Hey, for my English school coursework I have to write an essay on two texts (completely our choice) and the essay also involves creating a topic/question to explore. I wanted to do Notes From The Underground as one, but I can’t decide the second one. I was thinking of exploring ideas of alienation, pessimism, existentialism etc. Anyone have a good idea of one that I could pair it with? It can be a play, set of poetry, novel or novella!
by daisychainlocket
2 Comments
The Stranger by Albert Camus
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
The Stranger by Camus and Metamorphosis by Kafka are often compared/contrasted from Notes from Underground.
I’d also take a look at Ward No. 6 by Anton Chekhov, which is a short story.
If you want a more challenging lens, there are some more modern female authors that deal with similar themes that would make really interesting comparisons (Sylvia Plath’s poetry or The Bell Jar, Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion, Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf)