Essay On Dostoyevsky's Notes From The Underground

To what extent does the nature and form of a film and literature influence what is or is not presented as “reality?” How do we define what is considered as realism and what isn’t?In the world of realism we find ourselves engulfed in an attitude of living in the moment. By this I mean in regards to realism, we deal with situations as they arise. We do not plan or fabricate or use emotions; we use logic. We see this realism prevalent in Dostoyevsky’s Notes from the Underground. In this story realism is continuously shoved at us through the eyes of a disgruntled man. By the same token, we also see realism in Ray’s Panther Panchali. However, I propose the question: are these two realistic media sources the same? Can we clump these two sources

In Notes from the Underground, we witness this peevish man express how he is much more intelligent than most people. He intrinsically brags about how everyone should be just as sullen as he is. If we take this expression at face value all we are left with is a man who is conceited and angry. However ,if we dig a little deeper, we find that underneath his boastfulness, this man secretly wants change. Even though one can argue that the man is looking for counterproductive change. Change is still change at the end of it all. In contrast, Panther Panchali expresses little to no want for change. At the beginning of the film you see the characters going about their everyday routine. Some smiling and laughing, others somber and gloomy. One could argue that the actors, and actresses are, for lack of a better phrase “just going through the motions”. There is no spark or desire to change the circumstances in which they live. Not only does this speak to the general realism of both pieces, but I also believe it speaks to the society depicted in each

In Notes from the Underground, his society is peculiar, at least through his eyes. He is visibly upset when his friends reschedule their restaurant reservations and seemingly forgets to tell him. “I must give Zverkov a slap in the Face! I am obligated to do it” (Dostoevsky 753). He is agitated and distraught when Liza takes so long to show up at his house after he invites here. “ I stood before her, crushed, humiliated, abominably ashamed” (Dostoevsky 773).Now to many readers these just seem like petty things and virtually ridiculous to even get upset about. However through the eyes of the Underground man, its logical. Its real and he has a legitimate reason to be upset. The realism in this piece is often found in the reactions of the Underground man in response to the actions of society and vice versa. To both parties they feel as though it is logical for them to feel the way that they do, which is in essence at the heart of realism. This ties into how Notes from the Underground, in parts, can be considered subjective. We have this back and forth between the Underground man and society because of how unreliable the narrator of the story is, which gives us trouble judging what is “real”. So we as readers are conflicted between telling if the Underground man’s reality is sound or are we accepting a distorted view of reality.On the other hand, as mentioned earlier, the society in Panther Panchali, views