Arguments in the direction of “Kindness and Cruelty. Heartlessness, spiritual callousness - arguments of the Unified State Examination

Actions done out of mercy may seem absurd and senseless at first glance.
A person can show mercy even in the most difficult situations
Actions related to helping orphans can be called merciful
Showing mercy often requires sacrifices from a person, but these sacrifices are always justified in some way
People who show mercy are worthy of respect

Arguments

L.N. Tolstoy “War and Peace”. Natasha Rostova shows mercy - one of the most important human qualities. When everyone begins to leave Moscow, captured by the French, the girl orders that the carts be given to the wounded, and not carry her own things on them. Helping people is much more important for Natasha Rostova than material well-being. And it doesn’t matter to her at all that among the things that were to be taken away, the dowry is part of her future.

M. Sholokhov “The Fate of Man.” Andrei Sokolov, despite difficult life trials, did not lose the ability to show mercy. He lost his family and home, but could not help but pay attention to the fate of Vanyushka, a little boy whose parents died. Andrei Sokolov told the boy that he was his father and took him to his place. The ability to show mercy made the child happy. Yes, Andrei Sokolov did not forget his family and the horrors of war, but he did not leave Vanya in trouble. This means that his heart did not harden.

F.M. Dostoevsky “Crime and Punishment”. The fate of Rodion Raskolnikov is difficult. He lives in a miserable, dark room and is malnourished. After the murder of the old pawnbroker, his whole life resembles suffering. Raskolnikov is still poor: he hides what he took from the apartment under a stone, rather than taking it for himself. However, the hero gives the latter to Marmeladov’s widow for the funeral; he cannot ignore the misfortune that has happened, although he himself has nothing to live on. Rodion Raskolnikov turns out to be capable of mercy, despite the murder and the terrible theory he created.

M.A. Bulgakov “The Master and Margarita”. Margarita is ready to do anything to see her Master. She makes a deal with the devil, agrees to be the queen at Satan's terrible ball. But when Woland asks what she wants, Margarita only asks that they stop giving Frida the handkerchief with which she gagged her own child and buried him in the ground. Margarita wants to save a complete stranger from suffering, and this is where mercy is manifested. She no longer asks for a meeting with the Master, because she cannot help but take care of Frida and get past the grief of others.

N.D. Teleshov “Home”. Little Semka, the son of settlers who died of typhus, most of all wants to return to his native village of Beloye. The boy escapes from the barracks and hits the road. On the way he meets an unfamiliar grandfather, they walk together. Grandfather also goes to his native land. On the way, Semka falls ill. Grandfather takes him to the city, to the hospital, although he knows that he cannot go there: it turns out that this is the third time he has escaped from hard labor. There the grandfather is caught, and then sent back to hard labor. Despite the danger to himself, grandfather shows mercy towards Semka - he cannot abandon a sick child in trouble. One’s own happiness becomes less significant for a person than the life of a child.

N.D. Teleshov “Elka Mitricha”. On Christmas Eve, Semyon Dmitrievich realized that everyone would have a holiday, except for eight orphans living in one of the barracks. Mitrich decided to please the guys at all costs. Although it was hard for him, he brought a Christmas tree and bought fifty dollars worth of candy, given by the resettlement official. Semyon Dmitrievich cut each of the guys a piece of sausage, although sausage was his favorite delicacy. Sympathy, compassion, mercy prompted Mitrich to do this act. And the result turned out to be truly wonderful: joy, laughter, and enthusiastic screams filled the previously gloomy room. The children were happy from the holiday he organized, and Mitrich from the fact that he did this good deed.

I. Bunin “Lapti”. Nefed could not help but fulfill the wish of the sick child, who kept asking for some red bast shoes. Despite the bad weather, he went on foot for bast shoes and magenta to Novoselki, located six miles from home. For Nefed, the desire to help the child was more important than ensuring his own safety. He turned out to be capable of self-sacrifice - in a sense, the highest degree of mercy. Nefed died. The men brought him home. A bottle of magenta and new bast shoes were found in Nefed’s bosom.

V. Rasputin “French Lessons”. For Lydia Mikhailovna, a French teacher, the desire to help her student turned out to be more important than preserving her own reputation. The woman knew that the child was malnourished, which is why she played for money. So she invited the boy to play for money with her. This is unacceptable for a teacher. When the director found out about everything, Lydia Mikhailovna was forced to leave for her homeland, to Kuban. But we understand that her act is not bad at all - it is a manifestation of mercy. The seemingly unacceptable behavior of the teacher actually conveyed kindness and care for the child.

The simplest direction sometimes throws up very complex topics, and you need to be prepared for this, especially if you rely only on “kindness and cruelty.” Classic and long-known examples may not be suitable for revealing a tricky formulation. Therefore, keep with you and distribute to your friends fresh and original arguments from stories, novels and novels by Russian authors. If something is missing, please indicate it in the comments.

Kindness

A. I. Solzhenitsyn, “Matrenin’s Dvor”. Solzhenitsyn's story reveals the traits of a kind person through the example of the main character. Matryona is a hardworking person, but among the other residents of the village she is distinguished by such valuable qualities of human character as unselfishness, honesty, and kindness. She never took money for her work, did it well, and did not complain about the difficulties of life. Matryona always comes to the aid of people around her, without demanding payment. She is ready to do any necessary work free of charge. The heroine did not become bitter towards people, she retained her kindness of heart and the ability to enjoy every moment of life. It is such a person that can be called kind.
I.S. Turgenev, "Two Rich Men". In such a small work, Turgenev touched upon important topics for humanity. The author writes about what actions distinguish a generous, kind person. The writer compares the rich man and the poor man. While Rothschild “dedicates whole thousands to raising children, treating the sick, caring for the elderly,” a poor peasant family accepted an orphan niece into “their ruined little house.” The peasants are ready to give their last pennies for Katka; they cannot leave the girl alone. They sacrifice their well-being for the sake of a good deed, for the sake of helping those in need. That is why the rich man is “far from being like this guy”: Rothschild will never give away everything to the last penny. Selfless, honest, selfless actions speak of human kindness.
L. N. Tolstoy, “Anna Karenina”. A strong personality can be easily distinguished from a weak one. First of all, she is capable of a good deed. After all, only a strong person can overcome himself and meet another halfway: forgive him, rush to help, sometimes even neglecting himself. The reader will find an example of such a personality in L. Tolstoy’s novel “Anna Karenina”. The main character's husband committed a noble act: he forgave her for her betrayal and closed his eyes to the terrible act. Karenin even adopted Anna's newborn daughter as a foster child. Of course, you need to have an inner core, to be strong in spirit, in order to act nobly towards other people. Therefore, it cannot be said that kindness is a manifestation of weakness.
A. N. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm”. Parents need to show kindness and care to their children so that their child grows up to be an honest and generous person. Thus, in Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm,” Katerina stood out among many residents of Kalinov in that she retained her sincerity over the years, did not become bitter towards people, and did not learn to deceive, like Varvara. Since childhood, the girl grew up in love, understanding, kindness. That is why she feels like a stranger in this “dark kingdom”; she cannot come to terms with lies and cruelty. Katerina is a deeply religious person; committing a sin brings her torment. So, thanks to her parents, the heroine grew up sensitive, dreamy, and generous. This is why it is so important to show kindness and respect to your children.
A.S. Pushkin, "The Captain's Daughter". One person's kindness and compassion can save another's life. The literature allows us to provide many arguments confirming this. In the novel by A.S. Pushkin, thanks to the understanding and generosity of the Empress, Pyotr Grinev was released from punishment, his life was spared. Masha Mironova went to Catherine II to ask for help. The Empress took pity on the honest girl and showed mercy to her: she ordered the heroine’s lover to be released. Pyotr Grinev saved both his honest name and his life. Thus, the kindness and sensitivity of a person can save him from the death of another, which is why it is so important to cultivate these qualities in yourself and appreciate them.

Cruelty

A. N. Ostrovsky, “Dowry”. A cruel person is someone who treats people with disrespect and plays with their true feelings. This type of character is found in Ostrovsky’s work “The Dowry”. Paratov is an unprincipled, cold, flighty person. He deceives an honest girl, Larisa, twice. When the heroine met him after a year of separation, she believed his declarations of love and completely gave herself to Paratov. But Sergei hid from her that he was engaged to a rich bride. This was a strong blow for the sensitive young lady. Her hopes were dashed, her honor was lost. But for the hero this was an ordinary event; he is indifferent to the suffering of other people. Paratov treated Larisa cruelly, deceiving and betraying her.
DI. Fonvizin, “The Minor.” Why do people act cruelly towards each other and do not consider a person’s feelings at all? Callous behavior is sometimes caused by poor upbringing. Classicists also wrote about this truth. So, in the play “The Minor” by D.I. Fonvizin revealed the consequences of bad upbringing using the example of the Prostakov family. Since childhood, Mitrofan watched how cruelly his mother treated the serfs. Prostakova believes that she has the right to be rude to her servants and beat them. Therefore, Mitrofan grew up to be a cowardly egoist, like his mother. His cruelty manifested itself in the last act of the play - he pushed away the person closest to him and left Prostakova alone.
M. A. Sholokhov, “Quiet Don”. Showing indifference is the highest degree of cruelty. In the epic novel “Quiet Flows the Don,” Grigory’s indifference brings Natalya a lot of suffering. She remained faithful to her husband all her life and always waited with trepidation for him at home. But Melekhov, throughout the entire work, rushes between her and Aksinya, making Natalya suffer. He cheated on his wife more than once and showed coldness towards the heroine. When Grigory realized that family is the highest value in life, it was too late - Natalya was no longer alive. So, Melekhov’s indifference brought a lot of misfortune to his wife; he acted cruelly, “brutally.”
A. P. Platonov, “Yushka”. The cruelty of people is true evil. The consequences of careless behavior can be the most tragic. In Platonov’s story “Yushka,” an honest, hardworking man died due to human cruelty. The main character was always bullied not only by children, but also by adults. Yushka silently endured all the humiliation and never showed anger. He thought that he was loved, but people simply took advantage of his helplessness. Over the years, the man’s health deteriorated, and he was tormented by chest illness. One cruel blow from a stranger became fatal for Yushka. He lay on the ground for a long time, and no one helped him. The hero died from indifference and human anger. Thus, cruelty can only bring misfortune and pain into the world, making the lives of all people only worse.
V. V. Mayakovsky, “Good attitude towards horses”. People need to act humanely not only towards each other, but also towards animals. This topic was explored by Mayakovsky in his poem “A Good Treatment for Horses.” The lyrical hero witnesses cruel treatment of a living creature. He sees indifferent “onlookers” who do not care about what is happening around them. They are incapable of mercy and compassion. In his work, even the horse is more sensitive than people: “Behind the drops, the drops roll down the face.” We live side by side with nature, so we should be attentive to any creature and not be indifferent. The manifestation of cruelty and anger can lead to the most tragic consequences.
N. S. Leskov, “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District”. Katerina Lvovna lived in an atmosphere of cruelty and misunderstanding. Her husband and father-in-law did not love her and constantly accused her of infertility, although the young woman, unlike the obese and old merchant, had no health problems. Such injustice upset her very much, so she looked for love in the arms of the clerk. But the couple was caught by her father-in-law, and the heroine chose crime over shame: she poisoned the old man. Later, it was impossible to stop her: she killed her husband and even his relative because of her thirst to free herself and appropriate the inheritance. Of course, Katerina Lvovna cannot be justified, but still her cruelty began with disrespect and rudeness in the family circle. Reproaches and bad attitudes from men drove her to the point of having to seek happiness elsewhere. This means that the reason for the emergence of cruelty in a person is often the humiliation he has experienced.

arguments for an essay

In my opinion, cruelty is not only when you hurt people physically or psychologically, but cruelty is also a lack of concern for people who expect help from you or just words of sympathy. And we encounter this type of cruelty almost every day, because, and this is my deep conviction, cruelty is, first of all, a product of human indifference and selfishness.

The title of the story refers us to W. Shakespeare's play "Lady Macbeth", where Lady Macbeth's deceit and intrigue elevate her husband to the throne. The desire to achieve primacy makes Lady Macbeth even go beyond murder. Such is Ekaterina Izmailova: being the wife of a rich merchant, she falls in love with Sergei, her employee, and is expecting a child from him. Realizing that very soon her illegal relationship will be exposed, she, with the help of Sergei, kills her husband and father-in-law. And then, in order to remain the only heir to the entire fortune, she goes on to kill Fedya, her husband’s nephew.
We find a character similar to Katerina Izmailova

This is Vasilisa Kostyleva, who persuades the thief Vaska Pepel to kill her husband, old man Kostylev. Vasilisa, married to Kostylev without love, during the years of their life together, was never able to penetrate her husband with at least a sense of respect. The only thing she feels towards him is hatred. The murder of her husband would have freed Vasilisa’s hands, making her the heiress of a small fortune. And she easily decides to kill, calmly explaining her plan to Ash.

a boy picks up a stray dog and brings it home. We see how full of care he is for a lonely, useless dog and how he does not understand his father, who demands that the dog be kicked out of the apartment. It just doesn’t fit into his head that one can offend a defenseless creature who has been offended more than once:

The ending of the story is tragic: having called the gullible dog, the father shoots him in the ear. After reading this, we understand that in fact the father did not kill the dog, or rather not only the dog. First of all, he killed his soul in the child. Thus, the writer argues that the cruelty of an adult can only lead to hatred, to the loss of faith in goodness and justice.

The main character, Lena Bessoltseva, who took responsibility for an ugly act that she did not commit, is humiliated by her classmates in every possible way and even tries to be burned at the stake as a traitor. The cruelty of these still very immature people is truly enormous. She brings Lena unspeakable suffering: she is an outcast in the class, she is despised, hated, demonstrating her attitude in every possible way. But for a teenager, and for a person in general, there is nothing worse than exile and loneliness. The worst thing is that the person who actually committed this act (Lena’s classmate Dima Somov) could not find the strength to confess, and two more classmates, Shmakova and Popov, who accidentally found out the truth, decided not to interfere and see how the matter would end for Lena Bessoltseva. In my opinion, their indifference is even worse than the cowardice of Dima Somov.

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. December is just around the corner, which means there is exactly a month left before writing the final essay.

This is not so little, considering that in four weeks, with a fair amount of work, you can write from 5 to 10 test essays.

This article is devoted to one of the thematic areas offered to graduates in 2018. It is formulated as follows: the essay “Kindness and.” To successfully write a text on this topic, just take a few simple steps.

Formulating specific essay topics

To begin with, we suggest that you comprehend the stated direction and formulate 5 approximate topics. This does not mean that you will get them in the exam. But, using at least one or two of them, you will come closer to understanding the problem. For example let's take the following topics:

— “How do kindness and cruelty coexist in the human heart?”;
- “Is a cruel person capable of a good deed?”;
- “Why do kind people become cruel?”;
— “Where does kindness end and cruelty begin in a situation of war?”;
- “Why are children cruel to each other?”

Choose a topic that is closer to you and proceed to the next stage of work.

Looking for quotes

Quotes will help diversify your essay. They are best placed in the introduction to the essay. Well chosen quote makes it possible to build on it and formulate your own.

To connect sentences, use expressions based on accepting an argument:

“A famous scientist expressed the idea that yellow unicorns are quite rare creatures, and one cannot but agree with this / this idea is confirmed in fiction, / and life experience confirms this...”

or based on his refutation:

“The writer proposes to consider yellow unicorns as a normal phenomenon, but we will try... to prove the opposite / argue with this point of view / reason differently...”

For example, using the aphorism of Honore de Balzac:

"Cruelty and fear shake hands with each other"

You can comment on the essay about the causes of cruelty.

And a quote from Leo Tolstoy will be the best start to your own reasoning:

“The best qualities are worthless without kindness, and the worst vices are easily forgiven with it...”

Arguments from literature on the topic of kindness and cruelty

A good illustration of the stated direction will be Pugachev’s behavior in “ The captain's daughter» A.S. Pushkin.

The scenes of the rebels' reprisals against the captain and captain, horrifying in their cruelty, are replaced by an episode of the inexplicable good nature of the rebel towards Pyotr Grinev. What makes the same person be sometimes heartless and sometimes merciful?

The famous Gogol story " Taras Bulba"tells about the life of the Cossacks, whose goal in life is to defend in military battle. In a situation of war, the world is divided into “us” and “strangers”, so Taras Bulba, warm-hearted and fair in peaceful life, becomes merciless towards his son when it comes to loyalty to the Fatherland.

Believing that the right punishes the wrong, “one’s own” - “their”, the father brutally kills his own son. Bulba's cruelty is determined by the era in which he lives, the culture and traditions of his environment.

M. Gorky in the play “ At the bottom"draws images of heroes who find themselves outside the normal social environment. All of them, due to various circumstances, become inhabitants of a shelter in which cruelty, envy, and the desire to deceive reign.

Only Luke the Comforter is good. But in reality, his kindness turns out to be insufficient to save them: it dissolves in words and is not confirmed by deeds. Such kindness is worse than cruelty: it becomes destructive for the characters.

In addition to the mentioned works, it is permissible to refer for arguments to:

story by I. S. Turgenev “Mu-mu”
his novel "Fathers and Sons"
novel by I. A. Goncharov “Oblomov”
poem by S.A. Yesenina "Anna Snegina"
story by A. I. Solzhenitsyn “Matryonin’s yard”
novel by B. L. Pasternak “Doctor Zhivago”
epic novel by M. A. Sholokhov “Quiet Don”
and other literary sources.

Let's get started

We will try our best clearly formulate the main idea, illustrate it with logical, interconnected arguments and draw a conclusion that corresponds to the main thesis voiced at the beginning.

Let's sketch plan: “Kindness and cruelty. Composition". It should consist of three elements:

- introduction;
- main part;
- conclusions.

Additional Tips accept here:

For example, let’s take the third topic: “ Why do kind people become cruel?" In the draft we will write down arguments that will help illustrate the evil, aggressive behavior of a person who was previously in good standing.

To the two main arguments, it would not be amiss to add a third (preferably from Western European literature). Each paragraph should end with a mini-conclusion, and the entire text of the work should end with a general conclusion.

Example of a final essay: “Why do kind people become cruel?”

The Chinese sage Confucius said: “All people are born good.” It’s hard to argue with this: babies don’t know envy, deceit, or lies. They are defenseless in front of people and are equally open to good and evil. Why does it happen that kind people become cruel?
Calm sons and affectionate daughters grow up in loving families. And if the family is dysfunctional (parents quarrel, focus only on themselves, disappear completely), childhood collapses. What a person will be like depends on the environment in which he grows up. If someone good-natured shows aggression and callousness towards others, it means that he was hurt, offended, insulted, and made to lose faith in people.
An example of this is the official Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin from the story by N.V. Gogol's "The Overcoat". Serving honestly in his department, the “little man” did not dream of anything, but as soon as Akaki Akakievich wished for a new overcoat, Providence laughed at him. The overcoat was perceived by the official as alive - he thought about it so much, prepared for so long for the new life, the symbol of which it became.
And when the overcoat finally came into his possession, unknown people took it away. Bashmachkin died of shock. The ghost of Akaki Akakievich began to take away the overcoats of everyone he met. So N.V. Gogol described the model of the birth of cruelty: the offended becomes an offender. True, it happens only after the death of the hero.
In the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" the problem reaches its climax. The murder of the old woman by student Raskolnikov is a reaction to the cruelty of the surrounding world, which burdens the hero. Blood begets blood, evil cannot stop evil.
Only the sacrificial love of Sonya Marmeladova breaks this chain. Pride gives way to repentance, cruelty gives way to the kindness that lived in Raskolnikov’s heart even when he was a child. Another example of the transformation of a kind person into a cruel one is illustrated by the beautiful girl Lorelei, recorded by the German romantic poet Clemens Brentano.
The river fairy Loreline (or Lorelei) sits on top of a rock and sings sweet songs that drive everyone crazy who hears them. Lorelei's beauty is destructive, but it does not please the girl, because her heart is broken by unrequited love. Having suffered from the cruelty of her lover, Lorelei indifferently destroys other young men, and then dies herself. This is how cruelty destroys everything around and inside a person.
No matter how kind we are, life sends us severe tests, and not everyone has the strength to withstand. Few people retain such qualities as warmth and warmth throughout their lives. People become cruel to protect themselves from new pain, to take revenge, to fight back against those who have offended them. Only love can break this circle. It is she who gives strength to live on.

Analyzing the results and preparing for the Unified State Exam

The final essay will show how ready you are for the Unified State Exam in the Russian language.

Even if the test is successfully received, honestly ask yourself the following questions:

— How many literary works have I read?
— Do I know how to select quotes and arguments?
— Am I able to draw logical conclusions?
— Was it easy for me to write the essay?

If the answer to at least one of these questions is negative, it makes sense to continue writing test essays, bringing this skill to perfection. Then part WITH your written exam will absolutely please both you and the examiners.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

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Examples from life

(53 words) The first time I thought about kindness was when I noticed that my sister was sneakily feeding the cat on the street. She saved her pocket money to buy him food, deprived herself at dinner to treat her pet, and even in the rain managed to run out to him with a gift. Then I realized that kindness makes people sublime and good.
(53 words) One dog shocked me with its kindness. She treated cats poorly, always barked at them, but one day a kitten wandered into her den. He barely opened his eyes, apparently he had been orphaned early. To my surprise, the dog not only did not touch him, but also warmed him up in his booth. So he grew up under her care.
(58 words) I can give another example from life. One day I saw my brother and sister walking from school, when suddenly my brother was attacked by older guys. They didn’t touch the girl, but she, without hesitation, stood up and began to attack. The guys were embarrassed, walked away, and the brave girl didn’t even tell anyone about what happened. I realized that this is real kindness.
(58 words) Let me give you an example of the kindness of our class teacher. She was strict, no one really expected anything good from her. But one day, having learned that one of the “troubled” girls had not returned home, she went alone at night to look for her. Having found her in dubious company, the woman was not afraid of hooligans and took the girl home. Since then I have respected her immensely.
(49 words) Personally, I felt the desire to do a good deed when I saw a program where they showed sick children. They needed expensive operations, and I, looking back at my prosperous and happy life, realized that I could do without ice cream. I transferred a small amount and was happy that I was able to do something really important.
(59 words) My father told me about kindness when he once again returned with a bandaged hand. He donated blood. I was very afraid of injections and did not understand his motivation. Then he said that he himself was once in the hospital after an accident, and his entire native village donated blood to him. I imagined this willingness to help uniting completely different people, and I realized that kindness is the driving force of humanity.
(57 words) I learned about kindness when I first went to the hospital. I was scared and lonely. My sister came to me, I was already huddled under the blanket, waiting for the injections, but then she smiled and just started chatting with me. She played up all the procedures as if they were an empty formality. Then I realized how important it is, no matter who you are, to remain a kind person.
(53 words) I consider my friend truly kind. One day the boys caught a frog and wanted to cheat it. And then he screams at us with good obscenities, and snatches it from the main instigator of the prank that no one had time to figure out. He released her, but he and I received a fair beating. But goodness is still worth standing up for.
(66 words) From my experience, I remember a situation when a stray cat appeared in our barn. I felt very sorry for her, but I was afraid to tell my grandmother about her, because she did not like living creatures in the house. So I fed her secretly until I noticed that grandma was doing the same. She explained that she was afraid to adopt a cat because of my asthma. Since then, I know for sure that I went into it with a soft character.
(68 words) I learned about kindness when I was put with one girl. She didn’t know mathematics, unlike me, and I was terribly proud of this, I didn’t let her cheat. But chemistry didn’t work out for me, but she was the smartest girl in the class. And then, on the final test, she sees that I’m failing, and... lets me write it off! Since then we have been friends, and I realized that kindness is more important than mathematics.

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