The Underground Man Research Paper

The Underground Man’s warped perception of reality is widely influenced by his alienation from society, causing him to contradict himself and lose his grasp on commonly accepted ideas. This main idea is consistent throughout the whole novel and affects the overall plotline, as well as character development. As the story progresses, The Underground Man slowly delves into insanity while his views and opinions continue to adjust constantly. His state of well being is governed by his inability to reach out to others and seek help. “Among the special treatments given this subject, the one most impressive to me was the underground theme. The pioneer of this unique consideration of alienation was the Russian literary giant, Fyodor Dostoevsky”
“The Notes begin with the well-known series of successive contradictory statements by the narrator himself. In Chapter 2 of the first part, these contradictions cease to be purely successive within the flow of the narrative” (Hall 129). The Underground Man performs all of his actions out of pure spite, strictly for the purpose of becoming unique. His motivation to push away from the bland society he lives in causes him to detach both physically and mentally from reality. The physical aspect of his illness is clearly acknowledged in the first chapter of the novel. “I am a sick man.... I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man. I believe my liver is diseased. However, I know nothing at all about my disease, and do not know for certain what ails me. I don't consult a doctor for it, and never have, though I have a respect for medicine and doctors. Besides, I am extremely superstitious, sufficiently so to respect medicine, anyway (I am well-educated enough not to be superstitious, but I am superstitious). No, I refuse to consult a doctor from spite” (Dostoevsky). The Underground Man believes that he is both superior in intelligence and consciousness to other humans in society. “At times, it seems that he disdains society and voluntarily withdraws himself into isolation because he feels that he is more intelligent than everyone
This is one of the major relationships in the story that reveals that The Underground Man’s isolation from society has corrupted his views. He does not see Liza as a love factor, but instead as an object that he can manipulate to his liking. An example of this is in Chapter 8 of the second part when The Underground Man is daydreaming about how he can dominate Liza. “I felt particularly bold and cheerful after nine o'clock, I even sometimes began dreaming, and rather sweetly: I, for instance, became the salvation of Liza, simply through her coming to me and my talking to her.... I develop her, educate her. Finally, I notice that she loves me, loves me passionately. I pretend not to understand (I don't know, however, why I pretend, just for effect, perhaps). At last all confusion, transfigured, trembling and sobbing, she flings herself at my feet and says that I am her saviour, and that she loves me better than anything in the world. I am amazed...” (Dostoevsky). The Underground Man has been in solitude for so many years that he cannot comprehend the idea of true love. “However, his isolation does afford him certain benefits. By being so separated from mainstream society, he gains a critical distance from which he can observe, critique, and comment on society. Also, when growing up, his isolation from others gave him time to