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Freshman Foundations 100
Study Questions on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Al Drake. Office: 231 Wilkinson, MW 2:15-3:15 | 714-434-1612 Extra-Credit Journal Instructions: respond at appropriate length to eight questions. Chapter 1 (15-46) 1. What is "the Underground"? To respond, consider how the idea develops in the first several pages of Dostoyevsky's text. 2. How does Dostoyevsky's narrator create and then engage with an audience? Why does it seem important to him to talk to an audience in the first place? 3. On pages 20-23, the narrator refers to "the Wall." What is the Wall, and how does Dostoyevsky's narrator use this metaphor as a means of characterizing his era and of examining the relationship between intellect and action, between human desires and scientific fact? 4. On page 21, the narrator distinguishes between men and mice; what kind of mindset informs the behavior of the "mouse"? Who has the upper hand -- the man or the mouse? And in what sense does one or the other have the upper hand? 5. On page 27, what does the narrator say is "the essence of all thinking and self-awareness"? How does his explanation undercut commonly accepted ideas about what distinguishes human beings as "special" in comparison to the rest of the natural world? (Consider, for example, common claims about the significance of morality, language, and reason as capacities that make us unique among earth's creatures.) 6. On page 29, the narrator attacks the fundamental idea that people act on the basis of self-interest (enlightened or otherwise). What does he claim is wrong with that idea? 7. On page 31, how does the narrator define "civilization"? How does his definition differ from others you have heard? 8. On pages 34-36, the narrator discusses his notion of human will. How does he explain this concept, and why is the concept of "volition" so important to him? 9. On pages 40-41, the narrator says that we are "comically constructed"? What does this phrase imply about us -- about our actions and about the stories we tell to explain them? 10. On pages 44-45, the narrator explains his reasons for writing his "notes." What is the point of writing such notes, according to him? Chapter 2: A Story of the Falling Sleet (47-123) 11. On page 49, the narrator claims that "at all times, a decent man must be a coward and a slave." Why is that the case, according to our narrator? 12. On pages 52-58 and following, the narrator tells us how an officer insulted him in a tavern. How does the narrator respond to this insult, what drives him to respond as he does, and how does his behavior illustrate what he has been saying about his mindset or character traits throughout the first part of the text? 13. What is the upshot of the narrator's attempt to pay the officer back for the insult? Who wins the "contest" (if that's the right word for it), and in what sense? 14. On page 62 and following, the narrator meets his old school friends Simonov and company. What does he think of these "friends," and why are they still important to him? 15. On pages 72-80, the friends' dinner for Zverkov takes place, and the narrator attends in spite of his old friends' reluctance to invite him. How does he behave during this dinner -- how does he interact with his friends, and why does he talk and act the way he does? 16. The sequel to the dinner runs from pages 81-102; the narrator intends to confront Zverkov one more time, but instead meets Liza the prostitute. How does the dialogue between the narrator and Liza unfold -- that is, what strategy does the narrator use to convince Liza that she is on the wrong path? What seems to motivate the narrator to speak and behave as he does? What effect do his words have? 17. After parting company with Liza, the narrator goes home and apologizes for his conduct towards his friends. Examine pages 102-106 -- how are the narrator's apology and his reflections upon his motives in dealing with Liza characteristic of him? 18. On pages 107-, how does the narrator describe the relationship between himself and his servant, Apollon? Who has the upper hand, and why? 19. On pages 112-end, how does the narrator explain his reaction to the reappearance of Liza at his doorstep? What does the narrator do to Liza, and why do you think he behaves as he does? Consider, for example, his statements about "love" -- is this view partly responsible for his bad behavior? 20. Towards the end of the text, how does the narrator sum up what he has accomplished by writing his "Notes from Underground"? Has he redeemed himself to any considerable degree, or was redemption in his own and our eyes not the point of the whole exercise? If not, what was the point?
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