Cultural and social criticisms of the notes of the underground and invisible manIt is understanding oneself and the power structures of society that helps to achieve authenticity and, ultimately.. . candies. Notes from Underground and Invisible Man offer a wide variety of social criticism. While some criticisms are explicit within the plot, others are implicit in character statements and relationships between two or more characters. Many of the ideas of social criticism in Notes from Underground have direct parallels or antitheses in Invisible Man. Most, if not all, criticisms transcend the time, place, and historical context in which they occur. The greatest value that the criticisms contained in the two texts have to offer is that they address the unalterable human condition. Notes from Underground and Invisible Man offer a variety of social critiques, particularly on nationalism and cultural pride, an exclusive community versus an inclusive community, and power structures within society. Nationalism is one of the main targets of criticism in Notes from Underground. The underground man's highly self-centered personality has a direct parallel in the ideas he has about his country. He says: "We in Russia have no fools; this is well known. This is what distinguishes us from foreign countries" (Dostoevsky 40). Such nationalistic propaganda was intended to be considered and evaluated by all Russians. At the time the novel was written, Western civilization seemed to be extending its influence everywhere. As Dr. Lutomski pointed out at a conference, this has led many to adopt an isolationist philosophy, believing that the only way a country can be pure towards its citizens is to isolate itself from the outside world. Dostoevsky is present... in the middle of the paper... within a society must be able to channel that diversity into a feeling of unity that makes all individuals of all cultures feel as if they belong to the indivisible whole. When you find an entire group of people with whom you identify, you can transcend to a new level of self-understanding. And it is understanding oneself and the power structures of society that helps one gain authenticity and, ultimately, power. Works Cited Bakhtin, Mikhail. Problems of Dostoevsky's poetics. Ed. and trans. Caryl Emerson. Intro. by Wayne C. Booth. Theory and history of literature. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Pr., 1984.Ellison, Ralph. The invisible man. (Library Ed.). New York: Random House, Inc. 1994Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Notes from the Underground: a new translation, backgrounds and sources, responses, criticisms. Norton critical edition. New York: Norton, 1989.