Many forms of present-day media allow its viewers access into the deep depths of characters’ inner thoughts, desires, and troubles as this subject matter so easily captivates and catches the attention of audiences while still maintaining a relatable nature. In 1864, during one of the lowest points of his life, Dostoyevsky composed “Notes from Underground,” a piece which, most likely, helped pave the way for literature and other art forms to explore the realms of a character’s mind (Puchner 632). This period of Dostoyevsky’s life was quite unstable, coming from his sentencing to Siberia and then as a soldier, to an unsuccessful marriage and financial problems (Puchner 632). There can be no doubt that these life issues served as some portion…show more content… The most prominent Romantic characteristic present in “Notes from Underground” actually encompasses the entire story. This would be the characteristic of confessionalism as the story is basically one large confession. In fact, Dostoyevsky references Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s “Confessions” several times throughout the narrative, and may even be a parody of a confession (Puchner 634). “Notes from Underground” remains as a first-person narrative throughout the novella and the narrator shows no restraint in expressing strong, sometimes uncomfortable and unpleasant emotions. This again is a huge theme in realism, focusing on the harsh truth of the real world. Continuing on with this idea, a second Romantic characteristic would be anti-intellectualism. This characteristic promotes expression of feeling rather than that of intelligence and knowledge. The narrator consistently regards his overly conscious mind as a curse, but holds nothing back in writing down exactly how he feels, even if he contradicts himself, lies, or leads to a confusing statement. This represents anti-intellectualism very well, and again supports themes of realism in the novella. Finally, another Romantic characteristic could be Dostoyevsky’s possible use of primitivism. During the first portion of “Notes from Underground,” the narrator describes that “perhaps a normal man is supposed to be stupid”…show more content… The realism literary movement became a perfect stepping stone for the format of, or lack thereof, a novel. This fit the realism movement much better than the restricted poetry with all of its rules and standards and allowed writers to explore new methods which would help in “capturing ordinariness and even ugliness” (Puchner 629). Dostoyevsky would make use of the lack of restriction with “Notes from Underground,” almost formatting it in such a structure that it could be seen as a play. The first act consists of the monologue by the narrator, whereas the second act reveals his interactions with individuals through use of flashbacks, including commentary by the narrator. In fact, such an adaptation actually exists, nodding to Dostoyevsky’s unique plot structure. The setting plays an important role in the novella, and right at the beginning of the narrative, the narrator speaks of the climate being poor for his health and St. Petersburg being too expensive for him to live decently in, and yet he stubbornly decides to continue dwelling there anyway (Dostoyevsky 637). The climate is an interesting topic as when the narrator is writing these notes down, he notices that it is snowing outside, “an almost wet, yellow, dull snow” (Dostoyevsky 657). The wet snow not only reminds him of his past, but links him to each event he recalls as it was snowing