Talk:Notes from Underground

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Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 05:26, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Moving Forward

We're a group working in a Russian Lit. class and are interested in making this page take further steps

Though this article closes quite appropriately with the final line of the book "it seems that we may stop here," there is still a lot that can be done. The analysis of the text and the structuring of what’s been written so far are solid, but the contextualization of this novel in its respective time period could be better. The “Underground Man” struggles with the bourgeois vanity of Utopian idealism, and through his participation in the dinner party with the officers, he further realizes his absolute isolation with these ideals. The majority of the book focuses on these sentiments of loneliness and comes across as a critique of Russia trying to find its way in the western world by buying into the “crystal palace” romanticism of Europe. This is why we would like to work on an additional piece to this page, which focuses on the impacts of this novel, and how it relates to the larger philosophical concepts circulating when it was written. The Part 1 summary does a nice job by bringing in concepts such as determinism and other psychological/sociological implications of the first half of the book. Part 2 however is still lacking in this regard. Furthermore, there has been plenty written by reliable sources about breaking down Notes From Underground as a critique of European influence in Russia and we believe this needs its own section on this page. The citations are few and far between, which is something we will work to fill in/expand from. We’ll beef up that reference section at the bottom and add an info box. Look forward to working on this. Jdheninger (talk) 13:48, 29 January 2016 (UTC)

Beefing up the bibliography

We'll be attempting to work in these citations along with new content

• Avramenko, Richard, and Lee Trepanier. Dostoevsky's Political Thought. , 2013. Print. http://libcat.dartmouth.edu/search~S1?/X%22Notes+from+Underground%22&SORT=D/X%22Notes+from+Underground%22&SORT=D&SUBKEY=%22Notes+from+Underground%22/1%2C25%2C25%2CB/frameset&FF=X%22Notes+from+Underground%22&SORT=D&2%2C2%2C

• Frank, Joseph, and Mary Petrusewicz. Dostoevsky: A Writer in His Time. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010. Print. http://libcat.dartmouth.edu/search~S1?/X%22Notes+from+Underground%22&SORT=D/X%22Notes+from+Underground%22&SORT=D&SUBKEY=%22Notes+from+Underground%22/1%2C25%2C25%2CB/frameset&FF=X%22Notes+from+Underground%22&SORT=D&3%2C3%2C

• Paris, Bernard J. Dostoevsky's Greatest Characters: A New Approach to Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment, and the Brothers Karamazov. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Print. http://libcat.dartmouth.edu/search~S1?/X%22Notes+from+Underground%22&SORT=D/X%22Notes+from+Underground%22&SORT=D&SUBKEY=%22Notes+from+Underground%22/1%2C25%2C25%2CB/frameset&FF=X%22Notes+from+Underground%22&SORT=D&7%2C7%2C

• Kaufmann, Walter Arnold (1956). Existentialism From Dostoevsky to Sartre. New York, Meridian Books.

• Frank, Joseph. “Nihilism and "notes from Underground"”. The Sewanee Review 69.1 (1961): 1–33. Web...

• James P. Scanlan. "The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground." Journal of the History of Ideas 60.3 (1999): 549-567. Project MUSE. Web. 7 Feb. 2016. <https://muse.jhu.edu/>.

• Matlaw, Ralph E.. “Structure and Integration in Notes from the Underground”. PMLA 73.1 (1958): 101–109. Web...

• Wyman, Alina. “The specter of freedom: ressentiment and Dostoevskij’s notes from underground” Springer Netherlands, 2007-06. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11212-007-9016-9

• Frank, Joseph. “Dostoevsky: The Encounter with Europe”. The Russian Review 22.3 (1963): 237–252. Web...

• Seeley, Frank Friedeberg. “The Heyday of the 'superfluous Man' in Russia”. The Slavonic and East European Review 31.76 (1952): 92–112. Web...

2601:18C:4302:55BA:F1C5:CDA2:2124:6C85 (talk) 02:23, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

An outline of our suggestions

Notes From Underground Wiki Outline

Lead Section: Citation needed for the claim that Notes is considered to be the first existentialist novel. There are several sources backing this up. Kaufmann is probably the best citation choice. Kaufmann, Walter Arnold (1956). Existentialism From Dostoevsky to Sartre. New York, Meridian Books. Due to the Underground man’s rejection of social conventions, and would probably cringe at the title of hero, he fits the unlikely categorization of the “Byronic Hero.” This terminology would be a welcome addition to the “Unreliable Narrator” archetype already discussed in the Lead Section. Furst does a nice job going over the Underground Man’s relation to the anti-hero/byronic hero archetype.

Furst, L. R. (1976). THE ROMANTIC HERO, OR IS HE AN ANTI-HERO? Studies in the Literary Imagination, 9(1), 53. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1303459772?accountid=10422

Plot Summary:

Clear up the introduction to the plot summaries. At the present it is broken up into a convoluted alphanumeric categorization. 

Part 1 Elaborate more on the idea of suffering in the novel. Could use some more references when Crime and Punishment is brought up. We think this citation would be a wise choice.

Paris, Bernard J. Dostoevsky's Greatest Characters: A New Approach to Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment, and the Brothers Karamazov. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Print.

Elaborate more on Nikolai Chernyshevsky’s What Is to Be Done? reference on utopianism.

Part 2 When the plot summary gets to the conversation between Liza and the Underground man we think the summary needs to slow down and make way for analysis. The Underground goes off on visions and desires and Liza’s future. We think this is where the discussion regarding the individual desires that make up Utopias and future dreams must be addressed.

Political Background/Larger Influence? (name subject to change): This will be a section that we will add to the existing page, mainly focused on the East vs. West cultural dimensions that offer crucial contextualization to the novel. We also believe the lasting effects on philosophy should be mentioned.

Frank, Joseph. “Dostoevsky: The Encounter with Europe”. The Russian Review 22.3 (1963): 237–252. Web...

Wyman, Alina. “The specter of freedom: ressentiment and Dostoevskij’s notes from underground” Springer Netherlands, 2007-06. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11212-007-9016-9

Frank, Joseph, and Mary Petrusewicz. Dostoevsky: A Writer in His Time. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010. Print.

Avramenko, Richard, and Lee Trepanier. Dostoevsky's Political Thought. , 2013. Print. Jdheninger (talk) 02:58, 22 February 2016 (UTC)

Zinovieff and Hughes translation

I personally own the Notes from Underground translation by Kyril Zinovieff and Jenny Hughes, and I cannot find this in the list of translations. The ISBN in my copy is 978-1-84749-374-3 and is published by "Alma Classics". Is there any specific reason it is not there or did nobody notice it wasn't there? I can add it, if anyone wants. --CommieKarlovy (talk) 16:10, 19 January 2021 (UTC)

CommieKarlovy please just add it, thanks. Harold the Sheep (talk) 22:54, 20 January 2021 (UTC)

Thank you, I wanted to know if it was OK. Thanks! --CommieKarlovy (talk) 01:14, 21 January 2021 (UTC)