Dostoevsky's Narrative Analysis

At the beginning of the second half of the novel Dostoevsky’s Narrator is still bitter and angry, reflecting on his life and his place in the world, the universe, and society. However it is now in a social context. He is looking at himself not in comparison with some intangible idea, but with those he is forced to interact with on a daily basis. In an especially passionate part of the novel the Narrator compares Russian language and culture with that of Germany and France. “We Russians, generally speaking, have never had any stupid, translunary German, and more especially French, romantics, who are not affected by anything; let the earth crumble under them, let the whole of France perish on the barricades- they are what they are, they won’t

“Starting at 11 p.m., he (Dostoevsky) wrote in candlelit solitude, tolerating no interruptions. Around dawn he would retire, burrowing into the bed in his study, with his overcoat laid on top of the sheets. He slept until noon. He adored super-strong tea, scalding coffee, Kiev jam, chocolate, and blue raisins, which he shopped for on nearby Nevsky Prospekt, to this day the most glamorous commercial avenue in St. Petersburg.” The way Russians lived at the time that the novel was written is very important to the way the Narrator lives his life. His internal monologue takes the reader through a day in the life of a socially outcast, isolated Russian in the 1860s. The Narrator narrates his daily experiences in his office, his home, the streets, and other various places. All of which reflect Dostoevsky’s experiences with isolationism, as well as existentialism and how it was handled and perceived by the Russian public. Russia was undergoing change and adopting new ways of thinking. “Between 1850 and 1900, Russia 's population doubled, but it remained chiefly rural well into the twentieth century…Industrial growth was significant, although unsteady, and in absolute terms it was not extensive…The leaders of the Populist movement included radical writers, idealists, and

Dostoevsky’s personal views are also thought to affect how the Narrator thinks, and how he perceives the world around him. Although this opinion is not shared by all who have read and analysed Dostoevsky’s wiring, some do feel that his personal experiences greatly effect his characters. Those who do not feel that Dostoevsky was strongly influenced by his personal beliefs when writing Notes From Underground, state that some of the most essential beliefs held by the Narrator are not shared by Dostoevsky. “Notes from Underground, published in 1864, reflects the pain and suffering of a man — but not Dostoevsky, as is often assumed. The narrator is fictional, the values expressed in contrast to the writer’s own religion. It is a study of what Dostoevsky thought the human condition was creating, not what humanity should become.” Much like the nature of Russian to English translation, it is not clear wether Dostoevsky based his novels on his personal experiences or if they were purely fiction. It is widely believed that Dostoevsky had a smilier temperament to that of the Narrate in Notes From Underground. “According to some biographers Dostoevsky was prone to drink and a gambler who wrote about men with even more anti-social tendencies than himself…It is possible that his life made him what he was: bitter, cynical, miserable…” These characteristics are all shared by the Narrator, and seem to define him. “…and I