Dostoevsky's Underground Man was the inaugural novel featuring an anti-hero. Self-sabotaging, malicious, and hypocritical. Reading this book is essential to avoid falling into familiar pitfalls and prevent becoming like the individuals described.
The narrative traces the life of the narrator, who is an "underground man." He only thinks about everything without doing anything.
Zverkov, an ex-classmate of the underground man, goes on to become a prosperous and self-assured officer in the military. He speaks to the narrator in a disrespectful and demeaning way, informing him that nobody considers him important.
Stung by the rejection, the underground man, who was already envious of his more successful peers and consumed by a sense of superiority, makes a vow to confront him to regain his self-esteem... He uses a carriage to go to the place he thinks Zverkov is, but upon his arrival, Zverkov is not present. Faced with this minor obstacle, the narrator quickly decides to surrender. He easily gives up on the one thing he knew could restore his self-esteem. He has such little regard for himself that he no longer values self-respect.
He desires harmful and resentful outcomes for those nearby, yet does little to achieve this, contributing significantly to his extreme unhappiness. He spends his inner thoughts berating himself for not taking action and making a vow to act in the future, even though he knows he never will. He harbors bitterness towards Zverkov and his old school friends for their achievements.
Instead of taking ownership of his social ineptitude or lack of accomplishments, he sees others' success as a personal injustice imposed on him by a harsh and indifferent society.
Key Point 1:
By shying away from challenges, he ended up creating a new challenge for himself: a purposeless life. Despite being aware that facing challenges is crucial for leading a meaningful and satisfying life... He remains a coward. Failing to follow through on your promises causes others to doubt you and also leads to a lack of self-respect. You view yourself as a person who never acts or overcomes challenges, destroying all self-esteem.
By shying away from challenges, he ended up creating a new challenge for himself: a purposeless life. Despite being aware that facing challenges is crucial for leading a meaningful and satisfying life... He remains a coward. Failing to follow through on your promises causes others to doubt you and also leads to a lack of self-respect. You view yourself as a person who never acts or overcomes challenges, destroying all self-esteem.
Key Point 2:
He always avoids taking responsibility. He attributes his unhappiness and lack of self-esteem to others. He holds the world responsible for his absence of friends. He holds his school responsible for turning him into a conformist. He holds people responsible for their inability to comprehend him due to their lack of intelligence. He fails to acknowledge his ordinariness to the majority and craves acknowledgment and praise for simply being. However, he undermines those below him on the social ladder, causing them to feel small and insignificant.
He always avoids taking responsibility. He attributes his unhappiness and lack of self-esteem to others. He holds the world responsible for his absence of friends. He holds his school responsible for turning him into a conformist. He holds people responsible for their inability to comprehend him due to their lack of intelligence. He fails to acknowledge his ordinariness to the majority and craves acknowledgment and praise for simply being. However, he undermines those below him on the social ladder, causing them to feel small and insignificant.
Key point 3:
He displays an attitude of intellectual arrogance. Instead of making a positive change in his life, he is fully aware of how sad the situation is. He remains assured of his own correctness... He views his former schoolmates who have achieved greater success as simply choosing a less intelligent route compared to his own. Despite never showing any evidence of his 'intelligence', he believes he is more knowledgeable than those around him. He is an average individual with moderate intellect who has deluded himself into believing he is a unique genius of his time. In the end, his high level of intelligence has made it difficult for him to succeed in society.
He displays an attitude of intellectual arrogance. Instead of making a positive change in his life, he is fully aware of how sad the situation is. He remains assured of his own correctness... He views his former schoolmates who have achieved greater success as simply choosing a less intelligent route compared to his own. Despite never showing any evidence of his 'intelligence', he believes he is more knowledgeable than those around him. He is an average individual with moderate intellect who has deluded himself into believing he is a unique genius of his time. In the end, his high level of intelligence has made it difficult for him to succeed in society.