Introduction Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1864/2008) presents itself as a diary written by an anonymous narrator who self-defines as "spiteful" and "unattractive" (p. 7). The narrator's self-loathing, characterized by self-alienation, is so evident that critics often call him the Underground Man (Frank 1961, p. 1). Yet this Man from the Underground is the central character of Dostoevsky's novel and represents a subversion of the typical courageous hero. In this regard, the Underground Man is an antihero, since as a protagonist he not only challenges the typical literary version of a hero, but also challenges conventional thinking (Brombert 1999, p. 1). Antiheroism Cuddon and Preston (1998) describe the antihero as “non-hero” because he presents himself as “the antithesis of a hero” (p. 42). The traditional hero demonstrates heroism and is typically characterized as "charming, strong, courageous, and resourceful" (Cuddon and Preston 1998, pp. 42-43). The antihero transforms this protagonist to such an extent that he manifests what appears to be a “failure” (Cuddon and Preston 1998, p. 43). In other words, the antihero, unlike the hero, is not known for his successes but rather for his negative traits (Matz 2004, p. 46). Grabes, Diller, and Isernhagen (1983) point out that during much of of the second half of Starting from 1800, numerous antiheroes characterized by inactivity and withdrawal in a physical or abstract way began to appear with notable frequency (p. 305). Matz (2004) explains that being an antihero however does not make the protagonist “unlikable, uninteresting, or absurd” (p. 46). In fact, Matz (2004) reminds us that “there is true heroism in anti-heroism, in a non-heroic world” (p. 46...... half article ......ee Review, (winter 1961) Vol. 69(1): 1-33.Frank, Joseph. Through the Russian Prism: Essays on Literature and Culture Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990.Golstein, V. Lermontov's Narratives of Heroism, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1998.Grabes, Herbert Diller, Hans-Jurgen, and Isernhagen, Hartwig Real: Yearbook of Research in English and American Literature, Volume 5. New York, NY: Walter de Gruyter and Co. 1983 .Matz, Jesse; A Brief Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. Orwell, George Nineteen Eighty-Four, IA: 1st World Library, 2004.Trilling, Lionell. ” Quoted in Wimsatt, William Kurtz (ed.). Literary Criticism: Idea and Act: The English Institute, 1939-1972: Selected Essays, Berkeley, California : University of California Press, 1974.