Are there mitrofanushki in modern society? They explain to schoolchildren at Nedorosl: being a Mitrofanushka is old-fashioned

To answer the question “Are there Mitrofanushki now?”, let us first remember who is hiding under this name, and for this we turn to the original source - the brilliant comedy by D. I. Fonvizin “The Minor”.

“The Minor” is not only the best comedy of the outstanding playwright, but also of all Russian drama of the 18th century as a whole. This comedy has not lost its relevance today: it is no coincidence that of all the plays created at that time, only “The Minor” is still staged on stage.

With its vitality and relevance, Fonvizin’s comedy

I owe a lot to the image of the main character, whose name has long become a household name. As soon as we pronounce the name of the comedy, the image of a quitter, an ignoramus and a mummy’s boy immediately appears in our imagination, for whom the word “door” is either an adjective or a noun, depending on which door we are talking about.

Before Fonvizin, the word “minor” did not have a condemnatory meaning. Minors were the children of nobles who had not reached fifteen years of age, that is, the age determined by Peter I for entering the service. In Fonvizin, the word “minor” first acquired a mocking, ironic meaning.

The meaning in this meaning is forever fixed in the minds of readers.

Like all educators of the 18th century, D.I. Fonvizin attached great importance to the proper upbringing of children. And in the person of the rude ignoramus Mitrofanushka, he wanted to show “all the unfortunate consequences of bad upbringing.” The image of Mitrofanushka was written with great skill, because the playwright sought to combine and express in him all the ugliest features of the small landed nobility, to give a satirical denunciation of the younger generation.

The only one she loves is her son Mitrofanushka. Raised by his mother, Mitrofanushka grew up a complete ignorant, rude and impudent with those over whom he felt superior, and ingratiating himself with those in whom he felt strength. The name Mitrofan itself means: showing his mother, like his mother.

Mitrofan is an imbecile primarily because he is a complete ignoramus who knows neither arithmetic, nor geography, nor grammar. But he is also immature in a moral sense, since he does not know how to respect the dignity of other people, he is also immature in a civic sense, because he has not matured enough to understand his responsibilities to the state. It is quite natural that civic feeling is alien to the Skotinin-Prostakovs; the thought of “being useful to one’s fellow citizens” cannot enter their heads.

Mitrofanushka, a teenager, does not need to study or prepare himself for public service, because he has hundreds of serfs who will provide him with a well-fed life. This is how his grandfather lived, this is how his parents live, so why shouldn’t he spend his life in idleness and pleasure?

The image of the undergrown Mitrofanushka has become a convincing example of the fact that the environment and living conditions largely determine a person’s behavior in society and his outlook on life. The writer's contemporaries noted that this image is endowed with truthful, typical features. “In this comedy,” wrote P. A. Vyazemsky, “there is so much reality... I myself happened to meet in the provinces with two or three living copies of Mitrofanushka, that is, as if they served as a model for Fonvizin.”

Fonvizin’s comedy “The Minor” is directed (and largely thanks to the image of Mitrofanushka) against all “those malicious ignoramuses who, having their complete power over people, use it for evil inhumanly.” From the first to the last scene, this comedy is structured in such a way that it is clear to the viewer or reader: unlimited power over the peasants is the source of parasitism, tyranny, abnormal family relationships, moral ugliness, ugly upbringing and ignorance.

People without honor and conscience, without mind and heart, turn into beasts. We do not see anything human in them: only animal feelings, “bestiality”, “beastliness”, only concern for the satisfaction of basic physical needs, pathetic attempts to give their lives the appearance of “education” - a naive masquerade that does not change their true essence. Yes, of course, all these are the results of anti-human serfdom. But isn't it time to go beyond that historical era?

After all, the public danger of aggressive ignorance was felt not only in the 18th century.

The problems raised by the author remain relevant today, they concern each of us. Because even today, despite the joint efforts of the school, family and state, Mitrofanushki live nearby. Some are immature in the moral sense, some in the civil sense, and we meet ignoramuses who do not have basic knowledge, but at the same time boast of their education, very, very often.

No matter what, in each of us, if you look closely, you can find something from Mitrofanushka.

Why? It's so convenient. There are also those who try with all their might to evade fulfilling their public duty or simply from fulfilling their duties. There are also those who do not see the need for secondary and higher education.

The only question is whether we will be able to recognize in time the characteristic symptoms of the “disease” in ourselves and those around us and whether we will fight them.

Manifestations of ignorance, unfortunately, are numerous... The outstanding historian V.O. Klyuchevsky was absolutely right when he wrote: “... a mocking modern viewer of the stage Mitrofan can, over time, punish himself for premature laughter not with theatrical, but with real everyday and very bitter tears. I repeat, one must laugh at Mitrofan carefully, because Mitrofan is not very funny and, moreover, is very vindictive, and they take revenge with the uncontrollable multiplication and elusive insight of their breed, akin to insects or microbes.”

Glossary:

- essay on the topic of modern mitrofanushki

- essay on the topic Mitrofanushka

- essay on the topic of raising Mitrofan

– modern mitrofanushki

– are there mitrofanushki now?

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An essay on the topic of modern Mitrofanushki can be written after familiarizing yourself with Fonvizin’s work called. It is there that we meet Mitrofan, who in the work was affectionately called Mitrofanushka.

So who are they, the modern Mitrofanushki? What are they? Of course, we need to return to Fonvizin’s comedy and get to know the undersized Mitrofanushka. In general, the name itself suggests that this person is like a mother. His mother Prostakova was angry with everyone around her, especially with the peasants. She loved only her son and spoiled him in every possible way. So Mitrofan had not yet served at the age of 16, although young people already at the age of 15 had to go to the sovereign's service. However, our hero only cares about one thing: how to eat enough, how to sleep well, and where to chase the pigeons. His mother encourages him in every possible way, telling him to go and frolic.

Getting acquainted with the work, we understand that this is a narrow-minded mama's boy, who was also an uneducated person. His mother tried to give him some knowledge, but mostly she gave instructions to study for the sake of appearance, so that from the outside it would seem like he was working hard. This is an ignorant person who treats even his mother with disdain and without respect. We see his attitude towards his mother at the end of the comedy, when he rudely answered his mother that she had lost her power. He simply shouted back at her to get off him.

Modern Mitrofanushki

So, having become acquainted with the hero of the work Nedorosl, in our work on the topic of modern Mitrofanushki we can answer the question of who the modern Mitrofanushki are. At the same time, it is enough just to discard the depicted past of the 18th century in Fonvizin’s work and transfer the character of Mitrofanushka to our twenty-first century. And what do we see? And we see the same modern undergrowth that is similar to Mitrofan. Many of us do not like to study, are lazy and happily live at the expense of our parents. Isn't this Mitrofanushki? As for me, these are real immatures in the very sense that Fonvizin gave to this word. Modern Mitrofanushki are also children of rich parents, spoiled and who do not appreciate what they got for nothing, thanks to their parents’ ability to spin, earn money and their ability to live.

Modern Mitrofanushki are those who want to become famous without making any effort, say, at the expense of others. In general, if we face the truth, there is a modern Mitrofanushka in each of us. Maybe this is just some part of his character, or maybe his complete likeness. Many of us are lazy, many are rude to adults, and do not know how to communicate with peers. There are also those among us who have little desire for knowledge, finishing their studies, thanks to the efforts of their parents and their money. And here it is important, it seems to me, to eradicate these character traits of Mitrofanushka in time, so that later no one can compare you with Mitrofanushka from Fonvizin’s comedy.

“The Minor” is not only the best comedy of an outstanding playwright, but also of all Russian drama of the 18th century as a whole. This comedy has not lost its relevance today: it is no coincidence that of all the plays created at that time, only “The Minor” is still staged on stage.

With its vitality and relevance, Fonvizin’s comedy

owes much to the image of the main character, whose name has long become a household name. As soon as we pronounce the name of the comedy, the image of a quitter, an ignoramus and a mummy’s boy immediately appears in our imagination, for whom the word “door” is either an adjective or a noun, depending on which door we are talking about.

meaning is forever fixed in the minds of readers.

Mitrofanushka inherited his bad upbringing and complete disregard for teaching from his relatives - the Prostakovs and Skotinins, in whose family there were no educated people, many did not even know how to read. Mitrofanushka's mother, Mrs. Prostakova - nee Skotinina - is an evil, hypocritical, at the same time despotic and cowardly person. She does not take into account the dignity of those who live nearby: she has long crushed her husband under her, depriving him of his will and his own opinion, humiliates Sophia, considering her a freeloader, scolds and humiliates the serfs. The only one she loves is her son Mitrofanushka. Raised by his mother, Mitrofanushka grew up a complete ignorant, rude and impudent with those over whom he felt superior, and ingratiating himself with those in whom he felt strength. The name Mitrofan itself means: showing his mother, like his mother. With this name, the author once again emphasizes the idea that the character and behavior of children are a natural result of the examples with which they are surrounded in their parents’ home.

Mitrofan is an imbecile, first of all, because he is a complete ignoramus who knows neither arithmetic, nor geography, nor grammar. But he is also immature in a moral sense, since he does not know how to respect the dignity of other people, he is also immature in a civic sense, because he has not matured enough to understand his responsibilities to the state. It is quite natural that civic feeling is alien to the Skotinin-Prostakovs; the thought of “being useful to one’s fellow citizens” cannot enter their heads.

Fonvizin raised many important questions in his comedy: about serving the fatherland, about education, about ignorance (and not just ignorance, but the most terrible thing - aggressive), about parents and children, about true and imaginary education, about the meaning of life, finally. Are we really going to pretend that this has nothing to do with us, that all this is a thing of the past? Of course not! The problems raised by the author remain relevant today, they concern each of us. Because even today, despite the joint efforts of the school, family and state, Mitrofanushki live nearby. Some are immature in the moral sense, some in the civil sense, and we meet ignoramuses who do not have basic knowledge, but at the same time boast of their education, very, very often. No matter what, in each of us, if you look closely, you can find something from Mitrofanushka.

We are confident that the people around us should help us, give us advice, we expect that in difficult times they will come to our aid and lend a shoulder. Are we always kind and attentive to others, to elders? There are also those among us who live only at the expense of their parents and are not going to change anything further. Why? It's so convenient. There are also those who try with all their might to evade fulfilling their public duty or simply from fulfilling their duties. There are also those who do not see the need for secondary and higher education. What for? I can count and write, with the Internet, thank God, in first-name terms... No matter how smart and hardworking a person is, there is a piece of Mitrofanushka in him, if only because each of us sometimes allows ourselves to be lazy. The only question is whether we will be able to recognize in time the characteristic symptoms of the “disease” in ourselves and those around us and whether we will fight them.

Glossary:

- essay on the topic of modern mitrofanushki

- essay on the topic Mitrofanushka

- essay on the topic of raising Mitrofan

– modern mitrofanushki

– are there mitrofanushki now?

Other works on this topic:

The comedy “Minor” is unconditionally considered the pinnacle of D. I. Fonvizin’s creativity. The work is based on a story from the life of a teenager - a teenager, a minor. The comedy was written by the author in...
One of the most interesting and satirically illuminated characters in Fonvizin’s comedy “The Minor” is the Prostakovs’ son, Mitrofanushka. It is in his honor that the work is named. Mitrofanushka -...
The comedy “Minor” is rightfully considered the pinnacle of Fonvizin’s creativity. Minor - teenager, minor. The work was written in 1781, and in 1782 it was first staged on the big stage....
At the literature lesson, we became acquainted with the work of Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin “The Minor”. The author of the comedy was born in 1745 in Moscow. They started teaching him to read and write at four...

If you look in detail, there are a huge number of people who fit the image of Mitrofanushka from the famous comedy by Fonvizin. It is also necessary to sanctify the fact that of all the works that were created in that era, only “Minor” by D.I. Fonvizin, is still used today. This suggests that the comedy has absolutely not lost its topicality and relevance.

To answer the question whether “Mitrofanushki” still exists in our time, we must first find out what the word “minor” means. Before the advent of comedy, this word was absolutely not ironic. This was the name given to the children of nobles who had not reached the age of 15. It was upon reaching this age, according to the Decree of Tsar Peter the Great, that the young man had the right to enter the service.

In Fonvizin, this word takes on an ironic and humorous character. He translates the word “minor” from the age plane to the plane of mental and social development. “Growing up in years, but not growing in brains” - this is how many critics characterized the main character of the comedy, whose name has become a household name for two centuries. And it’s true, when mentioning this comedy, almost everyone’s first association is the unfortunate Mitrofanushka. For many, in addition to laughter and irony, he evokes pity.

Let's analyze this image in more detail. The fact that he is ignorant, completely uneducated and unmannered is not only his fault. He received this “inheritance” from his relatives. The Prostakovs-Skotinins, throughout their entire family, never had smart and literate people. Most of the relatives did not even know how to read! Lady Prostakova herself, an evil, cruel, illiterate and despotic person, was absolutely sure that education for nobles was unnecessary. Her husband did not exist for her as a person; she hated Sophia and considered her a parasite. Meanwhile, she was very afraid of her brother with huge fists, who, more than anything else in his life, adored pigs, and when he decided to get married, he certainly wanted to have his own piglets.

The same fear was transmitted to Mitrofan. It’s not for nothing that the author called him that. The word "Mitrofan" literally means "like a mother." It is precisely this circumstance that Fonvizin emphasizes that what atmosphere and what principles reign in the family, the same is passed on to the children. And the result was not long in coming. Mitrofanushka discusses the door with great pleasure, calling it either a “noun” or “adjective.” He does not want and does not want to study, since he was not instilled with an interest in this. It can’t even occur to him that he can be useful to society.

Although more than two hundred years have passed since the comedy was written, the problems of upbringing in a family are still very relevant today. Those children who are not instilled with an interest in knowledge from early childhood, those children who grow up in dysfunctional families, or, conversely, in very rich ones, where they fulfill every childish whim and desire, it is in such cases that they grow up from such heirs, “Mitrofanushki ", who are not accustomed to work, who are antipathetic to moral values and everything else. Unfortunately, there are very, very many cases of “minors” in modern society.

The answer to the question of whether Mitrofanushki is alive in our time is already contained in the text of the comedy. Prostakova and Vralman discuss the problem of Mitrofanushka’s education. A caring mother is very worried that studying could harm the health of her beloved son. Vralman's response is both comical and tragic. The comedy is based on the fact that the teacher compares the head with the stomach: if yesterday Mitrofanushka overate and feels so bad, what will happen when he “fills” his head with “extra” knowledge?

The tragedy of the situation is that such wise men as Mitrofan make up half, if not most of Russia. In Vralman’s intonation there is no slightest doubt about the fairness of the existing order: “Don’t collapse, my mother, don’t collapse, what a terrible son of yours, there are millions, millions of them in the world. How can he not ruin his campaigns?”

Both viewers and readers openly laugh at Mitrofan. However, as the famous historian V. O. Klyuchevsky noted, “it is very dangerous to laugh at him.” “Only his thoughts are funny, but his actions are not at all funny,” because they are in conflict with basic moral concepts.

Mitrofan's character potentially poses a great danger to others: he carries within himself active evil. N.V. Gogol called Mitrofan a tyrant: “a tyrant of all, and most of all of those who love him most, that is, mothers and nannies, so that insulting them has already become a pleasure for him.” P.A. Vyazemsky believed that the source of Mitrofan’s malice was ignorance: “the ignoramus is not so ridiculous and pitiful because he has not yet served for sixteen years: it would be pitiful for him to serve without reaching the age of reason; but you laugh at him because he is ignorant.” These are the testimonies of Fonvizin’s contemporaries, but what are things like in our time?

First of all, let's consider what in the image of Mitrofan makes modern readers laugh. Taking into account the fact that Fonvizin kept intact the classical principle of the “trinity” of time, place and action, all the events taking place in the comedy last for one day. Thus, we can almost accurately reconstruct one of Mitrofanushka’s everyday days. Reading the beginning of the play, one can assume that the action takes place in the morning: Mitrofan tries on a caftan, carries out his mother’s instructions. The minor is not feeling well, since in the evening he hardly had dinner at all (of course, five buns, three slices of corned beef, five or six hearths, a jug of kvass doesn’t count). Mitrofanushka is upset: to his poor health was added a bad dream in which his mother beats his father. Mitrofanushka felt sorry for poor mother: “You’re so tired, beating the priest.” Let us pay attention to the author’s commentary on Mitrofan’s remark: the son is talking to his mother, “getting soft.” That is, he behaves like a five-year-old child. Mitrofan deliberately manipulates his mother, feeling her boundless love and care.

Perhaps only Eremeevna tries to admonish the slacker Mitrofan: “Yes, learn at least a little.” Mitrofan, in his opinion, does not need to wait for the teachers to arrive: his mother has already taught him the main lessons. Mitrofan Eremeevna’s answer could well have belonged to Prostakova: “Well, one more word, you old bastard! I’ll finish them off...” Considering the nanny’s age, Mitrofan’s rudeness cannot be justified by anything. Such cases are not uncommon in modern life.

Take public transport, for example. Very often, during the busiest hours, verbal altercations arise between passengers. Recently I witnessed a situation where an elderly woman turned to a sitting young man with a request to give her a seat. The reaction of the modern ignoramus followed immediately; his remark was reminiscent of the words of Mitrofan quoted above. The woman, unlike the accustomed Eremeevna, was very upset: the undeserved insult echoed in her heart with bitterness and pain. It can be assumed that this modern undergrowth behaves in a similar way at home. Obviously, it is customary in his family to insult and humiliate each other. But, on the other hand, it is quite possible that he is just a spoiled mama's boy. A consumerist, boorish attitude towards loved ones became the norm for him, spreading to complete strangers.

But let's return to Mitrofanushka. Behind his aggression and rudeness lies cowardice: having been rude to Eremeevna, a moment later he hides behind her back, sensing a threat from Uncle Skotinin. At the same time, Mitrofan is very calculating: by the age of sixteen, he had developed his own strategy of behavior, having a keen sense of who he can use for his own purposes, and from whom he can receive a worthy rebuff. Mama, as we already understood, belonged to the first group: she could complain about the offenders, she could be blackmailed.

In the scenes of Mitrofan's teaching, the ignorance of the teachers themselves is more likely to be revealed, and the impromptu exam of the undergrowth provides certain information about his character. We see that despite ignorance, Mitrofan has developed logic and is capable of extraordinary thinking. But all these qualities remained in embryo. Their development was hampered, on the one hand, by the natural laziness of the teenager, and on the other, by the general atmosphere of hostility towards science. Do such ignoramuses study in our modern schools? Great multitude. At school, such unfortunate students most often do not have problems, since parents make every possible effort to ensure that their child receives an education, and then a higher educational institution, which in our time anyone, including Mitrofan, can graduate from. only money from parents. After graduating from the institute, detachments of ignoramuses enter adulthood; naturally, their thoughts are not focused on the interests of society and the good of the fatherland. For modern Mitrofanushki, the primary task is to ensure their own well-being and the desire to achieve this goal. For them, all means are good. From year to year, our society never ceases to wonder: why do we, having rich, fertile lands, continue to eke out a miserable existence? Alas, the question remains unanswered.

Are there mitrofanushki in modern society? They explain to schoolchildren at Nedorosl: being a Mitrofanushka is old-fashioned

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Modern Mitrofanushki

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