Description acceptable. This character is greatly offended after being told that he “speaks somehow like a book,” although he acknowledges that his “bookishness” is inherent. The constancy of an ant-heap is contrasted with man’s fear for “mathematical certainty” by this character, who considers the statement “two times two equals five” to be a “most charming little thing.” This character waxes about the enjoyment found in a toothache and laments that he is not an insect. After this character finds his five-ruble note on the table, he blindly chases after the prostitute Liza. A novel begins with this character declaring “I am a sick man… I am a spiteful man.” For 10 points, name this unruly, antisocial character that titles a Fyodor Dostoyevsky novel framed as his “Notes.” ■END■
ANSWER: the Underground Man [or the narrator of Notes from the Underground; or the narrator of Letters from the Underworld; or the narrator of Zapiski iz podpol’ya; accept equivalents like protagonist or speaker or author in place of “narrator”]
<European Literature>
= Average correct buzz position