Saturday post

     What I find most interesting about Notes From the Underground is the way it flows. I believe the best way to understand each train of thought is to read it through all the way, and then go back to take notes. I think this method is most effective because each chapter is meant to be a single ramble in the mind of the narrator. I often picture him perhaps sitting on a train or in the car coming home from work. Each chapter is a snapshot of what he is thinking at the time.
     When looking at each chapter as a whole, there is often one general argument that can be extrapolated. Chapter II, for example, I labelled in my notes as "consciousness is a disease", and Chapter III as "The mouse". When looked at as a meaningless ramble, Notes From the Underground does not seem to have any direction. Looked at as a whole however, a general theme emerges. The narrator is analyzing his own role in society; he is also coming to terms with society's ambiguity and the way it shapes man.
     In Chapter V, he writes "I invented adventures for myself and made up a life, so at least to live in some way". This statement immediately stood out to me because, like many of Dostoyevsky's other lines, it struck me as absolutely, almost chillingly true. I feel that we all, to a certain extent, make up adventures for ourselves. Like in Adventure of a Clerk, we have all sat on a train and imagined what it would be like to be a mysterious stranger. Perhaps we do this to fill a gap in our lives; perhaps we do it because life itself can get so dull. The uncomfortable truth that seems to permeate throughout Notes From the Underground is that perhaps, there is something not quite right about the world we live in. I am looking forward to reading more.