In Fyodor DostoevskyÃÂs Notes from Underground the underground man is an extremely complex and challenging character. After inspecting the character, one comes to realize that the underground man is composed of several of the dysfunctional qualities that exist in all types of people in society. Dostoevsky created this character, the ÃÂunderground manÃÂ, in order to expose the shortsightedness of his social circle.
Dostoevsky details the underground man with the qualities of receiving pleasure from pain, repressed memories, disorders, and getting trapped into a ÃÂlifeÃÂ routine. He overemphasizes these qualities to bring out the social dysfunction of his own social circle.
Throughout the book there are numerous instances where the underground man displays a psychological dysfunction known as masochism, which is defined as ÃÂderiving pleasure or the tendency to derive pleasure, from being humiliated or mistreated, either by another or by oneselfÃÂ (Dictionary Online). The underground manÃÂs hatred for the society, in combination with his own powerlessness, somehow makes it pleasurable for him to hurt himself.
English: Timothy McVeigh about to be led out of a ...
FBI mugshot of Timothy McVeigh.
McVeighThe underground man knowingly inflicts pain upon himself and declares, ÃÂI know better than anyone that by all this I am harming only myself and no one else. But still, if I donÃÂt get treated, it is out of wickedness. My liver hurts; well, then let it hurt even worse!ÃÂ (Dostoevsky 4).
The underground man later says: This was a torment of torments, a ceaseless, unbearable humiliation from the thought, which would turn into ceaseless and immediate sensation, of my being a fly before the whole world, a foul, obscene fly-- more intelligent, more developed, more noble than everyone else-- that went without saying-- but a fly, ceaselessly giving way to everyone, humiliated by everyone, insulted by everyone (52).
This instance, which referred to the officer, was the first that one can see the underground...