Natalie's Reaction

Dostoyevsky did an interesting job when writing this novel. He presents this made up persona (although he is meant to represent a type of person found in society) that engages the reader when talking by specifically referring to them in instances where he either calls them gentlemen, asks them a question or says that he does not care for their opinion. After reading the first line of the book, my mind immediately jumped to the speaker having a mental illness, probably depression. What I’ve read up to in a way supports this notion. He speaks of the differences between the conscious man and the regular man who takes action (also depicted as the stupid man). I felt like he was saying that the more intelligent a person is, the more likely they are to overthink things and the more negatively they would view life, but in the end the conscious man will accept it because there is nothing he can do about it. I feel like this is the sickness he discusses since the beginning, and clearly something present in his life. He describes himself as a man who is unable to take action, I think this mostly stems from his overthinking mind. While reading the first 15 pages I found myself constantly remembering the (cliché) phrase “ignorance is bliss”. Dostoyevsky brought up many interesting points that made me think, and encouraged me to read further.