For example, here are you, wanting to wean man from his old habits, and to correct his will in line with the demands of science and common sense. But how do you know that man not only could but ought to adapt himself in this way? What has led you to conclude that it is absolutely necessary for human desire to be altered? In a few words, how do you know that this reform will really be to man's advantage?
Dostoevsky 32)
Dostoevsky, also clearly believed some of what he was saying in his work of fiction, as in a letter to his niece in 1870 he writes, "For want of great conceptions, even science has sunk into arid materialism; what does a passing blow signify in face of that?"
Dostoevsky 207) Even science, can be corrupted, as he rightly mused in his satire,...
Underground Condition In Notes from Underground Fyodor Dostoevsky presents the life of an individual living in the underground condition. Dostoevsky notes on the first page that the notes and the narrator are fictional. However, he also states that the narrator is "one representative of a generation that is still living out its life" (Dostoevsky 1). Dostoevsky then states that the narrator will introduce himself and "elucidate the reasons why he appeared
Under Sartre's theory, freedom is other than what exists now; however, it must first be imagined, from nothingness, in order for it to then become possible, as an alternative for that which how exists, but which creates the human condition of being less than free. Explain, now, with reference to the material outlined for 2 above, how the two authors' views differ with regard to the character of human freedom. Dostoevsky's
Like the Pope, he is cast off in isolation, but willingly so. Like the Pope he has lost his occupation -- but again, willingly so as he has been able to retire from his former civil service job. He has chosen to live underground, that is, away from other people. Over the course of the novel, he self-fashions himself as a superior person. He sees himself as well-read, cultivated,
Kafka's Joseph K. goes through a confusing and bizarre experience over the course of the novel, learning more and more about the legal bureaucracy surrounding him without ever actually learning anything about it. In a sense, Joseph K.'s experience mirrors the human experience in any society, because it demonstrates how the justification for legal and political authority is ultimately an illusion; there is no inherent justification for human political
The narrator prefaces the anecdote regarding Liza as one of the few instances in which he ventured to leave the underground which emphasizes the magnitude of his encounter with her. Moreover, his encounter with her is so dramatic and draining, that they abruptly end his notes from the underground. The following quotation proves this fact. Of his encounter with Liza the narrator recalls "Even now, so many years later,
Nora's life has been made economically easy by her husband, but that subordination is what takes the ease out of her life of comfort. Torvald is the dominant partner in their marriage. Without his consent, she cannot make major decisions, like make a loan, without her husband's permission. "Frankenstein" is also about parental and filial obligation and relationship. Dr. Victor Frankenstein is the creator and father of the monster,
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