A Preliminary Discussion Of Dostoevsky’s Anti-utopian Thought

As an immortal world-famous author, many of Dostoevsky’s works have the strengththat can shock our souls. Such strength is not only original from the typical charactersauthor creates, such as the Little, the Underground Man, the Holy Fool, etc; but also fromthe profound insight into the contradiction of humanity and his reconsideration of theutopia. One of his medium-length novels-Notes from the Underground, created in1864ishis starting milestone on anti-utopian thought. In this thesis, firstly we give a survey on theresearch status of Notes from the Underground, and then investigate the social andhistorical factors of the emerging of the author’s anti-utopian mind from the perspective ofthe history-processed utopia and anti-utopia. In the main part of the thesis, comparison andanalysis between Notes from the Underground and the Grand Inquisitor are implemented;moreover, the comparison and analysis are also carried out between Notes from theUnderground and the novel What is to be Done?, whose author is Chernyshevsky, a peer ofDostoevsky. Through which, the change of the author’s thoughts from sympathizing for theLittle to deeply thinking of the individual and society is revealed. Furthermore, in thisthesis, through reviewing, studying, and analyzing, a preliminary discussion ofDostoevsky’s underlying dystopian thought, as well as its influence is presented. Finally,the value and significance of Dostoevsky’s anti-utopian mind, which enlightens people toreconcile the relationship between human freedom and the ideal society are explained.