Discussion part 1

Today we began talking about The Underground Man’s self-identity issues. I mentioned that he is trying to prove to himself and society that he is not weak, but he is not fooling anyone. He is insecure, yet has the biggest ego, and the saddest part about it is that it’s all an act. It must be a mental hell trying to prove something to yourself that you know is not true. Ari brought up the idea that is scared to show weakness because it may lead people to believe he has feminine qualities; I completely agree. This whole issue has snowballed from insecurities, to a self-identity crisis, and then to self-hatred. Unfortunately, I must admit, the Underground Man captures my sympathy again.

-Morgan Mills

Comment on Carlye's post

Even though I was not in class to participate in and listen to the class discussion, I agree with what Carlye said. The narrator most definitely thinks that he is better than everyone else and hates himself when he shows any signs of weakness. Maybe he has a superiority complex, or maybe he is just an egotistical narcissist, but the man does not like to feel inferior to anybody. In fact, it seems like he deems himself more worthy than everybody around him (and definitely more intelligent). I find it sad that he has such a pessimistic outlook on his peers and the rest of society. No wonder nobody likes him and he has next to no friends. He is difficult to get along with and is offended by practically everything. I wish I were able to listen to the discussion in class today so I could have a deeper understanding of Dostoyevsky's words, because, from the posts I read, I can tell that it was very insightful and helpful in analyzing the book. 

Discussion Number One

Today in class I found the discussion to be very interesting mostly because I got the chance to hear my fellow classmate’s opinions. Hearing and analyzing all of the different interpretations on Dostoyevsky’s writing made me rethink and reanalyze how I had interpreted the novel. For instance, I had not recognized the allusion to faith and religion when Dostoyevsky writes about superstition in the first paragraph. He addresses a trait that every human in the world experiences. In every culture and area of society people will believe in an external force. It’s really just to make us feel more in control, that things to happen because of some predetermined plan. He’s done lying to himself about the idea that reason exists, which is why he acts to chaotically and is constantly contradicting himself. I feel bad for him at times, but I think he finds enjoyment in being unhappy because it makes him feel different.

Comment to Everyone Else' s Thoughts - I was absent today

Having been absent today and reading everyone's posts on today's discussion, I am noticing a trend in people discussing how Dostoyevskey looked at pain. I read that today Megan brought up that pain is a distraction from the narrator's own mind, which I, like Monica, did not consider at all as an idea. I am noticing that a lot of people found it beneficial to read everything together and this discussion of ideas made every single person see something that they did not see before, only proving further how Dostoyevskey's writing can have many, many, many more than one or two interpretations. I believe too that the way someone interprets something is a reflection of themselves as a person, so it will be curious for me (I am actually a huge psychology fan) to see how different people may interpret the same thing and how that can be a reflection of themselves, and trying to connect that with what I think that person is like and how that person will interpret the section.

Comment on First Two Pages, The Painful Presence of Human Emotions

           Personally, I find the most interesting interpretation/comment made today was the observation by Rachel about the idea that the underground man would play with a doll or have a cup of tea if brought to him as an interpretation of some sort of feminine aspect of his character coming out. I feel that it does not necessarily represent any sort of womanly part of his character, but this classification that the act is given proves his point as to why he is so upset with himself that he might soften up enough to this. This fact is what makes the underground man so painfully aware of his humanity, the fact that he does have a soft spot and that he knows that this soft spot would be teased and he would be abused, as he abuses those around him, if he exposed this part of his personality. It is interesting that one of the things that gives the underground man the greatest grasp on humanity is the one thing he despises most about himself, it is almost as if he is conscious of the failures of humanity, therefore he wants to separate himself as much as possible. 

Discussion Part 1 (Alexia Barrios)

            Though we only covered two pages of Notes from the Underground, this form of discussion has allowed me to see some new sides to the character that I previously neglected to see. We also read into lines that originally I did not find to have that much depth behind them, but now I see that literally every line in the first part of the novel has more behind it then what I originally assumed.

An interesting topic of interest was brought up in the first paragraph of the novel; the idea that the pain in his liver is really something that was able to distract him from his own mind. It made me think that maybe the pain was not in his liver at all and the pain was never centralized in one distinct area. He was not a doctor, he could not really know if the pain was really in his liver so it is a possibility that maybe this pain he was feeling was just a self created manifestation of his internal pain. This could have possibly been an example of a somatoform disorder, where his mental instability or illness caused this so called pain in his liver.   

First Day

     I felt that today’s discussion was extremely beneficial for everyone because it portrayed the endless interpretations that can be taken of Dostoevsky’s work. Specifically, I believe that some people over analyzed a few lines in the first paragraphs of the novel. Many said that the author’s spite had to do with these complex reasons when in reality I believe that he was just bored with his job and needed some entertainment. I think we have all found ourselves in a situation where we do things that we later feel guilty about but at the moment they served a great purpose because they entertained us. Overall, I did not like some of the psychological aspects that we were getting into in class because everyone is saying how he is insecure and everything and I am not much of a believer in that psychology bullshit. However, I enjoyed the discussion because I think that it brought about a few topics that I could agree with that I had not considered in the first place.