Saturday, January 7, 2017
Can Underground Man just like, chill for a sec?
Underground man makes me cringe. His social interactions give me second-hand embarrassment. The novella is somewhat difficult to read, not because of the elevated language, but because of how much I dislike underground man. I understand that the author is trying to prove a point about humans acting against their own self interest, but underground man goes too far. He does not understand social cues and even goes so far as to stalk an officer merely so that he can walk into him. I suggest that underground man is lman is purposefully acting against his own self interest in order to fuel his own pitiful self-hatred.
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3 comments:
I understand Julia's point here. It does appear that UM has a difficult time handling normal social situations and human interactions. It is hard to pity UM at times because to some extent, he makes no real effort to change his ways and adapt to normal human behavior. Even though he claims he tries to fit in, he's seen as still rather an outcast figure among his coworkers and schoomates.
I agree with Julia that this novel is painfully awkward. I feel so uncomfortable for him. The fact that the novella can have such an emotional impact on the reader and make us feel as if we are in the situation with UM shows that the author has real skill. Although the novella makes me a little uncomfortable, it's very interesting to read. It is one of my favorites we've read so far. I like how we can see into Underground man's mind and although we may not understand it, see his rationale behind things. I like how truthful the novella is in that it describes the parts of humanity that we may not want to talk about or that we couldn't really put into words. Like how we do things that we know will be bad for us. I'm sure this novella got a lot of backlash for being so ahead of its time, but reading it in 2017 is very interesting.
I agree UM is cringy. I feel awkward just reading it. He's so depressed and negative. However, I think it is important to remember his past. He was an orphan and then abandoned by the remainder of his family. He hasn't spoken to them even at 40. That had to hurt him. I can understand why he's like the way he is, but its still annoying.
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