Underground Symbolism

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Through symbolism, simple, everyday objects can be used convey complex ideologies. Dostoyevsky’s novel, Notes from Underground, focuses on the inner thoughts of the narrator, and by utilizing symbolism, he uses concrete objects to express abstract ideas. The novel is primarily a philosophical work, involving a narrator that rambles continuously about his self-reflections and epiphanies. Most notably, the author uses symbolism to connect a common object to an abstract idea, and the comparison enhances the author’s overall message, by making it more digestible. Throughout the novel, the Underground Man references the Crystal Palace, a glass and iron structure, built in London. According to the narrator, the Crystal Palace symbolizes a utopian society, in which rationale governs people and allows them to live in harmony. The idea of a …show more content…
However, the Underground Man views time negatively, and most notably, the Underground man describes, “...a clock began wheezing, as though oppressed by something, as though somewhere were strangling it” (Dostoyevsky 60). The struggle represents the Underground Man’s reluctance for time to pass. Despite his wishes, the narrator explains that time still continues to move, and it “jumps forward”. The frequent allusions to time along with the narrator’s melancholic view toward it conveys how time is an unstoppable force that will inevitably keep moving forward, regardless of what people want. The passage of time and the reluctance of the narrator for it to move expresses a contrast between the narrator’s life and time. As time unavoidably changes, the life of the Underground Man remains stagnant. This also alludes to his isolation from society, in which his lack of involvement and mentality of passiveness has led to an uneventful life. His bitterness and depressing outlook has not changed, resulting in an unchanging, spoiled

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