Final Reaction

    Like I mentioned in class, I do think think that this book is worth reading, as long as you have a discussion afterwards. While I read the book I found it easier to hate the narrator rather than think of him as a highly intellectual man. His manner of writing was ridiculously difficult to understand, causing me to believe that he was just some spiteful, pessimistic, envious man.
    Our class discussions completely changed my thoughts about the narrator. With each paragraph discussed countless amounts of ideas were retracted. Ideas and concepts that I would have never thought of on my own. I formulated a complete new perception of this man. I suddenly understood why he was so spiteful. Having the clarity to know more than one side to a situation and the intellectual capability he acquired differentiated him from the rest of society. Yet, the underground man was still questioning what made him such an outcast.
      Even though I do not particularly feel a connection to the narrator, his thoughts are applicable to our every day lives. Although he never truly reveals his thoughts he still manages to give rational explanations to questions I've never even thought of. He explains what it is that makes mankind so ungrateful and stupid. We seek to find answers that we do not want; we want a logical explanation to every question we may have, yet when we we're asked if we would take advantage of this opportunity if possible, mostly all of us said no. We do not fear failure, we fear accomplishment. We fear that all of the work leading up to achievement will somehow not turn out as expected and imagined, even worse, what will we do after its accomplished?
       There are so many more topics that the underground man has covered that have overwhelmed me with thoughts. Strangely, they all seem to make sense and are all to some extent true. So many things have been learned from reading even one single page. Yes, it seems impossible to read at first but as you get to understand his thoughts and the way his mind works you understand more of what he is trying to say, which I think is something that I will carry with me for a long time.