What is the summary of Notes from Underground?

In his short 1864 book, Notes From Underground, Fyodor Dostoyevsky tells the story of a man who is “too conscious.” The man, whose name we never learn is so aware of his own thoughts and feelings as to cause him to be indecisive and overly self-critical.

What is Notes from the Underground a response to?

And so, finally, in 1864, Dostoevsky writes Notes from the Underground, at least in part as a response to Chernyshevsky’s What Is to Be Done? from a year before. Remember, Chernyshevsky was all about rational egoism and the Crystal Palace – both of which are slandered and mocked in Notes from the Underground.

Why does the narrator write notes from the underground?

The narrator is “underground” because he has chosen not to participate, not to accomplish, not to interact, not even to justify his non-participation in “ordinary” life. Yet, he is bored, and so he chooses to occupy himself by writing these notes.

How does the narrator react to the fight at the tavern?

How does the narrator react to the fight at the tavern? He goes inside the tavern to join the brawl. “I’ll get into a fight, and they’ll throw me out the window, too.”

How would you describe the Underground Man?

As a young man, the Underground Man is already misanthropic, proud, self-effacing, and bitter, but he also still clings to certain ideals. He is passionate about literature, craves human attention, and wants others to respect and admire him for his intelligence and passion.

What is the purpose of having an unreliable narrator in Notes underground?

The Underground Man is a prime example of what is known in literature as an unreliable narrator: because everything we learn from the Underground Man is filtered though the lens of his own nihilistic, anguished perspective, we can never be sure he is telling us the objective truth about anything.

What did the narrator find in the lake?

After an encounter with a Bad Character goes awry, the narrator hides at the edge of Greasy Lake, where he finds a dead body. Between the physical fight with the Bad Character and the horror of discovering the body, the narrator is shaken and changed.