Humane attitude towards the enemy arguments. The problem of attitude towards prisoners in fiction

In this collection, we have formulated the most common problems from the thematic block “Mercy”, which are ubiquitous in texts for essays on the Unified State Exam in the Russian language. Each of them is given a separate heading, under which literary arguments illustrating this problem are located. You can also download a table with these examples at the end of the article.

Every person needs support, care and attention, especially in difficult circumstances it is so important to know that you can count on someone. In Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment, the main character needed help, because, having committed a murder, he could not come to his senses for so long. Rodion fell ill, had terrible dreams and lived with the thought that sooner or later his crime would be revealed. But Sonya Marmeladova showed sensitivity and mercy towards him after learning about his terrible condition. The girl helped the hero not to go crazy, convinced him to confess and repent. Thanks to Sonya's support, Raskolnikov's conscience stopped tormenting her.
In Leo Tolstoy's epic novel War and Peace, Natasha Rostova showed mercy towards wounded soldiers. The sympathetic heroine gave the wounded carts, which were allocated for the removal of the count's family's property. The girl also took care of the dying Andrei Bolkonsky. Natasha's kind heart helped the heroes in difficult times. In difficult circumstances, you understand how necessary mercy is. After all, sometimes it is sensitivity and compassion that can truly help us out.
True mercy can help not only those around you, but also the person who shows sensitivity. In Mikhail Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man,” the main character Andrei Sokolov, having learned that his relatives have died, is left completely alone. At the end of the story, he meets the lonely boy Vanya. The main character decides to introduce himself to the orphaned child as his father, thereby saving both him and himself from melancholy and loneliness. Andrei Sokolov's mercy gave Vanya and himself hope for happiness in the future.

Indifference and mercy

Unfortunately, so often, instead of mercy, we are faced with the indifference of others. In Ivan Bunin's story "Mr. from San Francisco" not even the name of the main character is mentioned. For the people sailing with him on the same ship, he remains the master - a man who only gives orders and for his money receives the results of their implementation. But the reader notices how attention and fun are instantly replaced by indifference, by the way the hero’s lifeless body is treated. At moments when his wife and daughter need mercy and support, people ignore their grief, not attaching any importance to it.
We find indifference in one of the most controversial characters in Russian literature - Grigory Pechorin. The main character of Lermontov’s novel “A Hero of Our Time” alternates between being interested in those around him and then remaining indifferent to their own suffering. For example, he loses interest in Bela, whom he kidnapped, sees her confusion, but does not try to correct his own mistake. Most often, it is precisely at those moments when the characters need his mercy and support that Pechorin turns away from them. He seems to analyze his behavior, realizing that he is only making things worse, but forgets to show attention to others. Because of this, the fate of many of his acquaintances is sad, but if Gregory had shown mercy more often, many of them could have become happier.
Mercy can truly save many, and literature confirms this idea. In Alexander Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm,” Kabanikh’s mother-in-law treats Katerina poorly, and the main character’s husband does not stand up for his wife. Out of loneliness and despair, a young woman secretly goes on dates with Boris, but then still decides to confess this to her husband in the presence of his mother. Having not met understanding and mercy, the girl realizes that she has nowhere to go, so she decides to throw herself into the water. If the heroes had shown her mercy, she would have lived.

The ability to empathize is a positive trait

A trait such as mercy often speaks of a person as a whole. If a character can feel compassion and support others, most likely you have a positive character. In Denis Fonvizin’s comedy “The Minor,” the characters are strictly divided into negative (Prostakovs, Mitrofan, Skotinin) and positive (Pravdin, Sophia, Starodum and Milon). And indeed, during the action of the play, none of the uneducated and rude serf landowners shows compassion and mercy, which cannot be said about the honest and intelligent noble intellectuals. For example, in the final scene, Mitrofan rudely pushes away his own mother, who did everything for his well-being. But Sophia receives unexpected help from Starodum, who sympathizes with her.
Remembering Nikolai Karamzin’s story “Poor Liza,” the reader will have a negative attitude towards Erast, because of whom the main character drowned. For Lisa, feelings are the most important thing, so she cannot stand the news that her loved one is engaged to a rich widow. The girl takes everything to heart, she is capable of mercy, because her whole life was dedicated to her sick mother in need of care. But her rich inner world was not truly appreciated by Erast. We feel sorry for the heroine; we understand how pure the soul of Lisa in love was.

Mercy as self-sacrifice

Many literary heroes show mercy not only with words, but also with some actions. This is exactly what the main character of Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” does when she spends her well-deserved desire from Woland not on returning her beloved, but on helping Frida, whom she met at Satan’s ball. Margot imbued with the girl’s grief and proves that her compassion is not limited to her experiences. Therefore, Margarita makes a wish that Frida will never again be reminded of her strangled child. From now on, a woman will not be given a scarf, and all because the hostess of the Spring Ball heroically showed sensitivity and mercy.
Mercy means the willingness to help people with words, actions, and sometimes even sacrifices. In Maxim Gorky’s story “Old Woman Izergil,” the image of Danko, who showed concern for the people, immediately stands out. Just so that people would not surrender to the enemy and be able to get out of the dark forest, Danko tore open his chest, took out his heart and illuminated the path for his fellow villagers, not paying attention to reproaches. The hero’s love for humanity and the mercy of the hero helped the tribe overcome all the obstacles along the way, and Danko himself died, but in the last minutes he was truly happy.
Mercy can be expressed in different ways: both in words and in actions. In Pushkin’s novel “The Captain’s Daughter,” Pyotr Grinev gives an unknown Cossack a sheepskin coat, and then the reader realizes that the hero’s kindness subsequently saved him from the gallows. In fact, the Cossack is Pugachev, who has not forgotten the help of the protagonist, so he also goes to mercy in return: he gives life to both Peter and his bride. Obviously, this quality not only saves people, but also makes them better, because it is passed on from one to another.

The Need for Empathy

Mercy will always be appreciated, especially if it is shown in difficult circumstances. Let us recall the story of Alexander Solzhenitsyn “Matrenin’s Dvor”. Before us is a heroine with a difficult fate, but a bright soul. Her husband did not return from the war, the children died young, and she was sick and lived alone. Nevertheless, Matryona always showed mercy to others even in the harsh conditions of totalitarianism. During her life, they did not understand her, but after her death, the person who, as a storyteller, lived in her house and described her life and character, realized the most important social role of this woman. “A village is not worthwhile without a righteous man,” he wrote, defining the significance of a sympathetic old woman for the entire settlement. He immortalized her image in his story.
Even in Lermontov’s love lyrics one can observe the motive of mercy, or, more accurately, its absence in a cruel world. In the poem “The Beggar,” the author, of course, writes about feelings that remain “deceived forever.” However, Lermontov compares this state with the situation of a beggar asking only for a piece of bread. Not a drop of mercy was shown towards the poor man, but only a stone was placed “in his outstretched hand.” Like the lyrical hero, the beggar needed help and compassion, but both of them met only with the cruelty of those around them.

Is there a place for mercy in war? And is it possible to show mercy to the enemy in war? The text by V. N. Lyalin makes us think about these questions. Here the author raises the problem of showing mercy to the enemy.

In the text, the author talks about Mikhail Ivanovich Bogdanov, who in 1943 was sent to war to serve as an orderly. During one of the fiercest battles, Mikhail Ivanovich was able to protect the wounded from SS machine gunners. For the courage shown during the counterattack with the Galicia division, he was nominated for the Order of Glory by the battalion commissar. The day after the battle, noticing the corpse of a German soldier lying in a ditch, Mikhail Ivanovich showed mercy by deciding to bury the German. The author shows us that despite the war, Mikhail Ivanovich was able to retain his humanity, not remaining indifferent to the enemy. Having learned about this case, the battalion commissar decided to cancel the orderly's nomination for the Order of Glory.

However, for Mikhail Ivanovich it was important to act according to his conscience, and not to receive a reward.

I agree with the author’s position and am convinced that mercy has a place in war. After all, it doesn’t matter whether the enemy is dead or unarmed, he no longer poses any danger. I believe that Mikhail Ivanovich Bogdanov did a worthy act by burying the body of someone killed in a shootout German soldier. It is very important in the conditions of a brutal war to be able to preserve humanity within yourself and not let your heart grow cold.

The problem of showing mercy to the enemy is raised in the work of V. L. Kondratiev “Sashka”. The main character, Sashka, captured a German during a German attack. At first, the German seemed like an enemy to him, but, looking closer, Sashka saw in him an ordinary person, just like himself. He no longer saw him as an enemy. Sashka promised the German his life, he said that Russians are not animals, they will not kill an unarmed person. He showed the German a leaflet that said that prisoners were guaranteed life and return to their homeland. However, when Sashka brought the German to the battalion commander, the German did not tell him anything, and therefore the battalion commander gave Sashka the order to shoot the German. Sashka’s hand did not rise to the unarmed soldier, so similar to himself. Despite everything, Sashka retained his humanity. He did not become bitter and this allowed him to remain human. As a result, the battalion commander, after analyzing Sashka’s words, decided to cancel his order.

The problem of showing mercy to the enemy is touched upon in L. N. Tolstoy’s work “War and Peace.” One of the heroes of the novel, the Russian commander Kutuzov, shows mercy to the French fleeing Russia. He feels sorry for them, because he understands that they acted on Napoleon’s orders and in no case dared to disobey him. Speaking to the soldiers of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, Kutuzov says: “It’s difficult for you, but you’re still at home; and they see how They got there. “The last ones are worse than the beggars.” We see that all soldiers are united not only by a feeling of hatred, but also by pity for the defeated enemy.

Thus, we can conclude that in war it is necessary to show mercy even to the enemy, no matter whether he is defeated or killed. A soldier is, first of all, a human being and must retain such qualities as mercy and humanity. They are the ones who allow him to remain human.

Who is capable of showing compassion and mercy to a captured enemy? This is precisely the question that arises when reading the text of B. L. Vasiliev.

Revealing the problem of the manifestation of humanity in war, the manifestation of compassion, mercy towards a captured enemy, the author introduces us to his hero - the defender of the Brest Fortress Nikolai Pluzhnikov. Before us is an excerpt from B. Vasiliev’s story “Not on the Lists.” The lieutenant was supposed to shoot the captured German.

The girl Mirra, who knew German well, told Nikolai that the prisoner was a worker, mobilized in April, and had three children. Pluzhnikov understood that this German did not want to fight, he did not end up in the dungeon of his own free will, but he mercilessly led the German to be shot. But he couldn't shoot the man. And Mirra admitted that she was very afraid that Nikolai would shoot “this old man.” Pluzhnikov explained to the girl that he did not shoot the German “for his conscience, which wanted to remain clean.”

In L. N. Tolstoy’s epic novel “War and Peace,” Petya Rostov, while in Denisov’s partisan detachment, takes pity on the French drummer boy who was captured, and is embarrassed by this, because he wants to look like an adult, a real warrior. At the table he worries whether the prisoner has been fed, whether anyone has offended him. Petya timidly offered to feed the prisoner, and Denisov agreed with this: “Yes, a pathetic boy.” Petya sees that “adults” also treat the prisoner with sympathy and compassion, and ordinary soldiers renamed the French name “Vincent” to “Spring”. There is an episode in the novel where Russian soldiers feed hungry Frenchmen porridge, and the stars look affectionately from above at the people sitting by the fire and seem to approve of them. After defeating the enemy, Kutuzov offers to take pity on the prisoners, who look “worse than beggars” because they are “people too.” A feeling of majestic triumph, combined with pity for the enemies and the consciousness of being right, lay in the soul of every Russian soldier.

In V. Kondratiev’s story “Sashka,” the main character received an order to shoot a captured German who did not say anything during interrogation. The commander had just lost his beloved and was burning with a desire for revenge. But Sashka cannot carry out this order, since earlier he convinced the German that Soviet soldiers do not shoot prisoners, he even showed a leaflet. Fortunately, the commander understood Sashka’s feelings and canceled the order.

We have proven that those who have not lost their humanity in war and are capable of mercy and compassion are capable of generously forgiving and sparing a captured enemy.

(1) The meeting happened unexpectedly. (2) Two Germans, talking peacefully, came out to Pluzhnikov from behind the surviving wall. (3) The carbines hung over their shoulders, but even if they were holding them in their hands, Pluzhnikov would have managed to shoot first.

Composition

In the most desperate and difficult times, each person reveals himself to the fullest extent. War is an event that affects the character and worldview of each participant. In the text given to us, B.L. discusses the problem of showing humanity and mercy in war. Vasiliev.

Describing one of the wartime periods, the author of the text introduces us to a situation in which one of the heroes had to make a serious moral choice. The meeting between the Pluzhnikov and the German “happened unexpectedly,” and just as unexpectedly came to a logical conclusion: one of them had to die, and now the German was on his knees and shouting something pitiful, “choking and swallowing words.” In this cry there was something about family, children and mercy, the writer emphasizes that the German “didn’t want to fight, of course, he didn’t wander into these terrible ruins of his own accord,” and the Soviet soldier understood this. He had to commit murder, and there could be no talk of pity for the Germans at that time - however, B.L. Vasiliev brings us to the idea that there are exceptions to everything, especially in the case when a soldier strives to maintain the purity of his conscience no matter what.

The writer’s thought is clear to me: he believes that even in the most terrible times of war, someone who has a clear conscience and who understands the value of human life is able to spare a captured enemy and show him compassion and mercy.

It's hard to disagree with B.L. Vasiliev, because he knows firsthand how important it was to remain human during the Great Patriotic War. I also believe that for a soldier, for his moral and mental health, it is very important, despite physical exhaustion and anger, to be able to maintain humanity and mercy, because not every German could deserve the most brutal retribution.

In the story by V.A. Zakrutkin’s “Mother of Man”, the main character carries her humanity and mercy through all trials. She, feeling a burning hatred for the Nazis who killed her family, having met a German boy on her way, denies herself revenge. Hearing the boy's cry, Maria was filled with pity for the child, and, thanks to her humanism and kindness, she left him alive.

The hero of the story M.A. Sholokhov’s “The Fate of Man” lost all his relatives in the war. He was forced to go through many trials, but even being tired and embittered, Andrei Sokolov found a place in his heart for love and mercy. Having met a little boy, left alone on the street by the will of fate, our soldier takes control of him, thereby giving the boy a chance for a happy life.

More than a dozen books have been written about how difficult it is to remain human during war. Each of those soldiers who fought for our future experienced an amount of shock that modern man cannot even fully comprehend. However, most of all has been written about those who, even in that inhumanity and filth, managed to preserve themselves, their pure thoughts and kind hearts.

Almost every adult, even the kindest and most sympathetic, has an enemy or even several. Man is a social being, and human relationships are very complex. After all, an animal’s enemy is only the one in whose food chain the animal itself is included. For people, everything is much more complicated. Throughout life, we meet different people in different situations, so it often happens that we cannot get along with each other. Because of misunderstandings, disagreements, and conflicts of interests, enemies appear.

Is it possible to respect the enemy? Of course it is possible, and sometimes even necessary. After all, your personal relationship, hostility, does not negate the fact that he can be a smart, intelligent and even noble person worthy of respect. A striking example from life is my sister’s boss. She is an overly harsh boss and is often unfair to her subordinates, so few people have a good relationship with her in the service. But recently, my sister found out that her boss had taken off in her car in the middle of the night to save stray puppies and take them to a veterinary clinic, and later brought them all to her home for foster care. This is a noble act. And he says that a person whom we do not love or even hate, we may simply know very poorly. There are also plenty of examples in history and literature when the enemy was worthy of respect. Here is a striking historical example. On August 5, fierce fighting took place near Smolensk. The onslaught could not be contained. Napoleon's army entered the city. The next day, General Dokhturov's corps left the city. No one knew what fate befell General Skalon, who fought on the front line, in the thick of the battle. There was no way to search for his body; it was necessary to retreat as quickly as possible. It turned out that the Russian general, killed by grapeshot, was discovered by the French the morning after the bloody battle at the Molokhovo Gate. Napoleon was delighted with the feat of his enemy and gave the order to bury the general with full military honors. The Emperor was personally present at the funeral and led the ceremonial salvo of weapons. And even according to Russian custom, he threw a handful of earth into A.A.’s grave. Skalona, buried near the walls of the Royal Bastion of the Smolensk Fortress. This example suggests that even in war, the enemy is worthy of respect if he is brave, honest and noble, fulfills his military duty with dignity, and does not give up in the face of danger.

Thus, we can conclude that the enemy can be respected. The enemy, like any person, is probably endowed with some qualities worthy of respect. We may simply not know this person well, and he may not know us well. After all, a person behaves differently with different people. And he also has close people, friends who love him. But on the other hand, there are people who are truly nasty and vile. People who do very bad things. There are those who betray friends and set up comrades. And also those who hurt children and abuse animals. Those who do not appreciate the care of loved ones, neglect them, and deceive their elders. Such an enemy should not be respected, I think.