Attitude to the service of Peter Grinev and Shvabrin. Characteristics of Grinev and Shvabrin

Everything was mixed up in Alexander Pushkin’s historical novel “The Captain’s Daughter” - honesty, nobility, betrayal, meanness, love. And the Pugachev rebellion, which formed the basis of the work, turned out to be a real test for the main characters - Pyotr Grinev and Alexei Shvabrin.

Life's difficulties affect people differently: some are strengthened, others are broken - it all depends on the strength of character, upbringing, and moral principles.

A little about the work of Alexander Pushkin “The Captain's Daughter”

The novel takes place at the end of the 18th century, when rebels under the command of Emelyan Pugachev were raging in Russia. The story is told from the first person, a young nobleman Pyotr Grinev, who, by chance, finds himself in the very whirlpool of Pugachev’s events.

Character traits of Grinev and Shvabrin - attitude towards people

In the novel, two central images attract attention - these are the officers of the Belogorsk fortress Pyotr Grinev and Alexey Shvabrin. But the figure of Emelyan Pugachev cannot be underestimated, because it is with this hero that all the storylines are connected.

Grinev is a seventeen-year-old teenager, the son of a landowner, sent by his father instead of St. Petersburg to serve in the distant garrison of the Orenburg province with the parting words: “Take care of honor from a young age.”

Shvabrin is an educated young man, a nobleman, transferred to the fortress for murder in a duel.

• Peter is eccentric, playful, but kind and good-natured. Having lost a hundred rubles to Captain Zurin at billiards, he shouts at Savelich, demanding to pay his debt of honor. Having offended the servant, Grinev worries no less than his uncle, repenting and asking for forgiveness. And in the scene with the counselor, Pugachev, who takes Grinev’s wagon out of the snowstorm to the inn, notes of the hero’s responsiveness and generosity also appear. In gratitude for the rescue, Peter treats a passing man to tea, wine, and gives him a hare sheepskin coat. The meeting turns out to be fateful for the young man. Who knows how the seizure of the Belogorsk fortress by the rebels would have ended for Peter if the imaginary emperor had not recognized his benefactor?
• Shvabrin is a man with an evil, vindictive character. He speaks with contempt about the people with whom he serves: he mocks the kindness of captain Vasilisa Yegorovna, mocks Grinev’s love, calling his poems complete nonsense. He even calls the captain’s daughter, Masha, a fool, in revenge for refusing to marry him.
• Grinev is decent, brave. Without hesitation, he stands up for the honor of Maria Ivanovna, having heard Shvabrin’s obscene hints about her.
• Alexey is vile, cold-blooded, ready to discredit an innocent person for his own benefit. He writes a denunciation against Grinev to the investigative authorities, accusing him of aiding Pugachev, informs Peter’s parents about his traitorous son, and spreads gossip about a young girl. In the duel scene, Shvabrin behaves extremely unworthily: he meanly wounds his opponent.

Character traits of Grinev and Shvabrin - attitude towards the Fatherland

• Pugachev's detachment captures the fortress. Shvabrin, without hesitation, swears allegiance to the newly-minted Tsar. Alexey is so afraid for his life that he humiliates himself before the chieftain, bending over in an obsequious bow. It becomes clear that this person has no sense of duty, self-esteem, or devotion. The officer tells the chieftain that Masha is the daughter of the executed captain of the fortress. Shvabrin does this so that Grinev is punished and the girl goes to him.
• Peter, as an honest man, is ready to die, but remain faithful to his duty to the Fatherland. He directly declares to Pugachev that he has already sworn allegiance to the empress and would rather die than break his oath.
• For Alexei, unlike Peter, nothing is sacred. He is easy to betray, he can easily slander the lady of his heart if it will be useful. We can say about him that he serves those with whom it is more profitable.

Character traits of Grinev and Shvabrin - attitude to love

The love line that runs through the entire work is given against the backdrop of the terrible events of the Pugachev rebellion. They say that in matters of the heart all methods are good, but the way Shvabrin acts, seeking reciprocity from Maria Mironova, is unacceptable for an honest person.

• Alexey, left by Pugachev in the fortress as the elder, locks Masha up, does not feed her, trying to persuade the girl to marry her hated.
• Peter, having learned that his beloved is in the hands of the scoundrel Shvabrin, without thinking about the consequences, rushes to her rescue. Having failed to obtain help from the authorities, Grinev turns to Pugachev for support, and he helps him. Having freed the captain's daughter, Peter sends her to her parents, calling her his bride. Even at the trial, where the hero ends up because of Shvabrin’s slander, he does not mention Masha, so as not to cause her trouble.

Reading the novel, we see Peter growing up, who sacredly observes the oath of allegiance to the Fatherland and honors the commandment of his father. And fate rewards him - the hero is completely justified and he has a long, happy life ahead of him with his beloved woman.

After reading the story by A.S. Pushkin’s “The Captain’s Daughter”, you understand that the ideological content of this work is very multifaceted. One of the problems that worries the author is the contrast between the concepts of honor and dishonor, which is very clearly reflected in the constant comparison of two heroes: Grinev and Shvabrin and their ideas about honor. These heroes are young, both of noble origin. The author emphasizes a certain similarity in the characters of the young people. But what then prevented them from becoming friends and overcoming all the hardships of military service together?

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Grinev and Shvabrin. Comparative characteristics.

After reading the story by A.S. Pushkin’s “The Captain’s Daughter”, you understand that the ideological content of this work is very multifaceted. One of the problems that worries the author is the contrast between the concepts of honor and dishonor, which is very clearly reflected in the constant comparison of two heroes: Grinev and Shvabrin and their ideas about honor. These heroes are young, both of noble origin. The author emphasizes a certain similarity in the characters of the young people. But what then prevented them from becoming friends and overcoming all the hardships of military service together?

In my opinion, the reason is in upbringing. Pyotr Andreevich never experienced loneliness, did not need anything, he was lucky with his parents. In addition, from childhood Grinev was brought up in an environment of high morality.

On the first pages of the story, Pushkin, through the mouth of Savelich, introduces readers to the spiritual attitudes of the Grinev family: “It seems that neither the father nor the grandfather were drunkards; there’s nothing to say about mother…” With these words, the old servant brings up his ward Petrusha, who got drunk for the first time and behaved unsightly.

And before leaving for service, Grinev receives a behest from his father: “Take care of your dress again, and take care of your honor from a young age.” This folk proverb is also an epigraph to the work. The entire subsequent history of Grinev represents the fulfillment, despite all the difficulties and mistakes, of this paternal covenant.

But honor is a broadly understood term. If for Grinev the father, honor is, first of all, the honor of a nobleman and an officer, then Grinev the son, without abandoning this understanding, was able to expand the concept of honor to its human and civil meaning. The young man seemed to combine the kind, loving heart of his mother with honesty, directness, courage - qualities that are inherent in his father.

Shvabrin, on the contrary, was deprived of parental affection and care from an early age. He didn’t know what a child’s happiness, a child’s laughter meant, but he understood perfectly well what tears and grief were. The childhood of both heroes had a huge influence on the formation of their character, conscience and morality. Grinev became a kind, brave, sympathetic and reliable person, and Alexey became a typical careerist, deceitful, cynical, and treacherous. Pushkin reveals these qualities of his characters to readers not immediately, but gradually, forcing them to analyze every action of young people.

The heroes are also brought together by the fact that they do not end up in the Belogorsk fortress of their own free will. Grinev - at the insistence of his father, who decided that his son needed to “pull the strap and smell the gunpowder...”. And Shvabrin ended up in this outback, perhaps because of the high-profile story associated with the duel. It is known that, at one time, for a nobleman a duel was a way to defend his honor. And Shvabrin, at the beginning of the story, seems to be a man of honor. Although from the point of view of an ordinary person, for example, Vasilisa Yegorovna, a duel is “murder.” This assessment casts doubt on Shvabrin’s nobility.

Grinev acted honorably for the first time, returning the gambling debt, although in that situation Savelich tried to persuade him to evade payment. But nobility prevailed.

This same quality was also manifested in the generous gift to the unknown “peasant” who showed the way during a snowstorm and who later played a decisive role in the entire subsequent fate of Pyotr Andreevich. And how, risking everything, he rushed to the rescue of the captured Savelich.

Tests awaited Grinev in the fortress, where he served and by his behavior proved loyalty to his father’s covenants, did not betray what he considered his duty and his honor.

The complete opposite of the honest and straightforward Grinev is his rival Alexey Ivanovich Shvabrin.The author characterizes Shvabrin as a cynical, empty person, capable of slandering a girl only because she refused to reciprocate his feelings. Shvabrin commits a number of vile acts that characterize him as a low person, capable of treason, cowardice, and betrayal. He is a selfish and ungrateful person. For the sake of his personal goals, Shvabrin is ready to commit any dishonorable act. He slanderes Masha Mironova and casts a shadow on her mother. He inflicts a treacherous blow on Grinev in a duel and, in addition, writes a false denunciation of him to Grinev’s father. And Shvabrin goes over to Pugachev’s side not out of ideological convictions: he expects to save his life, hopes to make a career with him if Pugachev succeeds, and most importantly, he wants, having dealt with his rival, to forcefully marry a girl who does not love him.

But the moral qualities of some heroes and the baseness of others were especially clearly demonstrated during the riot. For example, Captain Mironov and his wife chose to die rather than surrender to the mercy of the rebels. Grinev does the same, not wanting to swear allegiance to Pugachev, but was pardoned. It seems to me that the author made it clear to the reader that Pugachev showed generosity towards the young officer not only out of a feeling of gratitude for the old favor. He equally, it seemed to me, appreciated Grinev as a man of honor. The leader of the uprising himself was not alien to the concepts of honor. In addition, Grinev and Masha, thanks to him, found each other forever.

Shvabrin, too, turned out to be powerless in carrying out his selfish plans, since Pugachev not only did not support him, but also clearly made it clear that he was dishonest and therefore not a rival to Grinev.

I think you can judge a person by his actions in difficult times. For the heroes, an important life test was the capture of the Belogorsk fortress by Pugachev. Shvabrin saves his life. We see him “with his hair cut in a circle, in a Cossack caftan, among the rebels.” And during the execution, he whispers something in Pugachev’s ear. Grinev is ready to share the fate of Captain Mironov. He refuses to kiss the impostor’s hand because he is ready to “prefer a cruel execution to such humiliation...”.

These two characters also have different attitudes towards Masha. Grinev admires and respects Masha, even writes poetry in her honor. Shvabrin, on the contrary, confuses the girl’s name with dirt, saying “if you want Masha Mironova to come to you at dusk, then instead of tender poems, give her a pair of earrings...”. Shvabrin slanderes not only this girl, but also her relatives. For example, when he says “as if Ivan Ignatich was in an inappropriate relationship with Vasilisa Egorovna...”. It becomes clear that Shvabrin actually does not love Masha. When Grinev rushed to free Marya Ivanovna, he saw her “pale, thin, with disheveled hair, in a peasant dress...” The look of the girl eloquently speaks of what she had to endure through the fault of Shvabrin, who tortured her, kept her in captivity and threatened her all the time hand her over to the rebels.

If we compare the main characters, of course, Grinev will command more respect, because, despite his youth, he behaves with dignity, remains true to himself, does not disgrace the honorable name of his father, and protects his beloved.

A.S. Pushkin also has an ambivalent attitude towards his heroes: the patriot Grinev is the antipode to the traitor and scoundrel Shvabrin. I believe that Alexey, after going over to the side of the rebels, is generally unworthy of the officer rank and the honor of wearing shoulder straps.

I support the author's position in relation to the main characters. It seems to me that the confrontation between Pyotr Andreevich Grinev and Alexei Shvabrin is a confrontation between loyalty and betrayal, love and hatred, good and evil. In my opinion, Grinev is the ideal officer that the Russian army lacked in the nineteenth century.

Unfortunately, now there are very few people like Pyotr Grinev, honest, kind and selfless. Modern society has almost lost these qualities. And I really want the proverb “take care of your honor from a young age” to have the meaning of a life talisman for everyone, helping to overcome the harsh trials of life.

Pavel Grinev was born into the family of a retired prime minister and the daughter of a nobleman. The father always wanted to see a military man in his child and enrolled him in the Semenovsky regiment as a sergeant long before his birth.

Shvabrin also grew up in a noble family, but he had no example of military behavior. Therefore, the sense of honor was poorly developed in this person.

Grinev received a good upbringing and education. First in the person of Uncle Savelich, who taught him worldly wisdom and Russian literacy. Then the Frenchman Beaupré.

The main characters have different attitudes towards service and military honor. Grinev treats his service responsibly and remains faithful to his empress to the end, showing devotion to the oath. Shvabrin treated military service irresponsibly, immediately going over to Pugachev’s side.

The characters' attitudes towards women and the feeling of love are also different. Grinev sincerely loved Masha and opened up to her about his feelings. Shvabrin's love is unique. Having feelings for the heroine, he speaks unflatteringly about Maria’s mother. And Masha is afraid of Shvabrin because of his deceit and impudence.

Pushkin's main characters reveal their characters, primarily in relation to Pugachev's rebellion.

Grinev remains an officer to the end. Raised in an officer's family, he does not lose his honor and dignity in difficult times. Loyal to his Fatherland, oath and military duty. He believes that a young officer who violated his oath is a criminal.

Shvabrin was deprived of these high principles and became a supporter of the rebel not because of ideological convictions, but for selfish purposes.

Details

Getting ready to write

Grinev and Shvabrin
(comparative characteristics of the heroes of A.S. Pushkin’s novel “The Captain’s Daughter”)

Compare- set features similarities or differences, compare (Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language by S. Ozhegov).

A comparative characteristic can be constructed two ways:

1. Sequential comparison (after the introduction, talk about one hero, then about another, draw conclusions)
2. Side by side comparison (after the introduction, the heroes are compared in different positions: the upbringing of one and the other, attitude towards Masha, behavior during an attack, the fate of the heroes, etc.)

To write an introduction, try to answer the questions:

• Remember the epigraph to the entire work. What problems does the author raise in the novel?
• Which of the heroes is faithful to duty and follows the path of honor?
• Who neglects the concepts of duty and honor?
• Which character's choice can be called moral?

To prepare for your essay, complete test tasks.

1. Establish a correspondence between the three main characters appearing in the work and their inherent personality traits. For each position in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.
2. Establish a correspondence between the three main characters appearing in the work and their fate. For each position in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.
3. Pyotr Grinev and Alexey Shvabrin are presented in opposition from the first pages of the work. What is the name of the technique of sharp contrast used in a work of art?

So, Grinev and Shvabrin are antipodal heroes, but they also have general :

1. both officers
2. both are young
3. both love Marya Ivanovna

Heroes show themselves in next episodes :

1. acquaintance of Grinev and Shvabrin
2. their conversations about Masha
3. duel
4. capture of the Belogorsk fortress
5. saving Masha Mironova
6. arrest and interrogation

Compare the heroes according to the following plan:

1. Upbringing and education.

   Grinev was brought up in a provincial noble family, received a modest education, and was influenced by a man from the people. From childhood, his father instilled in him strong moral principles, which helped him to emerge with honor from those difficult, sometimes hopeless situations in which life put him.

   Shvabrin received a metropolitan upbringing and education.

   How did Grinev and Shvabrin end up in the fortress?

2. Attitude to military duty.

   How did Shvabrin behave during the capture of the Belogorsk fortress? And Grinev? How does this behavior characterize the heroes?

3. Relation to Masha Mironova.

   Try these phrases “distribute” between Grinev and Shvabrin.

   depth and sincerity of feeling, the ability to perform heroic deeds in the name of love, the base nature of feeling, deep respect for a woman, the ability to violence and bullying, disrespectful attitude towards a woman.

   A comment.

   Everything in the story is full of mercy. The very love of Pyotr Andreevich and Marya Ivanovna Mironova is mainly love - mercy. Not love is passion, not love is admiration, but love is mercy.

   Grinev loves and tearfully pities the orphan who has no one left in the whole world. Marya Ivanovna loves and saves her knight from the terrible fate of dishonor. The author emphasizes such virtues as loyalty, gratitude, sacrifice, obedience, and the ability to love deeply.

   Usually love awakens the best qualities in a person: kindness, mercy, generosity. Mop doesn't even decorate love. In his desire to eliminate his opponent, he is ready to send him even to death.

   The absence of any convictions gives rise to outright cynicism. It is difficult to say that his falling in love with Masha is a truly great feeling. And indeed, his attitude towards Marya Ivanovna (he basely slanders Grineva about her, and then, when she is in his power, simply torments the defenseless girl) reveals to us the whole base essence of his love feeling, which turns out to be nothing more than an egoistic sensual passion.

4. Attitude towards people.
   • Which of the heroes is characterized by bitterness, contempt for people, deceit and hypocrisy, the ability to slander, and vindictiveness?
   • Which of the heroes is characterized by kindness, truthfulness and generosity, spiritual generosity, deep justice?
   • In what episodes does this appear?
   • Do you agree with the opinion of the poetess M.I. Tsvetaeva? claiming that Shvabrin - “petty envious person and informer”, “low villain”?
   • Pay attention to how the fate of the two heroes turned out. Is this ending logical?

Think about how you can build conclusion. Perhaps you can talk about the author’s attitude towards his characters. Or write about your attitude towards them. In any case, think about the moral lessons of the work.

Plan

I. Introduction. The problem of honor and duty in the story.
What the heroes have in common (officers are from the nobility, both love Masha).

II. Grinev and Shvabrin.

1. The characters have something in common.
2. Grinev and Shvabrin are antipodal heroes.
   a) Loyalty to Grinev’s military duty and Shvabrin’s betrayal.
   b) The depth and sincerity of Grinev’s feelings and the base nature of this feeling in Shvabrin.
   c) The sincerity and decency of Grinev and the deceit and deceit of Shvabrin.
   d) The fate of Grinev and the fate of Shvabrin.
   e) The author’s attitude towards his characters.

III. Conclusion. Moral lessons of the story.

Speech preparation.

Since the comparative characteristics of Grinev and Shvabrin are based mainly on contrasts, it is advisable to use introductory words ( on the contrary, on the contrary) the consistency of conclusions can be conveyed using words and phrases ( since it serves as proof of this, this confirms, that’s why ), as well as introductory words ( means, thus, so, finally ), expressions that can be used to compare in parallel ( if... then another...).

Choosing an epigraph

Honor is more valuable than life.
F. Schiller

I agree to endure any misfortune,
But I don't agree
So that honor suffers.
P. Corneille

Critic's opinion

“He [Grinev] is a Russian nobleman, a man of the 18th century, with the stamp of his era on his forehead... he does not fit into the framework of the noble ethics of his time. He's too human for that. He does not completely dissolve in any of the contemporary camps... This is the deep difference between Grinev and Shvabrin, who fits completely into the play of social forces of his time. Grinev is suspected by the Pugachevites as a nobleman and intercessor for the daughter of their enemy, and by the government - as a friend of Pugachev. He didn't "fit" into any camp; Shvabrin - to both: a nobleman with all noble prejudices, with purely class contempt for the dignity of another person, he becomes Pugachev’s servant" ( Yu.M. Lotman)