Reading Notes W10: From Underground, Part A

The underground man’s character and profession are introduced to us in the beginning of the story. He describes himself as a spiteful, unpleasant, and sickly man who worked in the civil service (636-637). Then after some consideration he’s concluded that since he was an honest man and did not accept any bribes that being this way was a reward to himself, which one can assume that he is insinuating that taking bribes were a common theme for a man in that position.

He speaks of the enjoyment in a toothache which I believe is a metaphor for being unable to do anything about the society he is living in. “In the first place, these moans express all the aimlessness of the pain which consciousness finds o humiliating, the whole system of natural laws about which you really don’t give a damn, but because of which you’re suffering nonetheless, while nature isn’t” (642). You can moan about your tooth ache or world around you but it’s too no avail because to do something about it you still have to go to a dentist and to do anything about the pain and agony of civilization you must somehow turn to the political system. Going to the dentist can be just as painful and costly to say the least. The narrator continues to connect with his readers (which I believe he wants to appeal to male readers) as if they are present in the moment with him as he speaks freely. “I even suffered, gentlemen, I can assure you” (643). 

He speaks of lazy as a good quality because a lazy person is capable and recognized by his laziness “Question: who am I? Answer: a sluggard” (645). Because he would have people recognize or pay attention to him. He speaks highly of a man who indulged in drinking, how he did not have a care in the world and he should have chosen the same lifestyle. His intelligence has kept him from enjoying life; he analyzes life instead of enjoying it.

The underground man poses a question to the reasoning of man’s need to improve himself. He compares man’s system to the worthy ant system. The worthy ants began with the anthill, and most likely, they will end with the anthill which does great credit to their perseverance and steadfastness. But man is a frivolous and unseemly creature and perhaps, like a chess player, he loves only the process of achieving his goal, and not the goal itself” (653). Ants work together, they care about how they go about achieving a goal, but men don’t care if they must lie, cheat, misuse, step on other people to obtain what they want.
The underground man tells the reader that they must be gullible as to imagine that He would print his work and allow the to read, yet it has done exactly that (657). He is wondering if he can be honest with himself by speaking his whole truth and in doing so will he also be accepted by his readers. The language suggest that the reader is attempting an unusual way to test his writings.

The narrator continues to live in his head (his consciences) He is assuming that the looks from his co-workers meant they did not care for him and he feels isolated. So, he ascribed his own view to everyone else. I considered it hideous, and I even suspected that there was something repulsive in its expression (658). He is constantly aware of how he thinks he is being perceived. He goes on to speak of his love for reading. I believe that why he uses the word romantic.

Like, many other story Liza is a prostitute that seems to have more moral than the underground man and he in a way envies her. Regardless of her unfortunate circumstances she still holds to the idea of love and longs for it. He misjudged her and end the end sits alone with nothing but his agony “I’d never before endured so much suffering and remorse’ but could there exist even the slightest doubt that when I went rushing out of my apartment, I’d turn back again after going only half. I never met Liza afterward, and I never heard anything more about her” (707). He is full of regret not only with his life but his treatment of her. In the end, the author is alone with his nothing but his conscience.