In Fyodor Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground, desire is shown to be a more important force of human nature than reason by observing how the Underground Man makes decisions. Understanding that he suffers from an extreme case of inferiority complex is instrumental in being able to decipher the story without being influenced by the filtered view he tells it from. The Underground Man lives his life according to reason, his unnaturally high intelligence helps him rationalize almost every decision he makes which consequently leaves desire out of the equation. Although desire is an essential part of human life, the Underground Man can't take action on his own and serves as an example why a society isn't able to function when it makes decisions purely derived from reasoning. His inferiority complex allows him to overcome his desires to the point that they degenerate into only what he mildly wants. The seven prevalent characteristics of the complex, which have been published by stop depression, an online psychology resource clinic, are all apparent throughout the story and provide definitive evidence the Underground Man suffers from inferiority. The first characteristic of inferiority complex is sensitivity towards criticism. He perceives any form of criticism as a personal attack (Stop Depression).
[...] This is another example of how Dostoevsky uses the Underground Man to reversely show how a society would not be able to properly function if they placed reason over desire. Imagining a group of people that act similarly to the Underground Man is tough because it would be impossible for them to function in any way together. Although the Underground Man may be an extremely intelligent individual he contains an all consuming desire to be recognized as such by the eyes of society. [...]
[...] The next important characteristic of inferiority complex is a hypercritical attitude. Because the Underground Man doesn't feel good about himself, he can't feel good about anybody else and looks for shortcomings in them (Stop Depression). He strives to elevate himself by using his superior intellect to put others around him down. In this passage, the Underground Man is talking to his slave Apollon. He thinks Apollon is intentionally being difficult and starts getting angry. decided, heaven knows why or for what reason, to punish Apollon by not paying him his wages for two whole weeks. [...]
[...] The Underground Man serves primarily as an example of why reason should not reign over desire. Dostoevsky uses the narrarator to show how dysfunctional this lifestyle is, proving how society would not be able to work if everybody ignored their desires. The Underground Man's inferiority complex is an outstanding representation of his wrongly allocated priorities. He is unable to take action on what he desires because of it, causing him to lead an extremely analytical life. It's important to reveal the presence [...]
[...] Part of the reason the Underground Man suffers from such an intense case of inferiority complex is because of his extreme self consciousness. When other people think poorly of him he becomes extremely detached from himself, and when he comes up with what other people think about him based off his own reasoning, he completely retreats from society. Because of this the Underground Man has developed a hatred for social situations, although he still wants people to recognize the good things about him. [...]
[...] Planning to withhold Apollon's wages for a couple of days isn't that major of an action in itself, but the Underground man succeeds in making it some sort of monumental event that requires a lot of foresight. The Underground Man also displays an inappropriate response to flattery. The two different types of this characteristic include being desperate to hear anything good about themselves, and also refusal to listen to anything good (Stop Depression). The Underground Man has a hard time receiving compliments because he doesn't think he deserves it. [...]
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