POST:Great Lines from Notes from Underground (closes Sun.)

" And try letting yourself be carried away by your feelings, blindly, without reflection, without a primary cause, repelling conciousness at least for a time, hate or love, if only not to sit with yoru hands folded" (page 12).

I think that this describes how Dostoyevsky is feeling at the moment and that he is feeling trapped down and he perhaps he doesn't have as much freedom with the choices he makes as he would like. It ties to existentialism because it deals with choices.

I also think that Dostoyebvsky is talking about doing something you really want and not to over analyze it or think too much about it. Don't always be on the safe side of things, take a risk and enjoy it while you can... then deal with the consequences later. You have to take advantage of your free will and choice while you have it, and life is all about choices so you should just pursue them.

" I do not respect myself. Can a man of perception respect himself at all?"
pg. 10 last line


This line really caught my attention because this takes place after the whole tooth ache incident and it really shows that when he was in so much pain he wanted everyone else to feel pain as well. He wanted everyone to suffer as much as he was. I thought that was interesting when he said he didn't respect himself because maybe he's thinking he's not a very good/happy person and he should change his views on life.

"I am going there...Either they shall all go down on their knees to beg for my friendship, or I will give Zverkov a slap in the face!" (56)

This is an interesting quote that represents alot of continuity and change from the first part of the story to the second. The independence seen in the first part of the story by The Underground Man is lost to some extent here where he desires their friendship dearly. Also his threat of slapping Zverkov deviates from his tendency of strong opinions, but inaction in the first part. This inaction is an integral part to his character as a whole. Such action as proposed here would work against his "underground" nature. Although his relative disregard for social conduct is consistant in his desire to slap Zverkov. This could be a major point in the Underground Man's life that turns him into the strange man of the first part of the story.

"Nature does not ask your permission, she has nothing to do with your wishes, and whether you like her laws or dislike them, you are bound to accept her as she is, and consequently all her conclusions." (Pg 8. )

I like this quote because it can apply not only to nature, but to the relationship between women and men. They are stubborn in their own ways in that men won'e change for a woman, and women won't change for a man. Therefore, what you see is what you get.

"'I am alone and they are everyone,' I thought - and pondered." -Pg. 31

This is when he is reminiscing about his past, about when he was young. I saw this particular view of his as very striking, because it really portrayed the root of most of his opinions. Here, he seems to say that his thoughts and his individualism is completely separate from everyone else. He sees the rest of the world as one massive object, and he sees him self as a meer speck in the universe. This really reflects the existential thought, in that he is an individual and he holds his own opinions and responsibilities.

The part I selected is in page 30 and goes like this:

"My face may be ugly," I thought, "but let it be lofty, expressive, and, above all, extremely intelligent." But I was positively and painfully certain that it was impossible for my countenance ever to express those qualities.

When I read this, at first I thought to myself "wow this guy can actually be a little optimistic and positive" and then I kept on reading and got disappointed and upset again. He became pesimistic again, and he knows he can be and do better but doesn't believe in himself and thus he choses to be this way.
The words he used really shocked me too. Words like positively, painfully, impossible, and ever. He was so sure there was no way possible for him to have this qualities - ever! It seems to me like he puts himself down a lot.

I am liking part 2 a lot more than part 1...it actually makes sense. Like this passage, I found a lot more that made me think and be more interested in the story.

"...if I don't consult a doctor it is from spite. My liver is bad, well -- let it get worse!" pg. 1
I loved this, it made me take him seriously. It let me know he is not just some guy who is discontent with the world and complaining into a book. No, this guy is for real, he makes himself discontent and he does it on purpose. However crazy he is, he is willing to take it to the extreme.
He could die but is he going to the doctor? Hell no! He'd rather die, in fact, he'd perfer to and he would like it.
For some reason this quality makes me like him. He's crazy and I love the crazy people.

"That is not all;then you say, science itself will teach man (though to my mind it's superfloous luxury) that he never has really had any caprice or will of his own,and that he himself is something of the nature of a piano-key or the stop of an organ, and that there are, beside, things called the laws of nature, so that everything he does is not done by his willing it, but is done of itself, by the laws of nature." (16)

To me, this quote implies that man has a choice for he does not have to follow the "laws of nature". Man is free and has free will in doing what he pleases,relating to existentialism.The narrator of this novel is expressing freedom and the need to be able to choose. A human being has the freedom to dertermine what he or she wants to do.

"I will explain; the enjoyment was just from the too intense consciousness of one's own degregation; it was from feeling oneself that had reached the last barrier; that it was horrible, but that it could not be otherwise, that there was no escape for you; that you never could become a different man; that even if the time and faith were still left you to change into something different you would most likely not wish to change, or if you did wish to, even then you would do nothing; because perhaps in reality there was nothing for you to change into" (5).

I liked this quote because it sticks to the basic existential thought of mind. He explains how even if someone wanted to change they couldn't because there is nothing to change into, which I took as him trying to explain that someones path is already set for them and even if they wanted to they could not change their path.

"And if he does not find means he will contrive destruction and chaos, will contrive sufferings of all sorts, only to gain his point!" (22)

This quote follows the piano key concept about not letting oneself be played. Man will never stop trying to prove that he is the one who decides for himself, not others. Man is responsible for his actions and how they affect the lifestyle he leads. The author's tone of voice makes it seem like man will go to extremes to prove to himself that he is in charge of his life.

“There was a great deal of noise, even showing in a room further away: one could hear the laughter of a crowd of people and nasty little shrieks in French: there were ladies at the dinner. It was sickening in fact”(49).

I don’t think that this line was a great line but it was a line that was unique and weird. The sentence above this line talks about people eating in dead silence, where it then reverts into talking about people in laughter. This whole paragraph just made me stop to think about what the author was really trying to say. I guess that I took an insignificant sentence and over analyzed this sentence and paragraph. Dostoyevsky has many lines throughout the story that makes you stop and really analyze the different parts of that line and forces you to come up with a deeper meaning to that line.

"In fact, I believe that the best definition of man is the ungrateful biped." page 20. This quote sums up a lot of what Dostoevsky is saying up until this point: basically that even if man has everything perfect, he will try to sabotage it for the excitement and to show that he controls his own destiny. Right after this part follows the piano-key metaphor, and I love that because it works on so many different levels. Man will not be the puppet, and man will not get played by someone or something else, but he will purposely ruin his life just to say that controlled his fate.

"One's own free unfettered choice, one's own caprice, however wild it may be, one's own fancy worked up at times to frenzy- is that very "most advantageous advantage" which we have overlooked, which comes under no classification and against which all systems and theories are continually being shattered to atoms" (17).
I thought this quote exemplified Dostoyevsky's views towards free will, while expressing his belief that free will drives all actions and is still overlooked by society despite its importance.

"Ha!ha!ha!But you know there is no such thing as choice in realit, say what you like" P.18

This qoute goes against the whole existentialism idea. How we are left to make our own choices in this corrupt world. Thats really the only idea that it goes against. That all your choices have already been figured out and that you can't make any real choices.

My Line is on page 15, " The fact is,gentleman, it seems ... which dearer to him then all"
- I thought it was a perfect example of the type of rabbeling this character is capable of, instead of just getting to the point he beats around the bush alot and is very wordy.
- It shows the characters horrible view that he has for just about all of mankind
- Gives the impression that man is so selfish that anyone would be willing to brake down an entire civilization's morals and laws only to benift himself
- Pessamestic view that we can make our own decisions, but will most likely make the most destructive ones

Hi folks,

These are terrific selections of lines with strong, thoughtful commentaries. Great work. Keep it up.

Mr. K

"The fact is gentlemen, it seems there must really exist someting that is dearer to almost every man that his greatest adavantages, or (not to be illogical) there is a most advantageous advantage (the very one omitted of which we spoke just now) which is more important and more advantageous than all other advantages, for the sake of which a man if necessary is ready to act in opposition to all laws; that is, in opposition to reason, honour, peace, prosperity - in fact, in opposition to all those excellent and useful things if only he can attain that fundamental, most advantageous advantage that is dearer to him than all"(15).


This very long sentence first got my attention because Dostoyevsky says "advantageous advantage." Thats what got me out of the trance-like reading that I'm sure lots of people found themselves falling into when reading the first part of this book.
This quote is full of the common existentialist ideas that are all throughout the first part, which include choice and free will. The "most advantageous advantage" may not be the best thing for you, but F.D. explains that even if that is so, you still have the choice to make it. Often the thing that isn't best for you helps you grow or learn more than the easy thing, or whatever it is that might make you the happiest. I know "thing" isnt the best word to use, but there are so many aspects that this idea can be included in, so hopefully "thing" can be substituted for all of them today. It is this choice you have that can help shape your being, or create your "essence," as Kelso discussed in our class.

F.D. also starts this off by saying "gentlemen," which he says many times through out the book. It seems like every time he says it, he is being condescending, talking to the reader as if he/she is inferior to his intellect.
I almost think it doesn't matter and that he has every right to address us like that, because it IS Dostoyevsky writing, and its obvious from what is written that he is a genious. Weird maybe, but a genious none the less.

My quote is on page 26:

"I swear to you, gentlemen, there is not one thing, not one word of what I have written that I really believe."

This quote caught my attention because I think it really shows the true character of the narrator. He is so insecure and the opinions of others actually are important to him even though he denied it. He cares about what other people think so much because he's constantly trying to earn power and respect, which he never got from his whole life. His mind is constantly in battle, and it's full of contradictions and confusions. And this state of instability and insecurity is best shown through this quote because he's even afraid of the reader's judegement.

"He would even risk his cakes and would deliberatelydesire the most fatal rubbish, the most uneconmical absurdity, simply to introduce into all this positive good sense his fatal fantastic element. It is just his fantastic dreams, his vulgar folly that he will desire to retain, simply in order to prove himself-- as though that were so necessary-- that men are still men and not the keys of a piano," (page 21).
I choose this quote because it was interesting and of its ties to the exisitentialial theme in the book. This quote talks about how man needs to think that he has the ability to choose his fate. That man would defey nearly all laws of reason just to prove that he had the ability to choose. This quote talks about how man would not be able to accept that they were slaves to the "laws of nature." This quote shows that man has the necessity to choose their path through life.

My selection was less ambiguous than the others but here it is:
“Now, I am living out my life in my corner, taunting myself with the spiteful and useless consolation that an intelligent man cannot become anything seriously, and it is only the fool who becomes anything.” (2).

The Underground Man kept repeating to his readers that he is an intelligent one. Someone beyond extraordinary, and that he is. But these words prove to us that either this is true & intelligent people do not succeed most of the time, or that he is blaming something that he can’t control and not taking responsibility in his failure, like a little child would do.
I tend to agree with the lines that Dostoyevsky writes however because many smart people use their intelligence towards something meaningless, and just waste it. While the fool somehow passes curves and make it in life.

"I swear to you gentlemen, there is not one thing, not one word of what I have written that I believe... I feel and suspect that I am lying like a cobbler." (page 26)

I found this quote ironic to what the underground man was writing in part one of the book. To me, the narrator feels that although he knows he is a very knowledgeable man he writes that he himself doubts himself and maybe unsure of his thoughts and feelings towards life. I find this unusual because of what he writes and the language he uses in the beginning of part one. He seems so confident and very opiniated in his writing and it makes you think why would he doubt himself?

"..if I feel impelled to do anything, I seem to be pitchforked into it." (48).
To me, this quote really summed up the Underground Man and that was the point I understood him the most throughout the whole novel. Not only does he feel he doesn't have control over his actions, but he therefore does not hold himself completely responsible for these actions either. I just thought it was interesting that the Underground Man sees himself as not having control when his whole theory of existentialism revolves around the idea of choice and free will.

" I am lying because I know myself that it is not underground that is better, but something different, quite different, for which I am thirsting but which I cannot find!" (Pg. 26)

When I read this, it resonated powerfully within me, so much so that I began to wonder why. I still don't know why it attached to my memory, but I constantly thought about it through the rest of the book. What was it that he wanted so badly? I think that it may have been a life of love. When he projected the perfect life or perfect picture to Liza, it was what he wanted. When he described the way he wanted to see her, he was telling her what he wanted in life, what the perfect life he wanted to live. I truly believe that it is that, so different from what he thinks it is of what he wants, but he is thirsting for it constantly. His soul wants it constantly, but his thoughts and feelings and actions of negativity overcame his thirst for happiness and perfection that he described to Liza. And now he regrets it because he does not understand how he can get it, or has forgotten that very thing he cannot find. I think he has been underground for so long that he has numbed himself, but has these moments where his soul bursts in angush for him to go out and live his dream, that it bewilders him and he's confused because he cannot find it, cannot not understands what it is he wants anymore, so he is compelled to cover that confusion by saying that his heart is in the underground, when really it is somewhere far away, and very different from how he is now.

"Another circumstance, too, worried me in those days: that there was no one like me and I was unlike everyone else. "I am alone and they are everyone," I thought- and pondered." Pg. 31

This one was familiar to me. When I was younger I believed that I was alone in the world, and that everyone else were robots. I was being tested, watched and judged for my every action. The robots around me knew what my next move would be, and were only there as a system, or a game, that I had been put into. I always thought of asking my sister if she was a robot. I never told anyone about this thought, and it has been put away in my subconciousness for a long time until I read this quote.

I confess now that I did think you all to be robots subconciously. If you knew me when I was little, I conciously thought of you all as robots. Who knows.... maybe as you're reading this you ponder and think whether or not I'm a robot trying to tell you as an individual that this world is of robots and you have been put into a game, and everyone around you is a robot and reacting to you and your thoughts and how well you play this game.

If you are all robots, I have discovered you out. This game will be quite easy since I know the rules now. Your disguise has been uncovered!

P.S. Don't think me insane. This is just a thought provoked by this quote.

"For forty years together it will remember its injury down to the smallest, most ignominious details, and every time will add, of itself, details still more ignominious, spitefully teasing and tormenting itself with its own imagination" (7).

Since everyone put a SUPER powerful quote, I decided to put the quote that really clarified why Underground Man is the way he is, "spiteful," lonely, etc. This quote tells the reader the basics of what happened to him at some time that obviously changed his outlook on life.

Of course...

senond to last page...

And, indeed, I will ask on my own account here, an idle question:
which is better--cheap happiness or exalted sufferings? Well, which is better?

This sums up the UM man's total view on life.

He chose the exalted sufferings path...the path of the independant

While Liza chose cheap happiness...taking the easy way out...never really thinking for yourself