Notes from Underground (Part 1 of 6)

Chapter 1: The Man from UndergroundThe story begins with a man talking about himself. He does not tell us his name. People call him the Underground Man. He says, "I am sick. I am angry. I am not a good person."He knows that his body is not healthy. His liver is sick, but he does not go to the doctor. He does not want to get better. He is stubborn and does not listen to advice.The Underground Man talks about people and how they act. Some people think that humans always do what is good for them. But he does not agree. He says, "People do bad things on purpose, just to show they are free." Even when something is not good for them, they still do it.He also says that people sometimes like pain. They know something will hurt them, but they still do it. He thinks this makes humans different from animals.The Underground Man does not like the world. He does not talk to many people. He thinks too much and feels too much. He does not know how to be happy.Chapter 2: Thinking Too MuchIn the second chapter, the Underground Man talks more about his thoughts. He says he has thought a lot in his life, maybe too much. He feels different from other people.He talks about smart people. He says, "If you are very smart, you will feel more pain." He believes that thinking too much makes people unhappy. People who do not think too much are happier.The Underground Man says that when he was young, he worked in an office. But he did not like his job. He did not like his co-workers. He was not friendly to them, and they did not like him.He also says that he never knew how to act in life. When someone was kind to him, he became angry. When someone was rude to him, he became sad. He never knew what to do.He ends the chapter by saying that he does not live like other people. He lives "underground"—alone, with his thoughts. He watches the world but does not take part in it.