Underground Condition

In Notes from Underground Fyodor Dostoevsky presents the life of an individual living in the underground condition. Dostoevsky notes on the first page that the notes and the narrator are fictional. However, he also states that the narrator is "one representative of a generation that is still living out its life" (Dostoevsky 1). Dostoevsky then states that the narrator will introduce himself and "elucidate the reasons why he appeared and had to appear among us" (Dostoevsky 1). The narrator then represents the underground condition. A consideration of the narrator will show that the underground condition refers to a person defined by rejection and alienation, loneliness, a life based on fantasy, and anger and spite. Each of these aspects of the underground life will now be considered, with a focus on showing how these aspects define the person's life and on showing why the underground man acts the way...
[ View Full Essay]