Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground Essay Example for Free

Dostoevskys Notes from resistor analyzeFyodor Dostoevsky is one of the most influential authors in world literature. This Russian author had written several unpar in alleled novels including Crime and Punish custodyt, The Idiot and Brothers Karamazov. However, before the aforementioned novels were published, Dostoevsky had already gained critical acclaim and recognition for his work authorize Notes from impedance. This novel explores how the exemption of public is undermined by the atmosphere of intellectuality that dominated the 17th and 18th centuries. by the novels garter, the secret gentle patch, Dostoevsky illustrates how real independence is objet dartifested in the defiance of movement. The period called the Enlightenment occurred end-to-end the 17th and 18th centuries (Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ). During this age, think g overned over every endeavor, and was valued above everything else. The period left no room for superstition or foolishness ration alness reigned supreme (Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ). former was the means in which man and society butt joint develop for the better.European thought was dominated by materialism, liberalism and more importantly, utopianism (Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ). All of these movements were establish on the thought that authorable and earthy-law theories could establish a perfect society (Emerson, 1992). Perfection was lonesome(prenominal) attainable through with(predicate) with(predicate) the application of agreement and the manifestation of enlightened self-interest (Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ). The prevalence of reason strongly influenced and godlike Dostoevsky to write Notes from Underground (Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ).However, the novel did non convey a message agreeable to the intellectual environs instead, it served to criticize its very existence. Notes from Underground is tangiblely a response to another text, entitled What Is to be make? (Marder, Mey er, Wyshak, n. d. Madden, n. d. ). It was written by N. G. Chernyshevsky and was published in 1863. Chernyshevsky was an advocate of rational egoism, a movement which fervently believed that nonpargonil of life could be achieved through rationality and enlightenment (Madden, n. d. ). The rational egoists also upheld principles of natural law (Madden, n.d. ). Dostoevsky disagreed with the belief that rationality and enlightenment were the keys to perfection. He strongly believed that the nature of man was beyond those two elements. He acknowledge mans capacity for both the rational and the foolish he even upheld that the irrationality of man was more definite, spot the rationality was merely added (Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ). Moreover, Dostoevsky was convinced that laws of nature or the principles of reason were not heart-to-heart of recognizing human individuality, personality, and more importantly, free allow (Madden, n. d. ).These beliefs atomic number 18 embedded in the novel, a text which Rozanov considers a critique of reason as a means to perfection (as cited in Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ). The novel, in the words of Wasiolek, showed how man can be both rational and irrational, as his actions are the result of the suffice of his take emancipation (as cited in Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ). Hence, the theme of freedom in the novel is the utmost disregard for reason and natural laws. The protagonist of the novel is the Underground objet dart, a forty year old man who apply to work in civil service (Dostoevsky, 1992).For a protagonist, he is considered an anti-hero (Madden, n. d. ). He is also the antithesis of the time in which he lived he disagreed with utilitarianism, which prevailed during the 19th century. Utilitarianism was characterized by utilizing mathematical formulas and logical proofs to equate ones wants with his exceed interests (Madden, n. d. ). The Underground gentlemans gentleman disagrees with this he attests that man wants to exercise his freedom and could do so regardless if it agrees with his exceed interests or not. If it is mans desire to act irrational, he could. Of course, acting irrational is not in anyones best interest.However, by being irrational, he was truly able to exercise his freedom. Actions based on desires, instead of reason, modify man to be free. Freedom is thus associated with acting with tabu reason. So in an era where reason dominated, the Underground spell was rather unreasonable. By being unreasonable, he was able to be truly free. In the novel, the Underground composition asserts that science deprives one of freedom. Dostoevsky (1992) writes, Science has managed by now to anatomize man to such a degree that we already know that all your respecting, your so-called free leave is nothing (p.29). The Underground Man so begins his attack on utilitarianism If someday they should really discover the formula for all our whims and wishesI mean, what causes them, what laws theyre governed by, how they develop and where they lead in one case or anotherin other words, an actual mathematical formulawhy, then man volition perhaps immediately stop wishingWho wants to wish consort to graphs (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 29)? Whims and wishes in this quotation refers to the desires of man. The principles of utilitarianism are marked by analysis of peoples desires.These desires permit scrutiny, as to determine if these desires agree with what is best for the people. However, the act of wishing does not involve analysis or scrutiny. One can desire something for no apparent reason. One may wish for something that may conjure harmful in the long run. The exercise of freedom is spontaneous and non-regulated. If one has to base his or her desires from the graphs or formulas of science and math, they would no longer fall under the exercise of freedom. If one is to desire based on the graphs or formulas, it would not be an act of freedom any more.This is because t here is imposition involved the desires are imposed upon by the requirements of science or math. In this situation, the desires of man are dictated by the principles of reason. Thus, freedom disappears upon the use of reason. In the words of the Underground Man, For if desires are one day brought into complete accord with reason, then we shall reason instead of wishing (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 30). The Underground Man continues his argument against utilitarianism by differentiating reason and desires. He statesYou see, gentlemen, reason is unquestionably a fine thing, but reason is no more than reason, and it gives fulfillment only to a mans reasoning capacity, while desires are a manifestation of the whole of lifeI mean the whole of human life, both with its reason and with all its itches and scratches (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 31). In this quotation, the Underground Man affirms that while reason is important, it is not the most important thing. The desires of man, through which freedom c an be exercised, have a much wider scope than reason. Therefore, the desires of man cannot be reduced to graphs and tables because it transcends them.The Underground Man uses the piano key as a symbol of how reason curbs mans freedom He will insist on clinging precisely to his own fantastic dreams, his most vulgar folly, solely in order to confirm himself that men are still men, and not piano keys, which may be played by the hands of natural laws themselves, but which are threatened by this very playing to be brought to a state where it will no longer be possible to wish a thing outside of graphs and schedules (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 34). Piano keys are pressed to make a sound in the process of playing the piano.These keys cannot produce sound on their own they need to be touched and pressed. The analogy between the man and the piano key is what Dostoevsky used to illustrate his point. By measuring mans desires with the graphs and formulas to determine whether or not it is in their be st interests, man becomes a piano key. This is because man comes under the mercy of reason which plays him. To be manipulated by reason is to be bound by its laws therefore, it is not freedom. The Underground Man believes that humankind values freedom over reason and best interests (Madden, n. d. ).Freedom means acting out of ones desires or wishes whether or not the act spoken of is irrational or foolish. In the book, the Underground Man manifests his freedom through several examples. He had swearted acts contrary to reason, making him a truly free individual. Hence, the Underground Man was successful in escaping the realm of reason he despises. The book starts with the Underground Mans access of a disoblige. He says, I think that my liver hurts (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 1). Anyone who experiences pain will surely resort to measures to debar that pain. This is because pain is suffering, and nobody wants to suffer.In the instance that pain is felt, it is only reasonable that one see ks medical financial aid by visiting a doctor. On the contrary, the Underground Man says, No, sir, I refuse to see a doctor out of spite (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 1). This decision is obviously irrational, because he does not want to see a doctor to deal with the pain. In addition, he does not have a valid reason not to go to the doctor. One would presume that he simply takes pleasure in his own pain. A rational man would find this decision as preposterous, as no one ever enjoyed suffering from pain (Madden, n. d.). However, what appears to be a manifestation of masochistic tendencies is actually the Underground Mans exercise of freedom. Reason dictates that when one feels pain, that person should visit the doctor. As was earlier discussed, the Underground Man believes that reason limits freedom, because it only acknowledges the desires that would be in ones best interests. The tolerance of pain and the derivation of pleasure from it is the Underground Mans way of breaking free from re ason. Surely, it is a foolish thing to do, but he does not want to conform to the dictates of reason.He values his freedom, so he refuses to act according to reason. He is a free man he could do as he pleased. Even if it is contrary to his best interests in prolonging such agony, he still does it because he wished to do so. By tolerating pain and deriving pleasure from it, he successful avoids the system of reason. According to the Underground Man, I know better than anyone else that I will only harm myself by this, and no one else. And yet, if I dont seek a cure, it is out of spite. My liver hurts? Good, let it hurt still more (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 2)The Underground Man proceeds with his painful endeavor, this time with a odontalgia. The fourth chapter of the book opens with his laughter Ha-ha-ha You will find pleasure in a as well asthache next And why not? There is pleasure in a toothache ache too (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 14). Just like with the liver ache, the Underground Man all ows himself to feel the pain of his tooth instead of seeing a dentist. He welcomes the pain, and refuses to seek treatment. A critic of the novel, Mikhaylovsky declares that the Underground Man tortures because he wants to, he likes torture.There is uncomplete reason nor purpose here, and, in the opinion of Dostoevksy, they are not at all necessary, for absolute scratchiness is interesting (as cited in Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ). Indeed, this is true. The Underground Man does not subject himself to pain for a reason. In fact, he does so to do away with reason. He refrains from seeking medical treatment because he wants to. By indulge in his desire, he exercises complete freedom. Aside from the aforementioned tolerance of pains, the Underground Man had exercised his freedom through irrationality in other ways. He statesI would feel a certain hidden, morbid, nasty picayune pleasure in the acute awareness that I had once again committed something repelling that day, that what had been through could no longer be undone and I would gnaw and gnaw at myself in subdueuntil the bitterness would finally begin to turn into a kind of shameful, damnable sweetness (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 7). In this excerpt, the Underground Man expresses how he had realized his evil ways by contemplating what he had done. However, instead of wallowing in guilt, the acknowledgement ends up being a source of pleasure. How did the Underground Man manifest his freedom through this?The purveyors of rationality would insist that those who know what is in their best interests would not resort to baseness or frivolity. The Underground Man was aware of vileness of his actions in a way, he was aware it was not in his best interests. However, he did not feel a sense of guilt. The realization of his action that started with bitterness eventually became that of sweetness. He knew what he had done was bad, but this does not change the fact that he derived pleasure from it. His reaction to such vile deeds set him apart from what reason dictates as proper.Because he did not follow the dictates of reason, he had exercised his own freedom through defiance. Reason makes one feel burdened when one commits a nasty or vile action. It supposes that rational ways should be observed, and a nasty or vile action is neer rational. He sights an example when one is forced to apologize for a nasty deed. The Underground Man says Generally, I could never endure saying, Forgive me, Papa, I wont do it againand not because I was incapable of saying it, but, on the contrary, perhaps precisely because I was all too capable of it.And how I did it (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 16) In this passage, the Underground Man expressed disagreement with repentance. He believes that one should not apologize for doing something. He finds apologies as deceiving the claim to never do an act considered vile again seems insincere. In our freedom, we are all capable of doing these acts. Regardless if they are rational o r irrational, we all have the capacity to act according to our own free will. The claim I wont do it again is quite fraudulent, as it is quite understood that anyone can do anything, according to their free will.Thus, it is possible for one to exercise freedom and desire something which is not in ones best interest. According to the Underground Man And what if his utility on a given occasion not only may, but must, lie exactly in choosing for himself the harmful rather than the advantageous? And if this is so, if there can be such an occasion, then the entire overshadow is shattered to smithereens (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 22). The rule spoken of here is the belief that man would choose what is in his best interests. Again, the exercise of freedom lies in choosing or desiring something regardless of their nature.In the above quotation, the Underground Man affirms that there will be instances wherein man will choose what is harmful, instead of what is useful, to him. The moment such si tuation arises, the principle of reason will be disproved. The Underground Man does not believe in the principle that man will act according to what is in his best interests. Neither does he believe that mans desires can be reduced to graphs of science nor formulas of mathematics. The concept of freedom for the Underground Man is that which is contrary to the dictates of reason.He does not acknowledge that man will commit acts that are in tune with his best interests. This would be a violation of his freedom, as the freedom presupposes ones capacity for both the rational and the irrational. If one chooses to commit an irrational act, he is merely exercising his freedom. Did the Underground Man succeed in escaping the realm of reason he so despised? The answer is yes. His tolerance of pain and derivation of pleasure from suffering were take aim defiance to reason. He had rendered himself completely liberated from the atmosphere of rationality.He did and thought as he pleased, whethe r or not it was in his best interests. Indeed, he had escaped, and is completely free. REFERENCES Dostoevsky, F. (1992). Notes from Underground (M. Ginsburg, Trans. ). New York Bantam. (Original work published in 1864). Madden, C. (n. d. ). SparkNote on Notes from Underground. Retrieved March 29, 2008, from http//www. sparknotes. com/lit/underground/ Marder, J. , Meyer, M. , Wyshak, F. (n. d. ). Dostoevskys Notes from Underground Study Guide. Retrieved March 29, 2008, from http//community. middlebury. edu/beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman. hypertext mark-up language