Jean-Esther van Gobseck is a character in the works “The Human Comedy. Jean Esther van Gobseck

Students are introduced to some of the writer’s personality traits, the main themes of his work, the history of the creation of the story, the spiritual values ​​that make a person richer and kinder are revealed, moral problems.

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MKOU "Borkovskaya basic secondary school"

Outline

lesson on the topic

“Moral problems of the story by V.G. Rasputin "French Lessons".

Teacher Shalimanova S.V.

year 2012

Lesson topic: Moral problems of V. G. Rasputin’s story “French Lessons.”

Lesson objectives:

1. Introduce students to:

some personality traits of the writer,

the main themes of his work,

the history of the creation of the story.

2.Help to reveal spiritual values ​​that make a person richer and kinder.

3. Cultivate observation, responsiveness, kindness.

Equipment: portrait of V.G. Rasputin, Dictionary edited by S. I. Ozhegov (the meaning of the word “autobiography”).

Board design: epigraph: “The smarter and kinder a person is, the more he notices goodness in people” (L.N. Tolstoy)

During the classes.

1. introduction teachers.

Guys, today in literature class we will get acquainted with the work of V. G. Rasputin, learn the history of the creation of the story “French Lessons” and what lessons of kindness I learned main character from our teacher, and also try to reveal the moral problems of the story.

Valentin Grigorievich Rasputin was born in peasant family. Mother - Rasputina Nina Ivanovna, father - Rasputin Grigory Nikitich. Childhood future writer spent in the village of Atalanka. “My childhood was spent in war and hungry post-war years, - the writer recalls. “It wasn’t easy, but, as I now understand, it was happy.” After graduating from the local elementary school, he was forced to move alone fifty kilometers from home, where he was high school. After school he entered the Faculty of History and Philology of Irkutsk state university. Lives and works inIrkutsk and Moscow. IN student years was a freelance correspondent for a youth newspaper. One of his essays caught the editor's attention. In the 1980s he was a member editorial board magazine "Roman-newspaper " The first story “I forgot to ask Leshka...” was published in 1961.

Rasputin V.G. notes that “what makes a person a writer is his childhood, his ability to early age to see and feel everything that then gives him the right to take up the pen. Education, books, life experience This gift is nurtured and strengthened in the future, but it should be born in childhood.”

2. The main words in the writer’s work- conscience and memory.

Valentin Grigorievich called his article about the history of the creation of the story “French Lessons” “Lessons of Kindness.” Let's read it.

Why is the word lessons used in the title of the article and story?(students' answers)

3.Working with the epigraph.

“The smarter and kinder a person is, the more he notices goodness in people” (L.N. Tolstoy).

What is the meaning of the epigraph?(students' answers)

4. The story “French Lessons” is an autobiographical work.

What is an autobiography?(students' answers).

Autobiography is a description of your life.

- Today we will meet something new literary concept autobiographical story. Let's look at the dictionary.

5 . Conversation on issues.

What feelings and thoughts did the story “French Lessons” evoke?(students' answers).

Why is the story called “French Lessons”?(students' answers)

What two parts can the story be divided into?

Who is the main character of the first part of the story? ( Narrator) .

Who is at the center of the story? (teacher Lidia Mikhailovna).

Find in the text a description of the portrait of Lydia Mikhailovna and write down the key words. (“She sat in front of me, all neat, smart and beautiful, beautiful in her clothes, and in her feminine youth, which I vaguely felt, the smell of perfume from her reached me, which I mistook for her very breath...” “To Lydia Mikhailovna then she was probably 25 years old or so; I remember well her regular and therefore not too lively face with her eyes narrowed to hide the braid..."). Keywords and the phrases “squinting attentive eyes”, “beautiful”, “carefully looked around the class”, etc.).

What technique does the author use in describing Lydia Mikhailovna?(In the description of Lydia Mikhailovna, opposition is used. The antithesis of the description of the teacher is the description of the hero himself. Lydia Mikhailovna is contrasted with the director, and not only in the description of appearance.).

What does she have in common with the main character of the story?

Now, guys, let's find a passage that begins with the words: “ - Not to the warehouse! – Vadik announced,” and we’ll read it role-by-role.

Why did our hero have to come to terms?(because he couldn't prove he was right).

Why did the boy start playing “chika”?

(The boy began to play “chika” because at first he did not understand the dishonest nature of the game; in the foreground there was only a desire to show dexterity. He also realized that, after practicing, he could win money and spend it on milk. So he did: “ I didn’t allow myself to get too carried away with the game... I only needed a ruble.”)

- Why did Vadik and Ptah beat the hero?(The hero quickly realized that Vadik is cunning in the game, gets most of the money. And our hero, after long training, achieved good results in the game, he does not cheat, like Vadik, but plays honestly. But playing for money cannot be honest. does not accept.)

Guys, we left our hero in a very difficult situation: he was brutally and vilely beaten. Let’s find a passage that begins with the words: “they beat me...” and read it expressively.

How does the hero behave in a fight and after it?(Courageously. The hero knows that no one will stand up for him. He hardly defends himself, he only shouts: “He turned it over!”, defending justice).

- What kind of person did our hero show himself in this episode??(Honest and principled.)

- Why did the boy trust Lydia Mikhailovna and tell the whole truth?(Lidiya Mikhailovna is trying to find out everything with a joke. The hero is lying ineptly. If the matter had come to the headmaster, the hero would have been threatened with expulsion from school. He is afraid of shame, afraid of appearing to be an unreliable person.)

Have you met teachers similar to Lydia Mikhailovna?(students' answers).

Why can't you trust any teacher?(students' answers).

Why did Lidia Mikhailovna decide to play “measures” with her student?(Lidiya Mikhailovna realized that the boy would not accept help, and

decided to use a means known to him - playing for money. She

specially adapts to him, asks not to give him away to Vasily

Andreevich. The teacher provokes the boy with reliable techniques: “Are you really afraid”; succumbs to it, and when he exposes foul play. then he pretends that he is shamelessly deceiving the hero. So she achieved that

the boy began to win money and buy milk for himself.)

Did she act pedagogically? (No. She wanted to help the boy withstand the tests of hunger, and she understood that this unusual student would not accept help from her in any other form.)

What is your attitude towards the teacher’s action?(students' answers).

- How did the director behave?(The director accused the teacher of the most terrible sins and kicked out of school. This episode contrasts the kindness, sensitivity, responsiveness, trusting, respectful attitude towards Lydia Mikhailovna’s children and the callousness, inattention and soullessness of the director. He must have known about the boy's plight.)

Why did Lydia Mikhailovna force the hero to study extra? And why were these painful days for the boy?

(She decided in this way to distract the hero from playing with money, to save him from bullying and beatings. The boy did not understand this. And the narrator, already an adult, recalling the events of his childhood, understands that the teacher saved him, helped him).

How do you evaluate this action?(Kindness, responsiveness).

How does Lidia Mikhailovna behave? Why didn't she explain her actions to the director?(She responds to the director’s indignation calmly, does not get out of her way, does not make excuses. Her confusion is revealed by the first seconds after the “exposure”: she “slowly, very slowly rose from her knees, flushed and disheveled...”)

What actions of Lydia Mikhailovna indicate that there is goodness in her?(She tries to feed the boy, sends a package, starts a game with him, finally gets her way, and the boy can buy milk again).

What is the meaning of the ending of the story?(She emphasizes the responsibility, kindness, and sensitivity of the teacher).

What do you think the hero felt when he received this package?(Having subsequently met his teacher, the author learned that she did not remember this parcel).

Why do you think?(students' answers).

How does this fact help to understand main idea story?(Goodness is selfless, it does not require reward, it is transmitted from person to person and returns to those from whom it came).

6. Lesson summary.

Did Rasputin, using the example of a story from his childhood, manage to tell what the laws of kindness are, that they exist just like real kind people?(students' answers).

7. Homework.

Write an essay on the topic: “My attitude to the action of teacher Lydia Mikhailovna”

History of creation

“I am sure that what makes a person a writer is his childhood, the ability at an early age to see and feel everything that then gives him the right to put pen to paper. Education, books, life experience nurture and strengthen this gift in the future, but it should be born in childhood,” wrote Valentin Grigorievich Rasputin in 1974 in the Irkutsk newspaper “Soviet Youth.” In 1973, one of the best stories Rasputin "French Lessons". The writer himself singles it out among his works: “I didn’t have to invent anything there. Everything happened to me. I didn't have to go far to get the prototype. I needed to return to people the good that they did for me in their time.”

Rasputin's story "French Lessons" is dedicated to Anastasia Prokopyevna Kopylova, the mother of his friend famous playwright Alexandra Vampilova, who worked in school all her life. The story was based on a memory of a child’s life; it, according to the writer, “was one of those that warms even with a slight touch.”

The story is autobiographical. Lydia Mikhailovna is named in the work by her own name(her last name is Molokova). In 1997, the writer, in a conversation with a correspondent for the magazine “Literature at School,” talked about meetings with her: “I recently visited me, and she and I long and desperately remembered our school, and the Angarsk village of Ust-Uda almost half a century ago, and a lot from that difficult and happy time.”

Genre, genre, creative method

The work “French Lessons” is written in the short story genre. The rise of the Russian Soviet story falls on the twenties (Babel, Ivanov, Zoshchenko) and then the sixties and seventies (Kazakov, Shukshin, etc.) years. The story reacts more quickly than other prose genres to changes in public life, since it is written faster.

The story can be considered the oldest and first of literary genres. Brief retelling events - a hunting incident, a duel with an enemy, and the like - is already oral history. Unlike other kinds and types of art, which are conventional in their essence, the story is inherent in humanity, having arisen simultaneously with speech and being not only the transfer of information, but also a means public memory. The story is the original form of literary organization of language. A story is considered complete prose work up to forty-five pages. This is an approximate value - two author's sheets. Such a thing is read “in one breath.”

Rasputin's story "French Lessons" - realistic work, written in the first person. It can fully be considered an autobiographical story.

Subjects

“It’s strange: why do we, just like before our parents, always feel guilty before our teachers? And not for what happened at school - no, but for what happened to us.” This is how the writer begins his story “French Lessons”. Thus, he defines the main themes of the work: the relationship between teacher and student, the image of life illuminated by spiritual and moral sense, the formation of a hero, his acquisition of spiritual experience in communication with Lydia Mikhailovna. French lessons and communication with Lydia Mikhailovna became life lessons for the hero and the education of feelings.

Idea

From a pedagogical point of view, a teacher playing for money with her student is an immoral act. But what is behind this action? - asks the writer. Seeing that the schoolboy (during the hungry post-war years) was malnourished, the French teacher, under the guise of additional classes, invites him to her home and tries to feed him. She sends him packages as if from her mother. But the boy refuses. The teacher offers to play for money and, naturally, “loses” so that the boy can buy milk for himself with these pennies. And she’s happy that she succeeds in this deception.

The idea of ​​the story lies in the words of Rasputin: “The reader learns from books not life, but feelings. Literature, in my opinion, is, first of all, the education of feelings. And above all kindness, purity, nobility.” These words directly relate to the story “French Lessons”.

Main characters

The main characters of the story are an eleven-year-old boy and a French teacher, Lidia Mikhailovna.

Lydia Mikhailovna was no more than twenty-five years old and “there was no cruelty in her face.” She treated the boy with understanding and sympathy, and appreciated his determination. She recognized her student's remarkable learning abilities and was ready to help them develop in any way possible. Lydia Mikhailovna is endowed with an extraordinary capacity for compassion and kindness, for which she suffered, losing her job.

The boy amazes with his determination and desire to learn and get out into the world under any circumstances. The story about the boy can be presented in the form of a quotation plan:

1. “In order to study further... and I had to equip myself in the regional center.”
2. “I studied well here too... in all subjects except French, I got straight A’s.”
3. “I felt so bad, so bitter and hateful! “worse than any disease.”
4. “Having received it (the ruble), ... I bought a jar of milk at the market.”
5. “They beat me in turns... there was no more unhappy person that day than me.”
6. “I was scared and lost... she seemed to me like an extraordinary person, not like everyone else.”

Plot and composition

“I went to fifth grade in 1948. It would be more correct to say, I went: in our village there was only Primary School, therefore, in order to study further, I had to travel fifty kilometers from home to the regional center.” For the first time, due to circumstances, an eleven-year-old boy is torn away from his family, torn from his usual surroundings. However little hero understands that the hopes of not only his relatives, but also the entire village are placed on him: after all, according to the unanimous opinion of his fellow villagers, he is called to be “ learned man" The hero makes every effort, overcoming hunger and homesickness, so as not to let his fellow countrymen down.

A young teacher approached the boy with special understanding. She started doing extra work with the hero French, hoping to feed him at home. Pride did not allow the boy to accept help from a stranger. Lydia Mikhailovna’s idea with the parcel was not crowned with success. The teacher filled it with “city” products and thereby gave herself away. Looking for a way to help the boy, the teacher invites him to play wall game for money.

The climax of the story comes after the teacher begins to play wall games with the boy. The paradoxical nature of the situation sharpens the story to the limit. The teacher could not help but know that at that time such a relationship between a teacher and a student could lead not only to dismissal from work, but also to criminal liability. The boy did not fully understand this. But when trouble did happen, he began to understand the teacher’s behavior more deeply. And this led him to realize some aspects of life at that time.

The ending of the story is almost melodramatic. The package with Antonov apples, which he, a resident of Siberia, had never tried, seemed to echo the first, unsuccessful package with city food - pasta. More and more new touches are preparing this, which turned out to be not at all unexpected ending. In the story, the heart of a distrustful village boy opens up to the purity of a young teacher. The story is surprisingly modern. It contains the great courage of a little woman, the insight of a closed, ignorant child, and the lessons of humanity.

Artistic originality

With wise humor, kindness, humanity, and most importantly, with complete psychological accuracy, the writer describes the relationship between a hungry student and a young teacher. The narrative flows slowly, with everyday details, but its rhythm imperceptibly captures it.

The language of the narrative is simple and at the same time expressive. The writer skillfully used phraseological units, achieving expressiveness and imagery of the work. Phraseologisms in the story “French Lessons” for the most part express one concept and are characterized by a certain meaning, which is often equal to the meaning of the word:

“I studied well here too. What was left for me? Then I came here, I had no other business here, and I didn’t yet know how to take care of what was entrusted to me” (lazyly).

“I had never seen a bird at school before, but looking ahead, I’ll say that in the third quarter it suddenly fell on our class out of the blue” (unexpectedly).

“Hunging and knowing that my grub would not last long, no matter how much I saved it, I ate until I was full, until my stomach hurt, and then after a day or two I put my teeth back on the shelf” (fast).

“But there was no point in locking myself away, Tishkin managed to sell me whole” (betray).

One of the features of the story’s language is the presence of regional words and outdated vocabulary characteristic of the time the story takes place. For example:

Lodge - rent an apartment.
One and a half truck - a truck with a lifting capacity of 1.5 tons.
Teahouse - a type of public canteen where visitors are offered tea and snacks.
Toss - sip.
Naked boiling water - pure, without impurities.
Blather - chat, talk.
Bale - hit lightly.
Hlyuzda - rogue, deceiver, cheater.
Pritaika - what is hidden.

Meaning of the work

The work of V. Rasputin invariably attracts readers, because along with the ordinary, everyday in the writer’s works there are always spiritual values, moral laws, unique characters, complex, sometimes contradictory, inner world heroes. The author's thoughts about life, about man, about nature help us discover inexhaustible reserves of goodness and beauty in ourselves and in the world around us.

In difficult times, the main character of the story had to learn. The post-war years were a kind of test not only for adults, but also for children, because both good and bad in childhood are perceived much brighter and more acutely. But difficulties strengthen character, so the main character often displays such qualities as willpower, pride, a sense of proportion, endurance, and determination.

Many years later, Rasputin will again turn to the events of long ago. “Now that quite a large part of my life has been lived, I want to comprehend and understand how correctly and usefully I spent it. I have many friends who are always ready to help, I have something to remember. Now I understand that my closest friend is my former teacher, a French teacher. Yes, decades later I remember her as true friend, the only person who understood me while I was at school. And even years later, when we met, she showed me a gesture of attention, sending me apples and pasta, as before. And no matter who I am, no matter what depends on me, she will always treat me only as a student, because for her I was, am and will always remain a student. Now I remember how then she, taking the blame upon herself, left school, and at parting she said to me: “Study well and don’t blame yourself for anything!” With this she taught me a lesson and showed me how a real man should act. a kind person. It’s not for nothing that they say: school teacher- teacher of life."

In the article we will analyze “French Lessons”. This is a work by V. Rasputin, which is quite interesting in many respects. We will try to compile own opinion about this work, and also consider various artistic techniques, which were applied by the author.

History of creation

We begin our analysis of “French Lessons” with the words of Valentin Rasputin. Once in 1974, in an interview with an Irkutsk newspaper called “Soviet Youth”, he said that, in his opinion, only his childhood can make a person a writer. At this time, he should see or feel something that will allow him to take up his pen as an adult. And at the same time, he said that education, life experience, books can also strengthen such talent, but it must originate in childhood. In 1973, the story “French Lessons” was published, the analysis of which we will consider.

Later, the writer said that he did not have to look for prototypes for his story for a long time, since he was familiar with the people he wanted to talk about. Rasputin said that he simply wants to return the good that others once did for him.

The story tells about Anastasia Kopylova, who was the mother of Rasputin's playwright friend Alexandra Vampilova. It should be noted that the author himself singles out this work as one of his best and favorites. It was written thanks to Valentin's childhood memories. He said that this is one of those memories that warms the soul, even when you remember them fleetingly. Let us remember that the story is completely autobiographical.

Once, in an interview with a correspondent for the magazine “Literature at School,” the author talked about how Lydia Mikhailovna came to visit. By the way, in the work she is called by her real name. Valentin spoke about their gatherings, when they drank tea and for a long, long time remembered the school and their very old village. Then it was the happiest time for everyone.

Gender and genre

Continuing the analysis of “French Lessons”, let's talk about the genre. The story was written just during the heyday of this genre. In the 20s the most prominent representatives there were Zoshchenko, Babel, Ivanov. In the 60-70s, the wave of popularity passed to Shukshin and Kazakov.

It is the story, unlike other prose genres, that reacts most quickly to the slightest changes in the political situation and social life. This is because such a work is written quickly, so it displays information quickly and in a timely manner. Moreover, correcting this work does not take as much time as correcting an entire book.

In addition, the story is rightfully considered the oldest and very first literary genre. A brief retelling of events was known back in primitive times. Then people could tell each other about fights with enemies, hunting and other situations. We can say that the story arose simultaneously with speech, and it is inherent in humanity. Moreover, it is not only a way of transmitting information, but also a means of memory.

It is believed that such a prose work should be up to 45 pages. An interesting feature of this genre is that it can be read literally in one sitting.

An analysis of Rasputin’s “French Lessons” will allow us to understand that this is a very realistic work with notes of autobiography, which is narrated in the first person and is captivating.

Subjects

The writer begins his story by saying that one is often just as ashamed in front of teachers as one is in front of parents. At the same time, one is ashamed not of what happened at school, but of what was learned from it.

Analysis of “French Lessons” shows that main theme works are the relationship between student and teacher, as well as spiritual life, illuminated by knowledge and moral meaning. Thanks to the teacher, a person becomes formed, he acquires a certain spiritual experience. Analysis of the work “French Lessons” by Rasputin V.G. leads to the understanding that for him the real example was Lydia Mikhailovna, who provided him with real spiritual and moral lessons, remembered for a lifetime.

Idea

Even brief analysis“French Lessons” by Rasputin allows us to understand the idea of ​​​​this work. Let's understand this gradually. Of course, if a teacher plays with his student for money, then from a pedagogical point of view, he is committing a most terrible act. But is this really so, and what could be behind such actions in reality? The teacher sees that the hungry post-war years are outside, and her very strong student does not have enough to eat. She also understands that the boy will not accept help directly. So she invites him to her home for additional tasks, for which he rewards him with food. She also gives him parcels supposedly from her mother, although in fact she herself is the real sender. A woman deliberately loses to a child in order to give him her change.

Analysis of “French Lessons” allows you to understand the idea of ​​the work hidden in the words of the author himself. He says that from books we learn not experience and knowledge, but primarily feelings. It is literature that fosters feelings of nobility, kindness and purity.

Main characters

Let's look at the main characters in the analysis of “French Lessons” by V.G. Rasputin. We are watching an 11-year-old boy and his French teacher Lidia Mikhailovna. The woman is described as no more than 25 years old, soft and kind. She treated our hero with great understanding and sympathy, and truly fell in love with his determination. She was able to recognize the unique learning abilities in this child, and she could not restrain herself from helping them develop. As you can understand, Lydia Mikhailovna was an extraordinary woman who felt compassion and kindness towards the people around her. However, she paid for this by being fired from her job.

Volodya

Now let's talk a little about the boy himself. He amazes not only the teacher, but also the reader with his desire. He is irreconcilable and wants to gain knowledge in order to become one of the people. As the story goes, the boy tells that he has always studied well and is striving for a better result. But he often found himself in not very fun situations and got it pretty bad.

Plot and composition

It is impossible to imagine an analysis of the story “French Lessons” by Rasputin without considering the plot and composition. The boy says that in 1948 he went to fifth grade, or rather went. They only had a primary school in their village, so in order to study at best place, he had to get ready early and travel 50 km to the regional center. Thus the boy is torn from family nest and his usual surroundings. At the same time, he comes to the realization that he is the hope not only of his parents, but of the entire village. In order not to let all these people down, the child overcomes melancholy and cold, and tries to demonstrate his abilities as much as possible.

The young Russian language teacher treats him with special understanding. She begins to work with him additionally in order to feed the boy and help him a little. She understood perfectly well that this proud child would not be able to accept her help directly, since she was an outsider. The idea with the parcel was a failure, since she bought city products, which immediately gave her away. But she found another opportunity and invited the boy to play with her for money.

Climax

The culmination of the event occurs at the moment when the teacher has already started this dangerous game with noble motives. Readers in this naked eye understand the paradox of the situation, since Lidia Mikhailovna understood perfectly well that for such a relationship with a student she could not only lose her job, but also receive criminal liability. The child was not yet fully aware of all the possible consequences of such behavior. When trouble happened, he began to take Lydia Mikhailovna’s action deeper and more seriously.

The final

The ending of the story has some similarities with the beginning. A boy receives a parcel with Antonov apples, which he had never tried. You can also draw a parallel with his teacher’s first unsuccessful delivery when she bought pasta. All these details bring us to the finale.

Analysis of the work “French Lessons” by Rasputin allows us to see a big heart of a little woman and how a small, ignorant child is revealed to him. Everything here is a lesson in humanity.

Artistic originality

The writer describes with great psychological accuracy the relationship between a young teacher and a hungry child. In the analysis of the work “French Lessons” one should note kindness, humanity and the wisdom of this stories. The action flows in the narrative rather slowly, the author pays attention to many everyday details. But, despite this, the reader is immersed in the atmosphere of events.

As always, Rasputin's language is expressive and simple. He uses phraseological units in order to improve the imagery of the entire work. Moreover, his phraseological units can most often be replaced with one word, but then some of the charm of the story will be lost. The author also uses some slang and common words that give the boy’s stories realism and vitality.

Meaning

After analyzing the work “French Lessons”, we can draw conclusions about the meaning of this story. Let us note that Rasputin’s work has been attracting attention for many years now. modern readers. By depicting everyday life and situations, the author manages to teach spiritual lessons and moral laws.

Based on the analysis of Rasputin's French Lessons, we can see how he perfectly describes complex and progressive characters, as well as how the heroes have changed. Reflections on life and man allow the reader to find goodness and sincerity in himself. Of course, the main character ended up in difficult situation, like all people of that time. However, from the analysis of Rasputin’s “French Lessons” we see that difficulties strengthen the boy, thanks to which he strong qualities appear more and more clearly.

The author later said that, analyzing his entire life, he understands that best friend for him there was his teacher. Despite the fact that he has already lived a lot and gathered many friends around him, Lydia Mikhailovna cannot get out of his head.

To summarize the article, let's say that real prototype the heroine of the story was L.M. Molokova, who actually studied French with V. Rasputin. He transferred all the lessons that he learned from this into his work and shared it with readers. This story should be read by everyone who yearns for their school and childhood years and wants to plunge into this atmosphere again.

Rasputin wrote the story “French Lessons” in 1973. The work was first published in the newspaper “Soviet Youth”. The story is written in tradition village prose- a direction that developed in Russian literature of that period. The work is considered autobiographical, telling about an episode from the life of Valentin Rasputin himself.

Main characters

Main character, narrator- a boy of eleven years old from poor family; The story is narrated on his behalf.

Lidia Mikhailovna- a young French teacher, “about twenty-five years old.”

Vadik- a seventh grader, “bossed” among the children playing “chicka”.

“It’s strange: why do we, just like before our parents, always feel guilty before our teachers? And not for what happened at school, no, but for what happened to us after.”

The main character went to 5th grade in 1948. In their village there was only a primary school, so in order to study further, he had to move to the regional center - fifty kilometers from home. His mother agreed that he would “lodge” with a friend.

The main character's family lived very poorly and were constantly hungry. In addition to the narrator, the mother had two younger children, they lived without a father. The main character studied well, “in the village he was recognized as literate.”

IN new school the boy also studied well, the only difficulties were with the French language - he was not good at pronunciation. Listening to how the student distorted the language, the French teacher, Lidia Mikhailovna, “wrinkled helplessly and closed her eyes.”

In the new place, the main character lost a lot of weight - the food given by his mother was not enough, so he was constantly hungry.

One day, the son of a friend took the main character to watch other guys play chica for money. Having learned the rules of the game, the narrator decided to try it too. Periodically, his mother gave him five rubles for milk - the boy needed to drink it “for anemia.” Having exchanged the money he received, he went to play. Soon the boy got the hang of it and, winning a ruble every day, immediately left. With this money he bought milk. One day, local ringleader Vadik noticed that the main character was “leaving games too quickly” and provoked a fight. The narrator was severely beaten.

The next day the first lesson was French. Seeing the boy’s broken face, the teacher immediately asked what happened. One of his classmates, who knew about what had happened, shouted out that he was beaten because he was gambling for money. The teacher told the main character to stay after class. The boy was afraid that he would be “dragged” to the director, but Lidia Mikhailovna only asked about what he was doing with the money he won. The woman was surprised that the boy limited himself to a ruble and spent it on milk.

The main character stopped playing. At this time, his mother sent almost no food, and he “was hungry all the time.” Unable to bear it, he returned to the game again. The boy tried to win little by little. However, when he tried to leave on the fourth day, having won a ruble, he was beaten again.

Seeing the boy beaten again the next day, Lidia Mikhailovna assigned him additional classes.

The teacher with all diligence forced the boy to work on his pronunciation. Soon they began studying at her home. The teacher felt sorry for the boy; she constantly offered him dinner, but every time he refused in fear, jumped up and quickly left.

Once the main character was delivered a package directly to school. At first he thought that her mother had given it to her. However, when I saw that there was pasta, sugar and hematogen, I realized that the package was from the teacher - there was nowhere to get such products in their village. The boy immediately went to Lydia Mikhailovna’s house. Despite the teacher's persuasion, he refused to take the food for himself.

French classes continued. Soon the main character began to pronounce quite tolerably French words, I felt more free when visiting a woman. Gradually, the boy “felt a taste for language” - “punishment turned into pleasure.”

Once a teacher said that as a child she also played for money, but in a different way. Having asked the boy “not to give her away” to the director, the woman showed how to play “measuring”. After playing “for fun” a little, Lidia Mikhailovna suggested playing “for real”. Having got the hang of it, the boy very soon began to win. They played often. Soon the boy had money again, and he was already buying milk and cream. Of course, he was embarrassed to take money from the teacher, but he reassured himself that it was an honest win.

“If only we knew how it would all end...”

One day, in the midst of the game, the director who lived nearby came to see Lydia Mikhailovna. Seeing that she was playing with the student for money, he was very indignant.

“Three days later Lydia Mikhailovna left.” The day before, she met the main character and said that she was leaving home, to Kuban, and no one would touch him - it was her fault.

“And I never saw her again.” Only in the middle of winter, after the January holidays, did he receive a parcel with pasta and three red apples, which he had previously only seen in pictures.

Conclusion

In the story “French Lessons,” Valentin Rasputin reveals the theme of the relationship between student and teacher. Lidia Mikhailovna is portrayed by the writer as a truly talented teacher and mentor. Seeing that the boy does not want to accept help just like that, she finds a way to help him through playing for money. By doing this, the woman literally saves the boy from hunger without hurting his pride.

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