1851. It was built entirely out of glass and iron. The palace represented reason, science and logic to Dostoevsky. All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy. This lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
( Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kireyevsky, Ivan. "On the Nature of European Culture and On It's Relationship to Russian Culture". 23 Mar. 2006 http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/kireyevsky_culture.html

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen, Mike Meyer, & Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.][[Category:World Literature]]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

Notes from Underground

2006-03-23T15:29:55Z

Swalker: /* The Artificiality of Russian Culture */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein..."(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
For decades, the Russian social and intellectual elite had been imitating western Eropean culture, in the middle of the nineteenth century. In Russia, a man was considered "developed" and "educated" only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England (Madden). Philosphers such as Aristotle and Descartes influenced the Russian culture. Isolated monistaries dotted the countryside of Russia (Kireyevsky). Not only did the Russians get their spiritual notions from them, but also their ethical, social, and legal concepts (Kireyevsky). This could have possibly lead the way to the Christian conversion of Russia. Russia had seperated from Europe in spirit, thus living a totally different life than the rest of Europe (Kireyesky). They nearly had to destroy their national personality in order to conform to Western civiliazation (Kireyevsky). In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life, the life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced (Madden).

===Paralysis of the Conscious Man in Modern Society===

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism. The Crystal Palace was built in London in 1851. It was built entirely out of glass and iron. The palace represented reason, science and logic to Dostoevsky. All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy. This lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
( Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen, Mike Meyer, & Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.][[Category:World Literature]]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

Notes from Underground

2006-03-22T02:36:46Z

Swalker: /* Works Cited */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein..."(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
For decades, the Russian social and intellectual elite had been imitating western Eropean culture, in the middle of the nineteenth century. In Russia, a man was considered "developed" and "educated" only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England. Dostoevsky may have shared this view when he was a young man, but by the time he wrote ''Notes from Underground'' he had decided that that certain mindset was destructive. In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life. The life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced (Madden).

===Paralysis of the Conscious Man in Modern Society===

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism. The Crystal Palace was built in London in 1851. It was built entirely out of glass and iron. The palace represented reason, science and logic to Dostoevsky. All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy. This lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
( Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen, Mike Meyer, & Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.][[Category:World Literature]]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

Notes from Underground

2006-03-22T02:34:52Z

Swalker: /* Works Cited */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein..."(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
For decades, the Russian social and intellectual elite had been imitating western Eropean culture, in the middle of the nineteenth century. In Russia, a man was considered "developed" and "educated" only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England. Dostoevsky may have shared this view when he was a young man, but by the time he wrote ''Notes from Underground'' he had decided that that certain mindset was destructive. In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life. The life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced (Madden).

===Paralysis of the Conscious Man in Modern Society===

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism. The Crystal Palace was built in London in 1851. It was built entirely out of glass and iron. The palace represented reason, science and logic to Dostoevsky. All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy. This lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
( Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen; Mike Meyer; Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.][[Category:World Literature]]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

Notes from Underground

2006-03-22T02:34:00Z

Swalker: /* Works Cited */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein..."(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
For decades, the Russian social and intellectual elite had been imitating western Eropean culture, in the middle of the nineteenth century. In Russia, a man was considered "developed" and "educated" only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England. Dostoevsky may have shared this view when he was a young man, but by the time he wrote ''Notes from Underground'' he had decided that that certain mindset was destructive. In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life. The life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced (Madden).

===Paralysis of the Conscious Man in Modern Society===

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism. The Crystal Palace was built in London in 1851. It was built entirely out of glass and iron. The palace represented reason, science and logic to Dostoevsky. All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy. This lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
( Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

* Marder, Jen, Mike Meyer, & Fred Wyshak. "A Study Guide: Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground". <http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman.html>. 21 Mar. 2006

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.][[Category:World Literature]]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

Notes from Underground

2006-03-22T02:23:46Z

Swalker: /* The Crystal Palace */

:"What sort of Crystal Palace would it be if any sort of doubt were allowed?" —the Underground Man

''Notes from Underground'' written by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]].

== Study Guide ==
Brief summaries, commentaries, and notes on ''Notes''.

=== Notes from Underground, Part 1===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 1, Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]

=== Notes from Underground, Part 2: Apropos of Wet Snow ===
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
#[[Notes from Underground: Part 2, Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]

==History==
''Notes from Underground'' is considered to be Dostoevsky's first major literary work during the second phase of his writing, or in other words, the elements of social realism give way to "psychological, existential, and philosophical concerns" in his works (Newton). Clearly, the novel fights against scientific thinking, making its point by giving examples from the narrator's personal experiences. ''Notes from Underground'' stands the test of time as a work of great literary importance, and the Underground Man emerges "...into the vocabulary of the modern educated consciousness, and this character has now begun--like Hamlet, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Faust--to take on the symbolic stature of one of the great archetypal literary creations," this written by Joseph Frank almost a hundred years after its first publication (Jones).

However, perhaps it is best to understand the time in which the novel was written. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s 1860s] were a busy time for both Europe and North America, a fact that the narrator points out by exclaiming, "Take this entire nineteenth century of ours during which even Buckle lived. Take Napoleon--both the great and the present one. Take North America--that eternal union. Take, finally, that ridiculous Schleswig-Holstein..."(1266). America struggles with a raging Civil War that ripped the country in two. The reference to Napoleon, of course, refers to the French emporers by that name, both of whom engaged in numerous battles. The mention of Schleswig-Holstein refers to Prussia taking that holding from Denmark, who had controlled it for almost a hundred years. Finally, Buckle wrote ''History of Civilization in England'', in which he concludes that "with the developement of civilization wars will cease" (Jones). So, the historical theme for the 1860's appears to be, for the most part, wars.

Let's not forget what happens in Russia at this same time. Russia goes through the Great Reforms, a time of political instability. During this four year period, society began to notice an uprising of groups within the society; these will eventually--but not at this particular time--lead to political parties ([http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.htm Kimball]). Thus, began the modern revolutionary movements in Russia.

All of the previously mentioned events provided a basis for Dostevsky's beliefs, which he states through the Underground Man's rantings. Dosteovsky satarizes the political and social troubles that plague these continents to express his true thoughts. He does not believe that man is a rational creature by nature or that civilization will bring an end to warfare. Perhaps, too, we see a bit of a warning in this text--a warning much like that in George Orwell's novel, ''1984,'' written eighty years later. Apparently, the threat had not abated but had instead gotten worse.

==Timeline==

==Characters==

===The Underground Man===
The Underground Man is the narrator and protagonist of Notes of Underground. The Underground Man can be viewed as: "a sheer irrationalist whose rejection of Rational Egoism is a tortured emotional outburst with no logical credentials" (Scanlan). He beleives that consciousness is a disease: " I swear to you, gentlemen, that being overly conscious is a disease, a genuine, full-fledged disease" (1257). Such consciousness shows: "within Underground Man's self-descriptions, while relational in the ways not reducible to behavior" (Hagberg).

==Themes==
===The Fallacies of Rationalism===

===The Fallacies of Utopianism===

===The Artificiality of Russian Culture===
For decades, the Russian social and intellectual elite had been imitating western Eropean culture, in the middle of the nineteenth century. In Russia, a man was considered "developed" and "educated" only if he was familiar with the literary and philosophical traditions of Germany, France, and England. Dostoevsky may have shared this view when he was a young man, but by the time he wrote ''Notes from Underground'' he had decided that that certain mindset was destructive. In being captavated by the west, Russian intellectuals had lost touch with the true way of the Russian life. The life that many of the peasants and lower-class workers still practiced (Madden).

===Paralysis of the Conscious Man in Modern Society===

== Major Symbols ==
===Underground===
It is the home of the underground man. It is also refered to as his corner. " Yet the underground is more than a physical placeof isolation; it's a psychological hang-up as well. Possessing the overly sensitive and sheltered consciousness of the underground, the underground man finds himself unable and unwilling to meaningfully interact with others, despite his desire to do just that" (Novelguide). The underground man claims to prefer the underground to the real world. There he is able to express his indviduality.

===The Ant Hill===
This shows that there is no individuality. All of the ants are working for one main goal.

===St. Petersburg===

===The Crystal Palace===

The Crystal Palace is a symbolism of the lack of individualism. The Crystal Palace was built in London in 1851. It was built entirely out of glass and iron. The palace represented reason, science and logic to Dostoevsky. All the people working in the building were working toward a common goal and since it was made entirely out of glass, there was no privacy. This lack of privacy lead to the lack of individualism (Marder).

===Money===
Money, for the Underground Man, represents power. In the second part he is cross-examined and is asked his salary. He tells his 'friends' what he makes. "'It's not very handsome,' Zverkov observed majestically. "'Yes, you can't afford to dine at cafes on that,' Ferfichkin added insolently. "To my thinking it's very poor,' Trudolyubov observed gravely (Nabokov 123). All these men scrutinize the Underground Man for his lack of wages.The UM borrows money from a friend, Simonov, but he repays him the next day plus more. Having to borrow money makes him feel incapable of providing for himself and embarrassed of his poverty, making him feel inferior to his 'friends'. The Underground Man offers Liza, the woman he met at the prostitution house, money. She refuses his money. If he was to give her money it would demonstrate moral dominance.

===Human Insect===
The Underground Man talks of how he wishes he could be an insect. "I'll tell you solemnly that I wished to become an insect many times. But not even that wish was granted."(pg. 1257) After this the Underground Man talks about being overly conscious is a disease in its self. Like being to aware of your surroundings will lead to bad things. Later in the writing the Underground Man tells of how some classmates said he looked like a fly. George Steiner conluded that this held the same premise from Franz Kafka's [http://mchip00.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/kafka98-des-.html Metamorphoses]. "In them, and in the narrator's whole vision of himself as a bug trapped in the crack of a damp wall, Dostoevsky embodies the perception of a new helplessness and beastliness of the human species."(Steiner xi)

==Critical Perspectives==
''Notes from the Underground'' is an important work in Western European history. " It has attracted attention for many reasons. For one , it contains an all-out assault on Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of progress which foreshadows many such assaults in the mid-to-late twentieth century" (WSU). Another example of this novels' importance is the fact that it has one of the first anti-heroes in fiction. " It portrays a protagonist utterly lacking every trait of the Romantic hero and living out a futile life on the margins of society. Such figures were to dominate much serious fiction in the mid-twentieth century" (WSU).

=== Literary Criticism ===
=== The underground man: A question of meaning by Linda Williams ===

Linda L. Williams explores Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man in her article entitled The underground man: a question of meaning. Williams looks at how the main character searches for meaning and value in his self and his life from the very first words of his notes exclaiming that he is a “sick [and] spiteful man” (1). She also examines how Dostoyevsky uses the underground man to “question whether human beings can be their own source of meaning” (Williams 1). This novel is a reaction to the ideas prevalent in Western Europe at the time that “reason provides the foundation for all knowledge” (Williams 1).

Williams looks at why the Underground man refers to himself as a “zloi” which has been translated as spiteful but in actuality carries the connotation of immorality and malicious behavior in which a person isn’t by nature, but is because they are made that way due to circumstances that person has control over. The author of the article contends that this is because the underground man’s “refusal to attach the common man’s meaning to himself and due to his exaggerated consciousness and vanity.”

In part two we see the underground man’s attempt to “make his life as meaningful to others as it is to him” (Williams 2). This is done through several attempts by the underground man to be noticed by a young officer, some old friends, and Liza. With the young officer the underground man’s desire for the “officer to step aside becomes a measure of the meaning and value of the underground man as a person” (Williams 3). In the case of his meeting with the old friends, we witness the night through his very subjective eyes in which he has “one humiliation piled on top of another” (Williams 4) in his attempt to present himself as having meaning and value in the eyes of others. Since the underground man has the ability to blame his behavior on alcohol as opposed to deliberate action, Williams contends that Dostoyevsky proves that “when an individual is the sole foundation for meanings and values, he may twist them any way he likes”
( Williams 4).

Through his experience with Liza, we see that “his existence has finally been affirmed just as if [the officer] had thrown him through the tavern window” (Williams 5). He then must change the “significance of the encounter with Liza to recapture the sarcasm of his vain ego” (Williams 6) because he has failed to prove himself of any value to anyone other than someone he sees as lower than himself. He attempts to regain control over what he feels like he has lost by asserting himself in a position of power over Liza by insulting her and then exerting “domination and possession over her body” (Williams 6). The underground man tries to “rationalize his sick, zloi act away [by giving her] money” (Williams 6), but Liza’s refusal to accept it along with “all its implications” (Williams 6) reveals what Williams calls the ugly truth about him.

The underground man is incapable of loving anyone due to his unlimited vain ego. Further more, it is this ego that has led him to commit an act that “in the nineteenth century was considered more terrible than murder” (Williams 7) hence the reason why the term originally used in he beginning of the text as zloi which is translated as spiteful. Williams then goes on to say that “The underground cannot be his own foundation for meaning” and to Dostoevsky “the foundation of meaning does not lie in science or in Chernyshevsky’s rational egoism but in placing others interests before your own—in genuinely loving others” (Williams 7).

The author looks at the underground man’s motives in a manner that is easy to understand although the character himself is not. I agree with Williams’s depiction of the underground man’s search and failure to gain the respect of his colleagues which only served to push him into farther underground. In the last moments when he has to reconcile with the fact that he can neither give nor receive love seals his fate in the underground where he is writing from years later. It is least likely that he will encounter another chance to escape. In the underground we will find him languishing untll his death.

==External Links and Resources==

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/themes.html

==Works Cited==
*Hagberg, Garry L. "Wittgenstein Underground." ''Philosophy and literature'' 28.2 (2004): 379-392.

*Jones, Malcolm V. "Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground (1864)." ''The Voice of a Giant: Essays on Seven Russian Prose Classics.'' Ed. Roger Cockrell and David Richards. (1985): 55-65. Literature Resource Center. University of Exeter. 09 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Kimball, Alan. "Russian Civil Society and Political Crisis in the Epoch of Great Reforms, 1859-1863." 25 Oct. 1989. University of Oregon. 14 Mar. 2006 <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kimball/cvl.pbl.sixties.html>.

*Madden, Caolan. SparkNote on Notes from Underground. 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/underground/>.

*Nabokov, Vladimir. "Lectures on Russian Literature". New York, 1981. 115-125.

*Newton, K.M. "Notes from Underground: Overview." ''Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st ed.'' Ed. Noelle Watson. St. James Press: 1994. Literature Resource Center. 13 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Notes from Underground.

*Scanlan, James P. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground''." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 60.3 (1999): 549-567.

*''Novelguide.com''. "Notes from the Underground". March 2006 [<http://www.novelguide.com/notesfromtheunderground/metaphoranaylysis.html>.][[Category:World Literature]]

*Williams, Linda. "The underground man: A question of meaning." ''Studies in the novel.'' Summer 1995, Vol. 27, Issue 2. 129,12

*Steiner, George. "Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground and The Gambler." Norwalk, CT: The Heritage Press, 1967 and 1997.

Notes from Underground

2006-03-13T05:01:54Z

Swalker: /* Major Symbols */

Notes from Underground

2006-03-13T04:59:55Z

Swalker: /* The Artificiality of Russian Culture */

Notes from Underground

2006-03-13T04:59:07Z

Swalker: /* Works Cited */

Notes from Underground

2006-03-13T04:57:33Z

Swalker: /* The Artificiality of Russian Culture */

Notes from Underground

2006-03-13T04:43:41Z

Swalker: /* External Links and Resources */

Notes from Underground

2006-03-13T04:42:09Z

Swalker: /* Themes */

Faust: Faust's Study (1)

2006-03-03T23:56:34Z

Swalker: /* The Gospel of John */

==Summary==
Faust is in his study translating the Gospel of John into German. The black poodle that Faust brought home begins to act wild and Faust tries to stop its madness. Spirits outside of Faust's door begin to speak about how something is inside that needs help. Faust then uses a spell to defend himself. After this the black poodle transforms into a monster. Faust tries to use magic spells and a crusifix to drive the evil spirit away. Then the poodle turns into Mephisto, the devil. Mephisto and Faust chat for a moment before Mephisto must take his leave. Faust asks Mephisto who he really is, but Mephisto cleverly avoids the answer to the question. Mephisto is trapped by a pentagram and Faust will not remove it to let him go. Mephisto then tricks Faust into falling asleep by summoning spirts that sing him to sleep and Mephisto escapes.

==Notes==
===The Gospel of John===
As Faust enters his study, he gives the poodle a pillow to rest on, as he translates the Book of John into German. He starts out in John chapter 1, verse 1. "In the begining was the Word-so goes the text. And right off I'm given pause" (l. 1004-1005). It seems in this passage that Faust may be doubting the supreme being of God and his word. This next passage is another example of Faust's doubt. I'm unable to see the ''word'' as having supreme value (1. 1006-1007). The Greek term for "word" is logos. Faust argues that a mere word cannot have such great significance (Gray 143). Faust didn't want to use the term "word" in the passage. He tried thinking of several other terms to put in place of "word". He tries the term "power". He finaly decided on the phrase 'Im Anfang war die Tat!' Translated means 'In the begining was the deed' (Gray 143).

===Mephisto===
As Faust is working on translating the Gospel of John to German, the poodle transforms into a bigger dog, growing larger before Faust's eyes. Spirits outside start banging on the door to try to get in. Faust then tries to defend himself by using The Spell of the Four Elements (l. 1054). Then, the poodle transforms into Mephisto. Mephisto is dressed as a traveling scholar. When Mephisto tries to leave Faust's study, he relizes that he can't because there is a pentagram at the door. Faust offers a suggestion that Mepisto can get out by going out the window. Mephisto states that the devils have to leave the way they came in (l. 1196).

===The Spell of the Four Elements===
Faust's Spell of the Four Elements refers to the traditional magical practices of invoking the energy of the elements of nature--earth, air, fire, and water--for assistance during a casting. This process is called "elemental balancing" (Adams 58). The purpose of Faust's spell in lines 1055 through 1071 is to force Mephisto to leave his study. Each of the creatures mentioned in the first verse of the spell represent one of the elements. Each of the elements has a specific tool that represents it. For example, fire is represented by the wand. The elements also represent a balance between for things: "intellect (air), will (fire), emotions (water), and body (earth)" (Adams 58). It is believed that without a balance of the elements and what they represent, practicing magic can be dangerous whoever attempts it.

===Pentagram===
In lines 1179-1187, Faust and Mephisto make references to a pentagram that Faust had drawn on his entryway. The pentagram, also referred to as a pentacle, has been used for centries throughout the practice of witchcraft. Beginning with line 1055, Faust chants The Spell of the Four Elements, so it should be mentioned that the pentagram is the pagan symbol for earth, one of the four elements. The pentagram is a five-pointed star, much like the kind we draw as children. Practitioners of white magic (Wicca) consider the uppermost point to represent life, and the other four points represent each of the four elements of nature used in white magic: earth, air, fire, and water (Adams 61). The pentagram is considered to be a symbol of protection. In the text, the pentagram is used by Faust to keep evil spirits from entering his domain, however, because of the break in the pentagram, it is not whole; thus, spirits may enter but cannot leave (l. 1185-1188). As a side point of interest, had the pentagram been upside down, it would be the symbol for Satanism.

==Commentary==
===The Poodle===
"Everything that creates the yearning to escape from the monotony of daily life is romantic" (Walzel 3).

Faust's Study 1 is important to the rest of the story because this is where he invokes Mephisto into his home. Mephisto is disguised as a poodle, a black poodle. The meeting of the dog forshadows the rest of the story when Faust says "I think I see him winding a magic snare, quietly, around our feet, a noose which he'll pull tight in the future, when the time is right" (543 l.935-938).

===The Lord of the Flies===
Faust refers to Mephisto as "Lord of the Flies, Destroyer, Liar" after the demon changes from a black poodle into its human form (l.1116). All of these names are references to the Devil. However, it is Lord of the Flies that stands out the most. This refers to the Biblical name for the Devil, Beelzebub. Perhaps, the name is more easily recognized in conjunction with William Golding's novel, ''The Lord of the Flies'', which took its name from this passage (Rosenfield). When Simon discovers the fly-ridden pig's head that the children have erected in Golding's novel to pay homage to the outside forces at work around them, he becomes ill and goes through a spell. This represents an internal journey for the sole purpose of understanding oneself (Rosenfield). When Faust pressures Mephisto into staying with him, and ultimately signs a contract for his soul in the next section, he is embarking on the same journey that Simon undertakes. Faust must come to terms with the life that provides no stimulation for him in the course of his journey. Though the reader at this point does not know if Faust will become involved with Mephisto for certain, Faust's eagerness to have dealings with the demon forshadows this journey. He says: "So even in Hell there's law and order! I'm glad, for then a man might sign a contract with you gentlemen" (l.1197-1199). We are left with the question: Can Faust find a meaning to life that will satisfy both his life and himself through his dealings with Mephisto?

===Dual Personalities of One Character===
Faust's Study is the first section in which the personalities of Mephisto and Faust may be compared side to side. It begins to become obvious that each character's personality works off that of the other, much in the same way that a person might witness different sides to the same person. One might even say that Faust represents the "good" side of a person, while Mephisto represents the "bad" side. Faust is a representative of mankind "whose history on earth is one of lust and hate and greed" but in death, still goes to Heaven (Willcocks 37). Mephisto is not reedeemable, nor does he care to be. With that being said, we move into Mephisto and Faust being the two side of a character. By Faust taking the abandoned poodle into his home in the beginning of the section, readers are introduced to his kind side. Throughout the work so far, Faust has been somewhat of a model human, although he does dip into the occult, which by nature, is a sin against God. However, with his still favored in the eyes of the Lord, but Mephisto's appearance causes him to fall slightly. Faust shows signs of greed, at trying to retain the demon's services. He continues his fall from grace by hinting that he would consider making a pact with Mephisto in lines 1197-1199. Mephisto, on the other hand, represents the other side to a character. His is that side that "...we dread and hate above all other creatures..." due to his sarcasm, cynacism, and purely annoying personality (Willcocks 44). He comes before Faust, completely sarcastic, yet at the same time is very clear-headed. Where Faust panicked upon the poodle's metamorphosis into Mephisto and began to recite The Spell of the Four Elements frantically, Mephisto retains a level head. This allows him to dodge Faust's questions to his identity beginning with line 1114. Later, Mephisto also uses this trait to trick Faust into giving him an outlet to escape. Mephisto tells Faust to "let me entertain you in my own way." (1217-1218). He then brings in a group of spirits to entertain Faust, knowing that the spirits will sing Faust to sleep, allowing Mephisto to escape. Faust could never have come up with such a plan, nor is he capable of keeping such a clear and level head, as we witness in later sections. So, with their different personalities, readers witness man's struggle to embrace the dark side or the light side.

==Study Questions==
(1) Why was Mephisto avoiding answering Faust's questions of his real identity?

(2) Why did Faust not like the term "word" in the passage from the Gospel of John?

(3) What did the poodle turn into first?

(4) What did the poodle turn into second?

(5) What are the four elements in Faust's Spell of the Four Elements, and why are they important to the text? What is their occult significance?

(6) What is the significance behind Faust calling to Mephisto as "Lord of the Flies"?

(7) What is the purpose of the pentagram on Faust's doorway?

(8) Why is Mephisto able to enter Faust's study, even though he is a demon?

(9) How did Mephisto get Faust asleep?

(10) What does Mephisto use to aid him in his escape from the study after Faust had fallen asleep, and what does it do?

(11) Why does Mephisto need help in leaving if Faust were already asleep?

==External Resources==
[http://www.ucalgary.ca/~esleben/faust/goethe/mainpage.html Facets of Goethe's Faust]

[http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/hum_303/faust.html Faust Study Guide]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Elements The Four Elements at Wikipedia]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentacle Pentacle at Wikipedia]

==Works Cited==
Adams, Anton, and Mina Adams. ''The Learned Arts of Witches and Wizards''. New York: Metro Books, 1998. 58 & 61.

Gray, Ronald D. ''Goethe: A Critical Introduction''. Cambridge University Press. New York: 1967.

Rosenfield, Claire. "Men of a Smaller Growth: A Psychological Analysis of William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies'" Literature and Psychology XI (1961): 93-101. Contemporatry Literary Criticism. Literature Resource Center. 03 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Faust + Lord of the Flies.

Walzel, Oskar F. "German Romanticism". New York: Frederick Ungar Co., 1965.

Willcocks, Mary Patricia. "Between the Old World and the New." Goethe and the World-Will. Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Publishers, 1967. 33-49.

----
< [[Faust: Outside the City Gate|Outside the City Gate]] | [[Faust Summary, Commentary, Notes]] | [[Faust: Faust's Study (2)|Faust's Study (2)]] >

[[Category:World Literature]]

Faust: Faust's Study (1)

2006-03-03T23:55:56Z

Swalker: /* The Gospel of John */

==Summary==
Faust is in his study translating the Gospel of John into German. The black poodle that Faust brought home begins to act wild and Faust tries to stop its madness. Spirits outside of Faust's door begin to speak about how something is inside that needs help. Faust then uses a spell to defend himself. After this the black poodle transforms into a monster. Faust tries to use magic spells and a crusifix to drive the evil spirit away. Then the poodle turns into Mephisto, the devil. Mephisto and Faust chat for a moment before Mephisto must take his leave. Faust asks Mephisto who he really is, but Mephisto cleverly avoids the answer to the question. Mephisto is trapped by a pentagram and Faust will not remove it to let him go. Mephisto then tricks Faust into falling asleep by summoning spirts that sing him to sleep and Mephisto escapes.

==Notes==
===The Gospel of John===
As Faust enters his study, he gives the poodle a pillow to rest on, as he translates the Book of John into German. He starts out in John chapter 1, verse 1. "In the begining was the Word-so goes the text. And right off I'm given pause" (l. 1004-1005). The text that we read in today's translation is "In the begining was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God" (John 1:1). It seems in this passage that Faust may be doubting the supreme being of God and his word. This next passage is another example of Faust's doubt. I'm unable to see the ''word'' as having supreme value (1. 1006-1007). The Greek term for "word" is logos. Faust argues that a mere word cannot have such great significance (Gray 143). Faust didn't want to use the term "word" in the passage. He tried thinking of several other terms to put in place of "word". He tries the term "power". He finaly decided on the phrase 'Im Anfang war die Tat!' Translated means 'In the begining was the deed' (Gray 143).

===Mephisto===
As Faust is working on translating the Gospel of John to German, the poodle transforms into a bigger dog, growing larger before Faust's eyes. Spirits outside start banging on the door to try to get in. Faust then tries to defend himself by using The Spell of the Four Elements (l. 1054). Then, the poodle transforms into Mephisto. Mephisto is dressed as a traveling scholar. When Mephisto tries to leave Faust's study, he relizes that he can't because there is a pentagram at the door. Faust offers a suggestion that Mepisto can get out by going out the window. Mephisto states that the devils have to leave the way they came in (l. 1196).

===The Spell of the Four Elements===
Faust's Spell of the Four Elements refers to the traditional magical practices of invoking the energy of the elements of nature--earth, air, fire, and water--for assistance during a casting. This process is called "elemental balancing" (Adams 58). The purpose of Faust's spell in lines 1055 through 1071 is to force Mephisto to leave his study. Each of the creatures mentioned in the first verse of the spell represent one of the elements. Each of the elements has a specific tool that represents it. For example, fire is represented by the wand. The elements also represent a balance between for things: "intellect (air), will (fire), emotions (water), and body (earth)" (Adams 58). It is believed that without a balance of the elements and what they represent, practicing magic can be dangerous whoever attempts it.

===Pentagram===
In lines 1179-1187, Faust and Mephisto make references to a pentagram that Faust had drawn on his entryway. The pentagram, also referred to as a pentacle, has been used for centries throughout the practice of witchcraft. Beginning with line 1055, Faust chants The Spell of the Four Elements, so it should be mentioned that the pentagram is the pagan symbol for earth, one of the four elements. The pentagram is a five-pointed star, much like the kind we draw as children. Practitioners of white magic (Wicca) consider the uppermost point to represent life, and the other four points represent each of the four elements of nature used in white magic: earth, air, fire, and water (Adams 61). The pentagram is considered to be a symbol of protection. In the text, the pentagram is used by Faust to keep evil spirits from entering his domain, however, because of the break in the pentagram, it is not whole; thus, spirits may enter but cannot leave (l. 1185-1188). As a side point of interest, had the pentagram been upside down, it would be the symbol for Satanism.

==Commentary==
===The Poodle===
"Everything that creates the yearning to escape from the monotony of daily life is romantic" (Walzel 3).

Faust's Study 1 is important to the rest of the story because this is where he invokes Mephisto into his home. Mephisto is disguised as a poodle, a black poodle. The meeting of the dog forshadows the rest of the story when Faust says "I think I see him winding a magic snare, quietly, around our feet, a noose which he'll pull tight in the future, when the time is right" (543 l.935-938).

===The Lord of the Flies===
Faust refers to Mephisto as "Lord of the Flies, Destroyer, Liar" after the demon changes from a black poodle into its human form (l.1116). All of these names are references to the Devil. However, it is Lord of the Flies that stands out the most. This refers to the Biblical name for the Devil, Beelzebub. Perhaps, the name is more easily recognized in conjunction with William Golding's novel, ''The Lord of the Flies'', which took its name from this passage (Rosenfield). When Simon discovers the fly-ridden pig's head that the children have erected in Golding's novel to pay homage to the outside forces at work around them, he becomes ill and goes through a spell. This represents an internal journey for the sole purpose of understanding oneself (Rosenfield). When Faust pressures Mephisto into staying with him, and ultimately signs a contract for his soul in the next section, he is embarking on the same journey that Simon undertakes. Faust must come to terms with the life that provides no stimulation for him in the course of his journey. Though the reader at this point does not know if Faust will become involved with Mephisto for certain, Faust's eagerness to have dealings with the demon forshadows this journey. He says: "So even in Hell there's law and order! I'm glad, for then a man might sign a contract with you gentlemen" (l.1197-1199). We are left with the question: Can Faust find a meaning to life that will satisfy both his life and himself through his dealings with Mephisto?

===Dual Personalities of One Character===
Faust's Study is the first section in which the personalities of Mephisto and Faust may be compared side to side. It begins to become obvious that each character's personality works off that of the other, much in the same way that a person might witness different sides to the same person. One might even say that Faust represents the "good" side of a person, while Mephisto represents the "bad" side. Faust is a representative of mankind "whose history on earth is one of lust and hate and greed" but in death, still goes to Heaven (Willcocks 37). Mephisto is not reedeemable, nor does he care to be. With that being said, we move into Mephisto and Faust being the two side of a character. By Faust taking the abandoned poodle into his home in the beginning of the section, readers are introduced to his kind side. Throughout the work so far, Faust has been somewhat of a model human, although he does dip into the occult, which by nature, is a sin against God. However, with his still favored in the eyes of the Lord, but Mephisto's appearance causes him to fall slightly. Faust shows signs of greed, at trying to retain the demon's services. He continues his fall from grace by hinting that he would consider making a pact with Mephisto in lines 1197-1199. Mephisto, on the other hand, represents the other side to a character. His is that side that "...we dread and hate above all other creatures..." due to his sarcasm, cynacism, and purely annoying personality (Willcocks 44). He comes before Faust, completely sarcastic, yet at the same time is very clear-headed. Where Faust panicked upon the poodle's metamorphosis into Mephisto and began to recite The Spell of the Four Elements frantically, Mephisto retains a level head. This allows him to dodge Faust's questions to his identity beginning with line 1114. Later, Mephisto also uses this trait to trick Faust into giving him an outlet to escape. Mephisto tells Faust to "let me entertain you in my own way." (1217-1218). He then brings in a group of spirits to entertain Faust, knowing that the spirits will sing Faust to sleep, allowing Mephisto to escape. Faust could never have come up with such a plan, nor is he capable of keeping such a clear and level head, as we witness in later sections. So, with their different personalities, readers witness man's struggle to embrace the dark side or the light side.

==Study Questions==
(1) Why was Mephisto avoiding answering Faust's questions of his real identity?

(2) Why did Faust not like the term "word" in the passage from the Gospel of John?

(3) What did the poodle turn into first?

(4) What did the poodle turn into second?

(5) What are the four elements in Faust's Spell of the Four Elements, and why are they important to the text? What is their occult significance?

(6) What is the significance behind Faust calling to Mephisto as "Lord of the Flies"?

(7) What is the purpose of the pentagram on Faust's doorway?

(8) Why is Mephisto able to enter Faust's study, even though he is a demon?

(9) How did Mephisto get Faust asleep?

(10) What does Mephisto use to aid him in his escape from the study after Faust had fallen asleep, and what does it do?

(11) Why does Mephisto need help in leaving if Faust were already asleep?

==External Resources==
[http://www.ucalgary.ca/~esleben/faust/goethe/mainpage.html Facets of Goethe's Faust]

[http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/hum_303/faust.html Faust Study Guide]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Elements The Four Elements at Wikipedia]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentacle Pentacle at Wikipedia]

==Works Cited==
Adams, Anton, and Mina Adams. ''The Learned Arts of Witches and Wizards''. New York: Metro Books, 1998. 58 & 61.

Gray, Ronald D. ''Goethe: A Critical Introduction''. Cambridge University Press. New York: 1967.

Rosenfield, Claire. "Men of a Smaller Growth: A Psychological Analysis of William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies'" Literature and Psychology XI (1961): 93-101. Contemporatry Literary Criticism. Literature Resource Center. 03 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Faust + Lord of the Flies.

Walzel, Oskar F. "German Romanticism". New York: Frederick Ungar Co., 1965.

Willcocks, Mary Patricia. "Between the Old World and the New." Goethe and the World-Will. Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Publishers, 1967. 33-49.

----
< [[Faust: Outside the City Gate|Outside the City Gate]] | [[Faust Summary, Commentary, Notes]] | [[Faust: Faust's Study (2)|Faust's Study (2)]] >

[[Category:World Literature]]

Faust: Night, Open Country

2006-03-03T23:52:47Z

Swalker: /* Notes */

==Summary==
Faust and Mephistopheles ride towards the prison where Gretchen is being held on black horses. They pass a gallows on which a group of witches is congregating. The witches are also brewing something but Mephisto tells Faust that he doesn't know what they are brewing. Faust wonders what is going on, but Mephisto urges him to keep going.

==Notes==
As Faust and Mepisto were racing across the country side, on horseback. The black horses that they were riding could be a symbolism for evil, because Mephisto summoned the horses, and black is usually associated with evil. Faust noticed a group of witches gathered around the Ravestone. Faust asks Mephisto what the witches are doing, and Mephisto responds "Doing, brewing something or another, who knows" (4247). Faust starts to notice and wonder about the witches actions. Mephisto urges Faust to continue on. Mephisto knows that if he tells Faust to continue going on the journey, he will comply, because Faust always does.

==Commentary==
This short section of the allegorical poem, when Faust and Mephisto gallop through the open country at night, is significant because Faust prefers to take the beaten path on this journey as well, in his ordinary life, instead of a well traveled road. He is also using the idea of nature which many romantics used. The night is symbolic of darkness that is generated from the devil and from the surroundings. Both of these are in reference to the idea of romanticism. "Artists as self-expressive individuals, the ideas of "nature," death's connection to love, night (i.e., subconscious) fears..." (Dopp).

==Study Questions==
(1) What is special about the horses that Mephisto and Faust ride?

(2) Where are they going?

(3) What do they pass on their way?

(4) What does Mephisto urge Faust to do as they come up upon the hill?

==External Resources==
[http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/hum_303/faust.html Faust Study Guide]

==Works Cited==
Dopp, Bonnie Jo. "Romanticism: Imagining Freedom." Library Journal 131.3 (2006).

Faust: Night, Open Country

2006-03-03T19:59:25Z

Swalker: /* Notes */

==Summary==
Faust and Mephistopheles ride towards the prison where Gretchen is being held on black horses. They pass a gallows on which a group of witches is congregating. The witches are also brewing something but Mephisto tells Faust that he doesn't know what they are brewing. Faust wonders what is going on, but Mephisto urges him to keep going.

==Notes==
As Faust and Mepisto were racing across the country side, on horseback. The black horses that they were riding could be a symbolism for evil, because Mephisto summoned the horses, and black is usually associated with evil. Faust noticed a group of witches gathered around the Ravestone. Faust asks Mephisto what the witches are doing, and Mephisto responds "I know not what they shape and brew". Faust starts to notice and wonder about the witches actions. Mephisto urges Faust to continue on. Mephisto knows that if he tells Faust to continue going on the journey, he will comply, because Faust always does.

==Commentary==
This short section of the allegorical poem, when Faust and Mephisto gallop through the open country at night, is significant because Faust prefers to take the beaten path on this journey as well, in his ordinary life, instead of a well traveled road. He is also using the idea of nature which many romantics used. The night is symbolic of darkness that is generated from the devil and from the surroundings. Both of these are in reference to the idea of romanticism. "Artists as self-expressive individuals, the ideas of "nature," death's connection to love, night (i.e., subconscious) fears..." (Dopp).

==Study Questions==
(1) What is special about the horses that Mephisto and Faust ride?

(2) Where are they going?

(3) What do they pass on their way?

(4) What does Mephisto urge Faust to do as they come up upon the hill?

==External Resources==
[http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/hum_303/faust.html Faust Study Guide]

==Works Cited==
Dopp, Bonnie Jo. "Romanticism: Imagining Freedom." Library Journal 131.3 (2006).

Faust: Night, Open Country

2006-03-03T18:43:02Z

Swalker: /* Notes */

==Summary==
Faust and Mephistopheles ride towards the prison where Gretchen is being held on black horses. They pass a gallows on which a group of witches is congregating. The witches are also brewing something but Mephisto tells Faust that he doesn't know what they are brewing. Faust wonders what is going on, but Mephisto urges him to keep going.

==Notes==
As Faust and Mepisto were racing across the country side, Faust noticed a group of witches gathered around the Ravestone. Faust asks Mephisto what the witches are doing, and Mephisto responds "I know not what they shape and brew". Faust starts to notice and wonder about the witches actions. Mephisto urges Faust to continue on.

==Commentary==
This short section of the allegorical poem, when Faust and Mephisto gallop through the open country at night, is significant because Faust prefers to take the beaten path on this journey as well, in his ordinary life, instead of a well traveled road. He is also using the idea of nature which many romantics used. The night is symbolic of darkness that is generated from the devil and from the surroundings. Both of these are in reference to the idea of romanticism. "Artists as self-expressive individuals, the ideas of "nature," death's connection to love, night (i.e., subconscious) fears..." (Dopp).

==Study Questions==
(1) What is special about the horses that Mephisto and Faust ride?

(2) Where are they going?

(3) What do they pass on their way?

(4) What does Mephisto urge Faust to do as they come up upon the hill?

==External Resources==
[http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/hum_303/faust.html Faust Study Guide]

==Works Cited==
Dopp, Bonnie Jo. "Romanticism: Imagining Freedom." Library Journal 131.3 (2006).

Faust: Night, Open Country

2006-03-03T18:10:50Z

Swalker: /* Summary */

Faust: Night, Open Country

2006-03-03T17:58:58Z

Swalker: /* Study Questions */

==Summary==
Faust and Mephistopheles ride towards the prison where Gretchen is being held on black horses. They pass a gallows on which a group of witches is congregating. Faust wonders what is going on, but Mephisto urges him to keep going.

==Notes==
==Commentary==
This short section of the allegorical poem, when Faust and Mephisto gallop through the open country at night, it is significant because Faust perfers to take the beaten path on this journey as well, in his ordinary life, instead of a well traveled road. He is also using the idea of nature which many romantics used. The night is symbolic of darkness that is generated from the devil and from the surroundings. Both of these are in reference to the idea of romanticism. "Artists as self-expressive individuals, the ideas of "nature," death's connection to love, night (i.e., subconscious) fears..." (Dopp).

==Study Questions==
(1) What is special about the horses that Mephisto and Faust ride?

(2) Where are they going?

(3) What do they pass on their way?

(4) What does Mephisto urge Faust to do as they come up upon the hill?

==External Resources==
[http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/hum_303/faust.html Faust Study Guide]

==Works Cited==
Dopp, Bonnie Jo. "Romanticism: Imagining Freedom." Library Journal 131.3 (2006).

Faust: An Overcast Day, a Field

2006-03-03T17:53:04Z

Swalker: /* Study Questions */

==Summary==
Faust discovers that Gretchen has been imprisoned, and Mephistopheles has known and not said a word. He is very distraught over the news: "A condemned criminal, shut up in a dungeon and suffering horrible torments, the poor unfortunate child!" (l. 4247-4248). With indifference, Mephisto states that Gretchen would not be the first person to suffer, sending Faust into an even angrier state. Mephisto basically tells him that everything that happened to Gretchen and thus far in his life is his fault--he signed the contract, he impregnated Gretchen. Faust demands that Mephisto do something to save Gretchen from her fate, and Mephisto tells Faust that he will only be able to assist in the rescue. Faust must physically liberate her from the prison.

==Notes==

This section was the only section that Goethe left in the original prose format. When Faust finds out that Gretchen is being torchered in prision while him and Mephisto are having entertainment, he is outraged. His anger is almost beyond expression (Gray 152). He demands that Mephisto save Gretchen from prison. Mephisto tells Faust that if he wants her out of the prison, he will have to do it own his own, and all Mephisto can do is accomany him. Mephisto tells Faust that in order to save Gretchen, they must return to the town in where Valentine was killed. Mephisto warns Faust that there are spirts waiting in the town for the murderer to return. Faust doesn't care. He demands that Mephisto take him there. Mephisto then says that the only thing that he can do is to "cause the jailer's senses to be befunddled, then you seize the keys and lead her out. Only a human can do it. I'll keep watch" (620).

==Commentary==

Goethe leaves the part of an overcast day in this story, perhaps for the effect of a depressing mood for a depressing subject. Nature has "ability to affect us" (Grandy 26). This also goes back to the idea of the romantics (nature). Faust discovers that Gretchen is imprisoned. Faust then calls out to the Lord "O you infinite Spirit, change the worm back into a dog" (621). Faust blames Mephisto for Gretchen being in prison and wants help. The field and the overcast day is a constant idea of nature talked or acted about throughout the entire story.

==Study Questions==
(1) What does Faust discover at the beginning of this section?

(2) Why does this discovery cause him to turn to Mephisto in anger?

(3) Why did Mephisto not share this information with Faust?

(4) What is Mephisto's callous remark in regards to Gretchen and her plight?

(5) Who is the Spirit that Faust keeps beseeching?

(6) What does he want this spirit to do?

(7) How does Mephisto place the blame for this occurance on Faust?

(8) What does Faust demand that Mephisto do in regards to the information he has discovered?

(9) What reason does Mephisto give that he and Faust should not return to save Gretchen?

(10) Mephisto says he only has the power to assist in rescuing Gretchen. How must she be liberated?

(11) What does Mephisto say that he can do to help Faust once they get to the prison?

(12) What will take Faust and Mephisto to the prison?

==External Resources==
[http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/hum_303/faust.html Faust Study Guide]

==Works Cited==
Cooksey, Thomas L. "'Talk Not of a Wife': ''The Devil and Daniel Webster'', ''Cabin in the Sky'', and ''Damn Yankees''--American Contributions to the Faust Legend." Journal of Popular Film & Television 27 (1999): 18-27. Literature Resource Center. Macon State College, Forsyth. 03 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Faust.

Gray, Ronald D. ''Goethe: A Critical Introduction''. Cambridge University Press. New York: 1967.

Grandy, David. "Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies." Santa Monica. 17.1/2 (2005).

Faust: An Overcast Day, a Field

2006-03-03T17:45:32Z

Swalker: /* Notes */

==Summary==
Faust discovers that Gretchen has been imprisoned, and Mephistopheles has known and not said a word. He is very distraught over the news: "A condemned criminal, shut up in a dungeon and suffering horrible torments, the poor unfortunate child!" (l. 4247-4248). With indifference, Mephisto states that Gretchen would not be the first person to suffer, sending Faust into an even angrier state. Mephisto basically tells him that everything that happened to Gretchen and thus far in his life is his fault--he signed the contract, he impregnated Gretchen. Faust demands that Mephisto do something to save Gretchen from her fate, and Mephisto tells Faust that he will only be able to assist in the rescue. Faust must physically liberate her from the prison.

==Notes==

This section was the only section that Goethe left in the original prose format. When Faust finds out that Gretchen is being torchered in prision while him and Mephisto are having entertainment, he is outraged. His anger is almost beyond expression (Gray 152). He demands that Mephisto save Gretchen from prison. Mephisto tells Faust that if he wants her out of the prison, he will have to do it own his own, and all Mephisto can do is accomany him. Mephisto tells Faust that in order to save Gretchen, they must return to the town in where Valentine was killed. Mephisto warns Faust that there are spirts waiting in the town for the murderer to return. Faust doesn't care. He demands that Mephisto take him there. Mephisto then says that the only thing that he can do is to "cause the jailer's senses to be befunddled, then you seize the keys and lead her out. Only a human can do it. I'll keep watch" (620).

==Commentary==

Goethe leaves the part of an overcast day in this story, perhaps for the effect of a depressing mood for a depressing subject. Nature has "ability to affect us" (Grandy 26). This also goes back to the idea of the romantics (nature). Faust discovers that Gretchen is imprisoned. Faust then calls out to the Lord "O you infinite Spirit, change the worm back into a dog" (621). Faust blames Mephisto for Gretchen being in prison and wants help. The field and the overcast day is a constant idea of nature talked or acted about throughout the entire story.

==Study Questions==
(1)What does Faust discover at the beginning of this section?

(2)Why does this discovery cause him to turn to Mephisto in anger?

(3)Why did Mephisto not share this information with Faust?

(4)What is Mephisto's callous remark in regards to Gretchen and her plight?

(5)Who is the Spirit that Faust keeps beseeching?

(6) What does he want this spirit to do?

(7)How does Mephisto place the blame for this occurance on Faust?

(8)What does Faust demand that Mephisto do in regards to the information he has discovered?

(9) What reason does Mephisto give that he and Faust should not return to save Gretchen?

(10) Mephisto says he only has the power to assist in rescuing Gretchen. How must she be liberated?

(11) What does Mephisto say that he can do to help Faust once they get to the prison?

(12)What will take Faust and Mephisto to the prison?

==External Resources==
[http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/hum_303/faust.html Faust Study Guide]

==Works Cited==
Cooksey, Thomas L. "'Talk Not of a Wife': ''The Devil and Daniel Webster'', ''Cabin in the Sky'', and ''Damn Yankees''--American Contributions to the Faust Legend." Journal of Popular Film & Television 27 (1999): 18-27. Literature Resource Center. Macon State College, Forsyth. 03 Mar. 2006. Keyword: Faust.

Gray, Ronald D. ''Goethe: A Critical Introduction''. Cambridge University Press. New York: 1967.

Grandy, David. "Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies." Santa Monica. 17.1/2 (2005).

Faust: An Overcast Day, a Field

2006-03-02T23:19:10Z

Swalker: /* Study Questions */

==Summary==
Faust discovers that Gretchen has been imprisoned, and Mephistopheles has known and not said a word. He is very distraught over the news: "A condemned criminal, shut up in a dungeon and suffering horrible torments, the poor unfortunate child!" (l. 4247-4248). With indifference, Mephisto states that Gretchen would not be the first person to suffer, sending Faust into an even angrier state. Mephisto basically tells him that everything that happened to Gretchen and thus far in his life is his fault--he signed the contract, he impregnated Gretchen. Faust demands that Mephisto do something to save Gretchen from her fate, and Mephisto tells Faust that he will only be able to assist in the rescue. Faust must physically liberate her from the prison.

==Notes==

When Faust finds out that Gretchen is being torchered in prision while him and Mephisto are having entertainment, he is outraged. His anger is almost beyond expression (Gray 152). He demands that Mephisto save Gretchen from prison. Mephisto tells Faust that if he wants her out of the prison, he will have to do it own his own, and all Mephisto can do is accomany him. Mephisto tells Faust that in order to save Gretchen, they must return to the town in where Valentine was killed. Mephisto warns Faust that there are spirts waiting in the town for the murderer to return. Faust doesn't care. He demands that Mephisto take him there. Mephisto then says that the only thing that he can do is to "cause the jailer's senses to be befunddled, then you seize the keys and lead her out. Only a human can do it. I'll keep watch" (620).

==Commentary==
==Study Questions==
(1)What does Faust discover at the beginning of this section?

(2)Why does this discovery cause him to turn to Mephisto in anger?

(3)Why did Mephisto not share this information with Faust?

(4)What is Mephisto's callous remark in regards to Gretchen and her plight?

(5)Who is the Spirit that Faust keeps beseeching?

(6) What does he want this spirit to do?

(7)How does Mephisto place the blame for this occurance on Faust?

(8)What does Faust demand that Mephisto do in regards to the information he has discovered?

(9) What reason does Mephisto give that he and Faust should not return to save Gretchen?

(10) Mephisto says he only has the power to assist in rescuing Gretchen. How must she be liberated?

(11) What does Mephisto say that he can do to help Faust once they get to the prison?

(12)What will take Faust and Mephisto to the prison?

==External Resources==
[http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/hum_303/faust.html Faust Study Guide]

==Works Cited==
Gray, Ronald D. ''Goethe: A Critical Introduction''. Cambridge University Press. New York: 1967.

Faust: An Overcast Day, a Field

2006-03-02T23:18:50Z

Swalker: /* Study Questions */

==Summary==
Faust discovers that Gretchen has been imprisoned, and Mephistopheles has known and not said a word. He is very distraught over the news: "A condemned criminal, shut up in a dungeon and suffering horrible torments, the poor unfortunate child!" (l. 4247-4248). With indifference, Mephisto states that Gretchen would not be the first person to suffer, sending Faust into an even angrier state. Mephisto basically tells him that everything that happened to Gretchen and thus far in his life is his fault--he signed the contract, he impregnated Gretchen. Faust demands that Mephisto do something to save Gretchen from her fate, and Mephisto tells Faust that he will only be able to assist in the rescue. Faust must physically liberate her from the prison.

==Notes==

When Faust finds out that Gretchen is being torchered in prision while him and Mephisto are having entertainment, he is outraged. His anger is almost beyond expression (Gray 152). He demands that Mephisto save Gretchen from prison. Mephisto tells Faust that if he wants her out of the prison, he will have to do it own his own, and all Mephisto can do is accomany him. Mephisto tells Faust that in order to save Gretchen, they must return to the town in where Valentine was killed. Mephisto warns Faust that there are spirts waiting in the town for the murderer to return. Faust doesn't care. He demands that Mephisto take him there. Mephisto then says that the only thing that he can do is to "cause the jailer's senses to be befunddled, then you seize the keys and lead her out. Only a human can do it. I'll keep watch" (620).

==Commentary==
==Study Questions==
(1)What does Faust discover at the beginning of this section?

(2)Why does this discovery cause him to turn to Mephisto in anger?

(3)Why did Mephisto not share this information with Faust?

(4)What is Mephisto's callous remark in regards to Gretchen and her plight?

(5)Who is the Spirit that Faust keeps beseeching?

(6) What does he want this spirit to do?

(7)How does Mephisto place the blame for this occurance on Faust?

(8)What does Faust demand that Mephisto do in regards to the information he has discovered?

(9) What reason does Mephisto give that he and Faust should not return to save Gretchen?

(10)Mephisto says he only has the power to assist in rescuing Gretchen. How must she be liberated?

(11) What does Mephisto say that he can do to help Faust once they get to the prison?

(12)What will take Faust and Mephisto to the prison?

==External Resources==
[http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/hum_303/faust.html Faust Study Guide]

==Works Cited==
Gray, Ronald D. ''Goethe: A Critical Introduction''. Cambridge University Press. New York: 1967.

Faust: An Overcast Day, a Field

2006-03-02T23:16:51Z

Swalker: /* Works Cited */

Faust: An Overcast Day, a Field

2006-03-02T23:15:44Z

Swalker: /* Notes */

Faust: Faust's Study (1)

2006-03-02T23:05:36Z

Swalker: /* The Gospel of John */

Faust: An Overcast Day, a Field

2006-03-02T23:03:17Z

Swalker: /* Notes */

Faust: Faust's Study (1)

2006-02-27T00:17:13Z

Swalker: /* Notes */

Faust: Faust's Study (1)

2006-02-27T00:04:24Z

Swalker: /* Works Cited */