The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

The narrator is the main character of the story. He does not reveal his name—he only refers to himself as “the ridiculous man” (225). Physical attributes are not provided, either. He is poor and lives in a small room in a shared apartment, and he studied sciences at university. The narrator also mentions that he has a brother who “died five years ago” (232). The overall context and themes of the story suggest that providing minimal background information allows Fyodor Dostoevsky to focus attention on the narrator’s psychology.

The narrator explicitly states that other people see him as ridiculous, himself included. He is depressive, cynical, and rude. However, after his dream, he is happy, kind, and loves life. In both stages of his life, however, he is ridiculous albeit for different reasons. By means of indirect characterization, it is communicated to the reader that what makes him ridiculous is not only the particular actions he takes, but also the fact that he is different from others. The other people do not see the psychological torment behind the narrator’s behavior, but it is evident to the reader.

The psychological identity of the narrator sways on the extremes of the emotional scale, caused by his need to find some kind of a final truth to life.