Cowards. Slaves. These are two names that the narrator in Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground calls humans, specifically decent men. He comes to this realization because, as he phrases it, he is developed and intellectually superior. While all his peers think he is foolish, he has hit upon a truth most only guess at. Mankind is trapped in a system, and they are either too scared to attempt leaving or are not capable of doing so, whether they are aware of their state or not, which is evident in the narrator’s life.
The narrator forms the conclusion of man’s condition after considering his workplace., observing how they perform the same routine every day. He believes that, “Every decent man of our time is and must be a coward and a slave. That is his normal condition.” (44). How is a man decent if he is a coward and slave? The narrator is bringing up the point that any normal, good man is still following the path laid out for him by society and not challenging it. The system is how our society is structured, and slavery results from following it mindlessly. People notice today and proclaim how society imposes beliefs and lifestyle upon them. The control goes deeper than these areas, into the way we think and how we act. The problem is that the population is unaware of their present condition, and so they remain a slave to the system, and if someone does realize, he either has no desire to break free from his condition or is scared to follow a new course. However, the narrator is aware of the state humanity is in, and he desires to bring others to awareness. He admits, though, that he thinks he is with the group of cowards and slaves, too, since he continues in the same pattern, despite his sickness of it. Not only are humans stuck in a framework, but they are “made that way, arranged for it” (44). Day to day, people follow the routine laid out for them by others, and it does not matter if one wishes to escape, he will always be trapped in some form. Since breaking free is impossible, being aware of the situation is tormenting since one is more aware but cannot change his condition. The narrator further expresses this sentiment by stating that, “If one of them does happen to get up a bit of pluck in something, let him not be pleased or eased by that; he’ll still quail before something else” (44). His point is that, even if someone becomes aware of the condition they are in and desires to change it, he can only succeed in small ways, but will fail overall and when other trials come along. Ignorance does produce bliss, but even though being conscious of the true nature of humanity is hard, the benefit to it is no longer living a lie and thinking reality is something it is not. Humanity is forever on an unchanging, unbreakable course.
Why is overcoming the system impossible? When man is bent on actions that go against the constraints society has set up, such as exacting revenge, he normally folds whenever he hits an obstacle, referred to in the book as a wall. “For them a wall possesses something soothing, morally resolving,” is how the narrator describes the effects of the wall (10). Going against what one is taught is challenging, but trying to fight one’s very being is not possible. That is how and why the wall exists. It prevents most from following through with plans they would most likely regret by convincing the decent, unaware man that morals are more important than the need for revenge. Humans are stuck in a perpetual cycle of following what they know because we are creatures of habit.
The concept appears in one of the incidents that occur in the man’s life. After feeling insulted when an officer pushes past him like he is not there, he resolves to get revenge, and his plan leads him to following the offender around so he can bump into him. While it may seem strange and absurd, this plan is the narrator’s way of fighting the system. Even if his perception of the events is wrong, he is correct in his assumption that those that are viewed as lesser are expected to move out of the way and bend to the will of the superior. This view is evident when he thinks that, “The point was that I had achieved my purpose, preserved my dignity, yielded not a step, and placed myself publicly on an equal footing with him” (55). His action of refusing to move aside when approaching the officer instead of him being the one to constantly move is his way of rebelling against the system. Even if he cannot break free entirely, he can have small moments of victory. His dignity is restored because in following through with his planned actions, he no longer feels quite like dust. In completing his plan, he also sets himself apart from the normal men because he did not give up, further demonstrating how he is not like the rest of the population. The narrator’s life proves that one can have small victories over the system.
The narrator is correct when he asserts that humanity is trapped in a system and cannot escape. The humans that are aware of their state do not possess the ability to break the chains that hold them or do not desire it. As a result, they have become slaves and cowards. The reason for the inability to break free is because it is human nature. The narrator recounts an event in his own life that ties to his argument where he manages to overcome a part of the system, showing that small, meaningful victories are within reach, even if a beating the system is not.
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