HIST 121 Chapter Notes - Chapter 11: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Nerd, Bourgeoisie
Document Summary
Begins to cast doubt on reason, civility, industrialization, liberalism, and all kinds of enlightenment values. Bourgeoisie criticized, as well as society, industrialization, and science. Felling of a declining society spreads through europe. A scientific world is seen as limiting and boring. The complexity of the self is deeply thought about during this time. Main idea: during this time, people are more concerned with a self-oriented exploration; finding themselves and trying to discover their destinies. Believes he is smarter than anyone else, but is hated for it. He has lustful desires, but can"t fulfill them because he believes he is below other, more attractive people. He would rather be alone doing his own thing: literature and hating those superior to him: he believes it is better to be an underground man, than to be a happy person who doesn"t truly know reality. Ivan, the main character, explains his poem, the grand inquisitor to a girl named alyosha.
