Almost There: Dostoevsky’s Underground Man
So many people struggle to understand themselves. One can observe the world around him and begin to understand it, but understanding oneself is a different task entirely. Many people struggle to find an identity for themselves, and those people end up placing so much emphasis on how they are viewed that they slowly begin to fabricate themselves rather than identifying themselves. In his book Notes from Underground , Dostoevksy’s “underground man” is no different. He describes himself as “highly conscious” of both himself and the stupidity of mankind, and yet he finds it impossible to identify himself and make decisions that involve his everyday life. Because of his struggle to understand himself, the underground man struggles to function in the world and believes himself to be unable to accomplish anything. Yet eventually, when he tries to torment a woman for her lifestyle, he accidentally pours his heart out to her and reveals that he’s known how to live well all along. Even so, the ...