Notes from Underground

The Crystal Palace and the underground are spatial metaphors for different ideologies. What other spatial metaphors does Dostoevsky use in the text, and what is their significance?

In your view, is the Underground Man’s argument against rationalism convincing? Why or why not? Did the “gentlemen” of Dostoevsky’s day find it convincing? Support your response with research into Russian intellectual movements of the mid-19th century.

Why does the Underground Man take offense so easily? Is there any truth in the way he perceives others’ attitudes toward him, or are his responses all projections of his own feelings of inadequacy? Cite three examples from the novella to support your answer.

In Part 2, Chapter 5, Underground Man references works by the Russian writers Pushkin and Lermontov. Read Pushkin’s short story “The Shot” (1831, here called “Silvio”) and Lermontov’s play Masquerade (1835) and discuss how these works relate to the themes in Notes from Underground.

How do you understand the phrase “the sublime and beautiful”? In the Underground Man’s mind, is this a good or bad thing? Support your answer using evidence from the text.

Discuss how the Underground Man’s family and childhood affect him in later life and why this is significant for his relationship with Liza.

How would the story in Part 2 be different if it were told from Liza’s point of view? How would that change the overall message of the text?

Do people like the Underground Man exist today? If not, why not? If so, who (a specific person, type of person, or group) is the contemporary parallel, and why?