Existentialism in Dostoyevsky Novels: The Dream of a Ridiculous Man (Essay Sample)

Existentialism in Dostoyevsky Novels
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Institution
Abstract
From the beginning of its development, existentialism has grown into a movement of thought and gathered the best minds of the past two centuries. Not always existentialism is found in works as a bare philosophy or a metaphysical principle; it can also be encrypted in a novel or an essay. Therefore, Dostoyevsky is the one who made existential philosophy a literary phenomenon. He makes readers stroke the meaning of the story by constructing strong dialogs between characters. He is sending us a message by questioning the reality itself. As a Christian, he reveals the ideas from a religious perspective that are also shared by Kierkegaard, since he also was a person of faith. Some say, that his novels are the best art pieces of existentialism that the world has ever seen. “The Dream of a Ridiculous Man: A Fantastic Story” and “Notes from Underground” encompass the major postulates of the existential philosophy. Dostoyevsky might infuse his characters with great existential ideas, but he is not the one who shares the similar views. We cannot prove these claims wrong or right at their core; however, we cannot deny that Dostoyevsky’s works made a huge influence on the existential movement itself.
Keywords: existentialism, philosophy, movement, Dostoyevsky, character.
Existentialism in Dostoyevsky Novels
The Dream of a Ridiculous Man: A Fantastic Story
In Dostoevsky’s short essay “The Dream of a Ridiculous Man: A Fantastic Story”, the main features of the existential philosophy ideas are put forwards in his classic manner. The first and the main evidence of the philosophical connection lies in the anxious mental state that the character experiences throughout the half of the story. He is going through an existential crisis and feels alienation, which is the central emotion and state of mind in the existential philosophy. In particular, this feeling could be ontological, gnoseological and social. In truth, existentialism does not imply the existence as an objective reality; indeed, it believes that the existence is irrational by itself. In other words, one projects the reality and sees it through own perspective. Existence here is a conscience and therefore serves as a basis for two worlds, subjective and objective. However, the character realizes that all the people are really himself (his own perspective of conscience) and understands the absurdity of life that he cannot comprehend anymore. He becomes aware of the irrationality of the world but cannot accept it to be the reality. Therefore, the inability to welcome the truth makes the man consider a suicide. In the “The myth of Sisyphus” Albert Camus said, “Suicide makes all humans existentialists” (Camus & O 'Brien, 1975). Therein, the great problem of alienation in existentialism derives from the opposition: an individual, the inner human existence to the external (natural and social) world, rational and intuitive knowledge (irrational).
Eventually, the narration turned the tide of events and the man acquainted a poor girl that made the character feel a special emotion. He felt sorry for the girl and could not get over this feeling though it was making him angry and anxious. At this particular moment, the man questioned his freedom. In the Dostoyevsky world, you can be either a believer or a free person. The faith in God is closely intertwined with the idea, that you should not be a sinner; therefore, believe means to no longer feel free. The ability to feel sorry for the sufferings of a living creature belongs to the highest and noblest manifestations of the human anthropological perspective, in which heroes of Dostoevsky’s novel live. The commandment of God requires of man's love for one's neighbour.
Gradually, the suicidal character experiences a powerful dream, where his mind alters under surreal circumstances and at the end of the dream he becomes emphatic to this girl in a true sense (Dostoyevsky, Pevear & Volokhonsky, 1993). Since the writer himself was a Christian, and there are, many references in his works that concern God it can be assumed that the man in the story found his own faith. Both Kierkegaard and Dostoyevsky are known to be Christians and include their views in works (Kaufmann, 1956). In his works, Kierkegaard mentioned heavy dread that comes as a result of one’s understanding of world’s meaningless, however, he unlike Sartre and Nietzsche found that feeling is helpful in terms of faith (Kierkegaard, 1957). Therefore, faith to Kierkegaard was something that a person should hold on to in the world without value. Human existence for him focuses on a belief in something that can make a person avoid heavy consequences of anguish.
Notes from Underground
Moreover, Dostoevsky’s novel “Notes from Underground” is an accurate example of the existential reference in the literature. Walter Kaufman believes that it is one of the most revolutionary books in the world of existential literature (Kaufmann, 1956). The mood of the novel clearly defines beginning with the first two chapters. In these several pages, the “underground man” centres his mood, anxiety, experience and thoughts making the narration unresolved with full depth questions of “being”. This makes such questions existential. He is trying to project the meaning into the world to define himself, as it is the only thing left after acknowledging that you cannot foresee the tomorrow. However, he is conscious of the nothingness of himself as a being. The origin of the man’s sufferings comes from the difference between himself and the rest of the world. People tend to project their thoughts, feelings, and the inner world individually (Kierkegaard, 1957). However, he cannot understand that everything that he projects is actually himself. The character is divided into two types of people, the “normal” and “abnormal”. The man considers “normal” as the ones that are silly and have a demonstrative nature. Whereas the “abnormal” individuals are a highly conscious people. He envies the silly people because they cannot comprehend all the possible morals and truths that the world bears. The existentialism holds a position that existence comes before essence, therefore life itself is meaningless. Since we cannot predict what was the real purpose of life before it even started to exist. The people in the world of “underground man” are not interested i...