Savely the hero of Holy Russia. Characteristics of Savely (“Who Lives Well in Rus'”, Nekrasov)

Saveliy - the Holy Russian hero and Matryona Timofeevna - the embodiment of the author’s dream about the spiritual powers of the people (based on the poem by N. A. Nekrasov “Who Lives Well in Rus'”)

In the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus',” Nekrasov is looking for an answer to a question that has long troubled humanity. The work presents the happiness of the priest, landowner, and local people.

But most often Nekrasov reflects on the happiness of the people and dreams that sooner or later the people will perk up and gather strength to actively fight against the existing system for their freedom and a decent life.

The images of peasants presented in the poem confirm the writer’s hopes and meet his aspirations. And one of the main figures of the poem, standing out for its extraordinary physical strength and spiritual power, is Savely, the Holy Russian hero:

It’s a sin to remain silent about grandfather,

He was also lucky...

This is what Matryona Timofeevna says about Savely.

We learn about Savelia from the chapter “Peasant Woman,” which says that this man grew up in a remote region near the Korezh River. The name itself - Korezhsky region - attracted the writer as a symbol of hardy labor and possessing enormous power heroic people prominent representative which Savely is. The word “korezhit” means “to bend”, “to break”, “to work”, and therefore Korezhina is a land of persistent and hardworking people.

Savely’s appearance personifies the mighty forest element: “With a huge gray mane, uncut for twenty years, with a huge beard, the grandfather looked like a bear. “

Nekrasov shows the complex path along which Savely’s rebellious sentiments grew: from silent patience to open resistance. Prison and Siberian hard labor did not break Savely and did not destroy his self-esteem. “Branded, but not a slave,” he says about himself. He went through all the trials that befell him, but was able to preserve himself. Saveliy treats his resigned fellow villagers with contempt and calls for mass action for final reprisal against the oppressors, but his thoughts are not without contradictions. It is no coincidence that he is compared with Svyatogor, the strongest, but also the most motionless hero epic epic. At the same time, the image of Savely is very contradictory. On the one hand, he called for struggle, on the other, for patience:

We can't find the truth!

Saveliy advises Matryona Timofeevna. These words sound despair, hopelessness, and disbelief in the possibility of changing the bitter fate of the peasant. In the image of Matryona Timofeevna, Nekrasov embodied the best character traits of Russian peasant women. Matryona's highly moral qualities are harmoniously combined with her external beauty.

With her restrained and strict beauty, filled with self-esteem, Matryona represents the type of stately Slavic woman revealed by Nekrasov in the poem “Frost, Red Nose.” The story of her life confirms that Matryona’s character was formed in the conditions of latrine fishing, when most of The male population went to the cities. Not only did the whole weight fall on the woman’s shoulders peasant labor, but also a huge measure of responsibility for the fate of the family, for raising children.

From the chapter “Before Marriage” we learn about Matryona’s youth, and from the chapter “Song” - about the difficult fate of the heroine after marriage. Matryona's songs are popular, so her personal fate reflects the typical fate of a peasant woman, ceasing to be her own. Short joys were replaced by frequent and severe misfortunes that could break even strong man. But Matryona persevered and found the spiritual and physical strength to fight for her happiness. Her beloved first-born Demushka dies, she saves her second son Fedotushka from terrible punishment at the cost of severe trials, she had to put in a lot of effort to achieve the release of her husband - and we see that no obstacles stop her, she is ready to fight for her happiness on her own to the last .

The image of Matryona Timofeevna was created in such a way that she seemed to have been through all the vicissitudes that a Russian woman could experience. The voice of Matryona Timofeevna is the voice of the entire Russian people, all Russian women who had the same difficult fate.

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“He was also lucky”... With such ironic words the image of grandfather Savely is introduced into Nekrasov’s poem. He lived a long time difficult life and now lives out his life in the family of Matryona Timofeevna. The image of Saveliy, the Holy Russian hero in the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” by Nekrasov is very important, because he embodies the idea of ​​Russian heroism. The theme of strength, endurance and long-suffering of the people in the poem grows from chapter to chapter (remember the story of the strongman at the fair, which serves as a prerequisite for the story of Savely) and is ultimately resolved in the image of the hero Savely.

Savely comes from a remote forest region, where even “the devil looked for a way for three years.” The very name of this region breathes power: Korega, from “to distort”, i.e. bend, break. A bear can damage something, and Savely himself “looked like a bear.” He is also compared with other animals, for example, with the elk, and it is emphasized that he is much more dangerous than a predator when he walks through the forest “with a knife and a spear.” This strength stems from a deep knowledge of one’s land, complete unity with nature. Savely’s love for his land is visible, his words “My forest! "sound much more convincing than the same statement from the landowner Obolt-Obolduev.

But the master’s hand will reach into any, even the most impassable region. Savely's free life ends with the arrival of a German manager in Korega. At first, he seemed harmless and did not even demand the due tribute, but set a condition: to work off the money by cutting wood. Simple-minded men built a road out of the forest and then they realized how much they had been deceived: gentlemen came to Korezhina along this road, the German brought his wife and children, and began to suck all the juice out of the village.

“And then came hard labor
To the Korezh peasant -
Ruined me to the bone!”

For a long time, the peasants endured the bullying of the German - he beats them and forces them to work beyond measure. A Russian peasant can endure a lot, that’s why he is a hero, says Savely.
This is what he says to Matryona, to which the woman answers ironically: even a mouse can eat such a hero. In this episode Nekrasov plans important problem of the Russian people: their irresponsibility, unpreparedness for decisive action. It is not for nothing that Savely’s characterization coincides with the image of the most motionless of epic heroes– Svyatogor, who at the end of his life grew into the ground.

“To not endure is an abyss; to endure is an abyss.” This is how the hero Savely thinks, and this simple but wise folk philosophy leads him to rebellion. Under the word he invented, “Pump it up!” the hated German manager is buried in the ground. And although Savely ends up in hard labor for this act, the beginning of liberation has already been made. For the rest of his life, the grandfather will be proud that he, although “branded, is not a slave!”

But how does his life develop next? He spent more than twenty years in hard labor, and his settlements were taken away for another twenty. But even there Savely did not give up, he worked, was able to raise money, and, returning to his homeland, built a hut for himself and his family. And yet his life was not allowed to end peacefully: while his grandfather had money, he enjoyed the love of his family, and when they ran out, he was met with dislike and ridicule. The only joy for him, as well as for Matryona, is Demushka. He sits on the old man’s shoulder “like an apple in the top of an old apple tree.”

But something terrible happens: through his, Savely’s, fault, the grandson dies. And it was this event that broke the man who had gone through the whips and hard labor. The grandfather will spend the rest of his life in a monastery and wandering, praying for remission of sins. That is why Nekrasov calls it Holy Russian, showing another feature inherent in all people: deep, sincere religiosity. Grandfather Savely lived for “one hundred and seven years,” but his longevity did not bring him happiness, and his strength, as he himself recalls bitterly, “was gone in small ways.”

In the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus',” Savely embodies precisely this deeply hidden strength of the Russian peasant and his enormous, although so far unrealized, potential. It is worth waking up the people, convincing them to abandon humility for a while, and then they themselves will win happiness, this is what Nekrasov is talking about with the help of the image of the hero Savely.

Work test

Matryona Timofeevna told the walkers about the fate of Savelia. He was her husband's grandfather. She often sought help from him and asked for advice. He was already a hundred years old, he lived separately in his upper room, because he did not like his family. In solitude he prayed and read the calendar. Huge, like a bear, hunched over, with a huge gray mane. At first Matryona was afraid of him. And his relatives teased him about being branded and a convict. But he was kind to his son’s daughter-in-law and became a nanny for her first-born. Matryona ironically called him lucky.

Savely was a serf of the landowner Shalashnikov in the village of Korega, which was lost among impenetrable forests. That is why the life of the peasants there was relatively free. The master excellently tore down the peasants who were withholding the rent from him, since due to the lack of roads it was difficult to reach them. But after his death it got even worse. The heir sent manager Vogel, who turned the life of the peasants into real hard labor. The crafty German convinced the men to work off their debts. And in their innocence they drained the swamps and paved the road. And so the master's hand reached out to them.

For eighteen years they endured the German, who with his death grip let almost everyone around the world. One day, while digging a well, Savely carefully pushed Vogel towards the hole, and the others helped. And they responded to the German’s cries with “nine shovels,” burying him alive. For this he received twenty years of hard labor and the same amount of imprisonment. Even there he worked a lot and managed to save money to build an upper room. But his relatives loved him while they had money, then they began to spit in his eyes.

Why does Nekrasov call this cold-blooded killer a Holy Russian hero? Saveliy, possessing truly heroic physical strength and spiritual strength, is for him the intercessor of the people. Savely himself says that the Russian peasant is a hero in his patience. But he has a glimmering thought that “the men have axes for their adversaries, but they are silent for the time being.” And he chuckles to himself in his beard: “Branded, but not a slave.” For him, both not to endure and to endure are all the same thing, that is an abyss. He speaks with condemnation of the obedience of today's men, who died in his day, the lost Aniki warriors, who are only capable of fighting with old men and women. All their strength in small things was lost under rods and sticks. But his wise folk philosophy led to rebellion.

Even after hard labor, Savely retained his unbroken spirit. Only the death of Demushka, who died through his fault, broke the man who had endured hard labor. He will spend his last days in the monastery and in wanderings. This is how the theme of people's long-suffering was expressed in the fate of Savely.

Essay Savely in the poem Who Lives Well in Rus'

Nekrasov set himself a huge task - to show exactly how the abolition of serfdom affected the right to life. ordinary people. To do this, he creates seven peasants who walk all over Rus' and ask people if they are living well. Grandfather Savely becomes one of the respondents.

Outwardly, Savely looks like a huge bear, he has a large gray “mane”, broad shoulders and a big increase, he is a Russian hero. From Savely’s story, the reader understands that he is not only a hero outwardly, he is also a hero internally, in character. It is very persistent, hardy and full life wisdom Human. A man who experienced many sorrows and many joys.

In his youth, Savely lived far in the forest, where no hand had yet reached evil landowners. But one day a German manager was appointed to the settlement. Initially, the manager did not even demand money from the peasants, the tribute required by law, but forced them to cut down the forest for it. The narrow-minded peasants did not immediately understand what was happening, but when they cut down all the trees, a road was built into their wilderness. It was then that the German manager came with his entire family to live in the wilderness. Only now the peasants could not boast of a simple life: the Germans were fleecing them. A Russian hero is capable of enduring a lot for a long time, Savely argues during this period of his life, but something needs to be changed. And he decides to rebel against the manager, whom all the peasants are burying in the ground. Here the enormous will of our hero is manifested, which is even stronger than his boundless Russian patience.

For such insolence he is sent to hard labor for 20 years, and after that for another 20 years he works in the settlements, saving money. Not every person is capable of plowing for 40 years for one goal - to return home and help his family with money. It is worthy of respect.

Upon returning home, the worker is greeted very cordially, he builds a hut for his family and everyone loves him. But as soon as the money runs out, they start laughing at him, which greatly offends Savely; he does not understand what he did to deserve such treatment.

The end of the grandfather’s life ends in the monastery, where he atones for the sins he committed: it was his fault that his grandson died. Savely is the image of a true Russian hero, capable of enduring a lot, but ready to rush into the fight for the freedom of his neighbors. The author calls him “lucky” with irony, and this is true: he is unhappy for the rest of his life.

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Many destinies pass before the eyes of the wanderers of N.A. Nekrasov’s poem, who set out to look for the happy. The image and characterization of Savely in the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is multifaceted and versatile. The hero Saveliy of Holy Russia appears realistically. It is easy to describe, but difficult to understand.

Hero's appearance

The reader meets the character when he is many years old. In total, Savely lived 107 years. It is difficult to imagine what he was like in his youth, but old age did not hide his powerful physique. The old man’s appearance is similar to the king of the northern forests - the bear:

• a large gray mane (head of hair), which has not been touched by scissors for more than 20 years;
• huge beard;
• back bent into an arc.

Savely compared himself to a village well

...I look like a bitch.

This comparison is surprisingly true: a strong, centuries-old structure with crystal clear water.

Character trait

“...his life is not a military one, and death is not written for him in battle...”

Grandfather Savely is a true Christian. He relies on faith, prays for his fate and for the entire peasant country. The author does not give the character a fabulous quality; he is real and terribly sinful. There are 2 human deaths on it: a German manager and a child. Grandfather is literate and sharp-tongued. This is an amazing feature of the Russian person. Proverbs, sayings, songs, prophecies saturate and decorate Savely’s speech. A simple Holy Russian man is similar to heroes Ancient Rus' and with the saints walking freely on earth.

The fate of a hero

"Pump it up"

The comrades silently supported. This episode confirms the desire of the Russian people to get rid of slavery and speaks of respect for the old man. Saveliy survived the lash. 20 years of hard labor, the same amount of settlement. The man escapes and gets beaten again.

The peasant managed to save money in hard labor. How can a person think about the future in such unbearable conditions? This is unknown to the author. He returned to his family, but they treated him well as long as they had money. The hero's heart turned to stone from grief. It was only the attitude of little Demushka, Matryona’s son, who melted him. But fate played here too cruel joke: the old man overslept the child,

“...fed to the pigs...”

Out of grief for his sin, Savely goes to a monastery to repent. He asks God for forgiveness and begs for softening of his mother’s heart. The old man's death was as long as his life: he fell ill, did not eat, dried up and wasted away.

The character of the hero of the poem

Strong masculine character. Many people around Savely could not stand the hardships. They gave up. Savely stood until the end, did not retreat, “endured.” He tries to compare the lashes: some hurt, others badly. Savely could stand under the rods and not wince. The peasant's skin became tanned; it lasted for a hundred years.

Love of freedom. Grandfather does not want to be a slave:

“...Branded, but not a slave!”

Bravery. Savely went at the bear with a knife and a spear. When one day he stepped on a sleeping bear in the forest, he did not run away, but began to fight with her. The hero lifts a mighty beast on a spear. There was a crunch in the man’s back, but until old age he did not bend from the pain.

A simple Russian man stands out among other heroes. He knows how to distinguish true kindness from lies and deception. His character is strong. Grandfather does not argue over trifles, does not get involved with stupid people, does not try to re-educate his relatives. Hard labor for him gains more broad meaning- this is his whole life.
Savely believes that all Russian men are heroes, they are patient and wise. The old man regrets that he lost his strength under rods and sticks. The heroic prowess is wasted over trifles, but it could change all of Rus', restore freedom to the peasant, and bring happiness.

The reader recognizes one of the main characters of Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” - Savely - when he is already an old man who has lived a long and difficult life. The poet paints a colorful portrait of this amazing old man:

WITH huge gray mane,
Tea, twenty years uncut,
WITH huge beard,
Grandfather looked like a bear
Especially, like from the forest,
He bent over and went out.

Savely's life turned out to be very difficult; fate did not spoil him. In his old age, Savely lived with the family of his son, Matryona Timofeevna’s father-in-law. It is noteworthy that grandfather Savely does not like his family. Obviously, all household members have far from the most best qualities, and an honest and sincere old man feels this very well. In his family of origin Savely is called “branded, convict.” And he himself, not at all offended by this, says: “Branded, but not a slave.
It’s interesting to observe how Savely is not averse to making fun of his family members:

A will annoy him greatly-
He jokes: “Look at this
Matchmakers are coming to us!” Unmarried
Cinderella - to the window:
an instead of matchmakers- beggars!
From a tin button
Grandfather sculpted a two-kopeck coin,
Tossed up on the floor-
Father-in-law got caught!
Not drunk from the pub-
The beaten man trudged in!

What does this relationship between the old man and his family indicate? First of all, it is striking that Savely differs both from his son and from all his relatives. His son does not possess any exceptional qualities, does not disdain drunkenness, and is almost completely devoid of kindness and nobility. And Savely, on the contrary, is kind, smart, and outstanding. He shuns his household; apparently, he is disgusted by the pettiness, envy, and malice characteristic of his relatives. Old man Savely is the only one in his husband’s family who was kind to Matryona. The old man does not hide all the hardships that befell him:

“Oh, the share of Holy Russian
Homemade hero!
He's been bullied all his life.
Time will change its mind
ABOUT death is hellish torment
In the other world they are waiting.”

Old man Savely is very freedom-loving. It combines qualities such as physical and mental strength. Savely is a real Russian hero who does not recognize any pressure over himself. In his youth, Savely had remarkable strength; no one could compete with him. In addition, life was different before, the peasants were not burdened with the difficult responsibility of paying dues and working off corvée. As Savely himself says:

We did not rule the corvee,
We didn't pay rent
A so, when it comes to reason,
IN We'll send you three years.

In such circumstances, the character of young Savely was strengthened. No one put pressure on her, no one made her feel like a slave. Moreover, nature itself was on the side of the peasants:

There are dense forests all around,
There are swampy swamps all around,
No horse can come to us,
Neither let's go on foot!

Nature itself protected the peasants from the invasion of the master, the police and other troublemakers. Therefore, the peasants could live and work peacefully, without feeling someone else’s power over them.
When reading these lines, I remember fairy tale motifs, because in fairy tales and legends people were absolutely free, they were in charge of their own lives.
The old man talks about how the peasants dealt with bears:

We were only worried
Bears... yes with bears
We managed it easily.
With a knife and a spear
I myself am scarier than the elk,
Along protected paths
I go: “My forest!” - I scream.

Savely, like a real fairy-tale hero, lays claim to the forest surrounding him. It is the forest - with its untrodden paths and mighty trees - that is the real element of the hero Savely. In the forest, the hero is not afraid of anything; he is the real master of the silent kingdom around him. That is why in old age he leaves his family and goes into the forest.
The unity of the hero Saveliy and the nature surrounding him seems undeniable. Nature helps Savely become stronger. Even in old age, when years and adversity have bent the old man’s back, remarkable strength is still felt in him.
Savely tells how in his youth his fellow villagers managed to deceive the master and hide their existing wealth from him. And even though they had to endure a lot for this, no one could blame people for cowardice and lack of will. The peasants were able to convince the landowners of their absolute poverty, so they managed to avoid complete ruin and enslavement.
Savely - very proud man. This is felt in everything: in his attitude to life, in his steadfastness and courage with which he defends his own. When he talks about his youth, he remembers how only people weak in spirit surrendered to the master. Of course, he himself was not one of those people:

Shalashnikov tore excellently,
And he received not so great incomes:
Weak people gave up
A strong for the patrimony
They stood well.
I also endured
He remained silent and thought:
“Whatever you do, son of a dog,
A you can’t knock out your whole soul,
Leave something behind!”

Old man Savely bitterly says that now there is practically no self-respect left in people. Now cowardice, animal fear for oneself and one’s well-being and lack of desire to fight prevail:

These were proud people!
A now give me a slap-
Police officer, landowner
They're taking their last penny!

Savely's young years were spent in an atmosphere of freedom. But peasant freedom did not last long. The master died, and his heir sent a German, who at first behaved quietly and unnoticed. The German gradually became friends with the entire local population and gradually observed peasant life.
Gradually he gained the trust of the peasants and ordered them to drain the swamp, then cut down the forest. In a word, the peasants came to their senses only when a magnificent road appeared along which their godforsaken place could be easily reached.

And then came hard labor
To the Korezh peasant -
ruined the threads

Free life is over, now the peasants have fully felt all the hardships of a forced existence. Old man Savely speaks about the people's long-suffering, explaining it by courage and mental strength of people. Only the truly strong and courageous people can be so patient as to endure such bullying, and so generous as not to forgive such treatment of themselves.

A that's why we endured
What we- heroes.
IN Tom is Russian heroism.
Do you think, Matryonushka,
Man- not a hero"?
And his life is not a military one,
And death is not written for him
In battle- and the hero!

Nekrasov finds amazing comparisons when talking about people's patience and courage. He uses folk epic, speaking about heroes:

Hands are twisted with chains,
Feet forged with iron,
Back...dense forests
Walked along it - broke.
What about the breasts? Elijah the prophet
By it rattles and rolls around
On a chariot of fire...
The hero endures everything!

Old man Savely tells how the peasants endured the arbitrariness of the German manager for eighteen years. Their whole life was now at the mercy of this cruel person. People had to work tirelessly. And the manager was always dissatisfied with the results of the work and demanded more. Constant bullying from the Germans causes strong indignation in the souls of the peasants. And one day another round of bullying forced people to commit a crime. They kill the German manager. When reading these lines, the thought of supreme justice comes to mind. The peasants had already felt completely powerless and weak-willed. Everything they held dear was taken from them. But you can’t mock a person with complete impunity. Sooner or later you will have to pay for your actions.
But, of course, the murder of the manager did not go unpunished:

The life of Savely, the Holy Russian hero, after hard labor was very difficult. He spent twenty years in captivity, only to be released closer to old age. Savely's whole life is very tragic, and in his old age he turns out to be the unwitting culprit in the death of his little grandson. This incident once again proves that, despite all his strength, Savely cannot withstand hostile circumstances. He is just a toy in the hands of fate.