Ryan Corder Post #3

In part II the read learns that the narrator has had this rather pessimistic attitude since he was a young man, describing himself as antisocial in his job. The narrator continues his streak of contradicting opinions by switching between points of view about himself, at first he declares that his coworkers were not of lesser intelligence than him and immediately after states he feels inferior towards them. The narrator then describes himself as feeling isolated from society. I think the narrator is not so much switching opinions as he is describing a sort of cause and effect. He knows he is smarter than his coworkers, but his elevated intelligence creates a separation between himself and the rest of society, which makes him feel inferior because they all seem so “normal”. Rather fittingly, Dostoyevsky digresses and goes on to elaborate on different types of romanticism: Russian and Greek. Moreover, Dostoyevsky’s pride and ego come out when he differentiates between the two types of romanticism, describing the Russian one illuminating and practical. I think Dostoevsky is implying that he thinks of himself as practical and self-aware.