Dostoevsky’s Notes from Undergound - Reactions to an...

Dostoevsky’s Notes from Undergound - Reactions to an Overdeterministic Existence Some of the works cited are missing Dostoevsky presents his Notes from Undergound as the fragmented ramblings of an unnamed narrator. On the surface, the character’s narration appears disjointed and reaches no conclusive end ing until the author intercedes to end the book. However, a close examination of the underground man’s language reveals a progression in his collected ravings. After expressing dissatisfaction with the notion of determinism, the underground man perceives the irony of his ultra-deterministic reality. Through his narrative, the underground man discovers the truth about his predestined, fictional existence. Dostoevsky’s work is†¦show more content†¦The underground man’s rebellion against determinism and its consequences has become one of the most famous moments in modern thought, and with good reason†(196). Morson observes that, although the underground man denounces a deterministic world, he still believes that he lives in one. The underground man’s resentment of determinism produces irony in that the underground man’s true existence as a fictional character epitomizes determinism, as Morson contends. Morson articulates the irony, stating: â€Å"Here Dostoevsky makes shrewd use of metaliterary devices. For all of his struggles to be free, the underground man is doubly determined, not only from within the narrative world but also from without; not only by the iron logic of spite governing his actions but also by the fact that he is the creation of someone who has plotted all his actions in advance. His world is not just deterministic but overdeterministic. What Dostoevsky has done here is to make the very fact that the story is a story, that it has a structure and has already been written, a sign of failed choice and futile self-assertion†(199). The underground man struggles against the idea that his actions have been pre-determined, yet the reader knows that the outcome has already been decided and already exists as words in coming chapters. The character makes no conscious choice in his existence because the author controls his thoughts and actions. Morson uses a story that