"Notes From Underground"

Book Review # 115525

English > Analysis
Literature > Russian

A review of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "Notes from Underground".

2,752 words () | 3 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel, "Notes from Underground", centers on an anonymous narrator who shows signs of an inferiority complex and as a result becomes preoccupied with his own purpose and self worth. He becomes so obsessed with adding meaning to his life that fantasies often take over in order to add drama to situations. The paper relates that evidence of this obsession is found in his fantasized interaction with a certain officer, in his hysterical and overly dramatic clash with a friend, and in his idealized relationship with a prostitute, Liza. The paper also discusses how these interactions are critical to understanding what drove this man to isolation and how, due to being afflicted with an inferiority complex, these incidents build up until this final interaction with Liza stresses the Underground Man to the limit and forces him to retreat underground.

From the Paper:

"Although overcompensation for feelings of inferiority are often mistaken for a superiority complex, the Underground Man genuinely has feelings of self-deprecation. He holds himself in such low regard that he at one point claims he wishes laziness were the reason for refraining from doing certain things. At least then there would be a reason and he could respect himself (Dostoevsky 28). As of yet, he is without motive or purpose. When he cannot find the prestige he longs for he begins to desire any type of purpose. The overcompensation commonly manifested in an inferiority complex makes the Underground Man obsessed with proving his self worth. He admits that the dejection was making him hysterical. He sees a couple of men get into a bar fight and he considers beginning a confrontation as well so that he has some function. "

Sample of Sources Used:

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. Notes from Underground. London: Penguin Classics, 2003.
Long, M.D., Phillip W. "Histrionic Personality Disorder." Internet Mental Health. 2008. 5 Nov 2008 <http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis/p20-pe06.html>.
Lin, Timothy. "INFERIORITY COMPLEX: Prevention in Children and Relief from It in Adults." 1997. Biblical Studies Ministries International, Inc. 11 Nov 2008 <www.bsmi.org>.