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Apropos Of The Underground Man Analysis

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Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground titular character has a lifestyle that is interconnected with the somber dislike for humanity and being bitter for his own forced isolation. He is highly controlled by his own troublesome ideals. The Underground Man lives by the precedent of his own conceptions on how life should be lived. His perspective of the way people should interact socially and how individuals should be engaging emotionally has been thought constantly and thoroughly. He is highly contradictory in the rationalization of his own practices but appears to rather revile in his own self-pity. The Underground man has a fondness for pitying himself and rather than take part in society naturally, he forces himself into situations that will…show more content…
The details are not necessary, as they are relatively few, but to be brief--an officer brushes shoulders with the Underground Man and causes him to become so encapsulated in standing up to the officer that he spends the next two years basically stalking the gentleman in order to engage him. He is most determined to have proven himself an equal to the officer. A duel is out of the question, the reasons because an officer would likely scoff at the idea of dueling with a citizen. So the Underground man became obsessed with standing up to the officer. This obsession, though bizarre and rather unhealthy, is the sort of thing that apparently enthralls the Underground…show more content…
He feels terrible for the pain he has caused them. It is one thing to have his own case to worry about, but it is another to be weighed down with the guilt of being, however unintentionally, the source of these poor fools' misery. The Underground Man would likely respond differently. His recurring desire for power over other people needs to be understood. He does not care for money as a source of wealth as is common, but instead, he views it as a method of controlling other people. Money is a source of power. He withholds wages from Apollon simply to exert dominance. He chastised Liza for being a prostitute and his attempts at saving her from the lifestyle, makes him feel like the hero and puts him on a power trip. For the Underground Man, life is about power and exercising that power freely according to the whimsical desire. Had he walked Joseph's steps as the warders were being whipped, he would have responded differently. He would have been filled with a satisfaction at his ability to influence their lives. It is not likely that the Underground Man would have wanted to whip them himself. He does not have the nerves. He would, however, gain a certain satisfaction from knowing that he held a small of power in his corner. The mindset that the Underground Man has to what many of us as the readers would deem too illogical or plainly as he would put it ‘mad’. Throughout everything,
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