Living soul Ekimov analysis. By the right of love

Completed:
Salokhina Yulia Dmitrievna
Shalaeva Olga Alexandrovna
9A class
Teacher
Reut Olga Mikhailovna
Volgograd 2007
Table of contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
Chapter 1 Volgograd writer B.P. Ekimov? one of the best modern Russian writers………………………………………………………………...6
Chapter 2 Understanding of happiness and the meaning of life by the heroes of B.P.’s stories. Ekimova……………………………………………………………………………………....9
2.1 Labor is the means, goal and meaning of life of Ekimov’s heroes………………...9
2.2 Active love is the basis of life behavior, the moral core of Boris Ekimov’s heroes…………………………………………………………….13
2.3 The happiness of life is in life itself, love for native land…………………18
2.4 The main and little things in the life of the heroes of Ekimov’s stories…………………22
2.5 Writer Boris Ekimov about happiness and the meaning of life………………………27
Chapter 3 Understanding of happiness and the meaning of life by modern teenagers in comparison with the heroes of the stories of B.P. Ekimova…………………………….…...28
3.1 7 ? 8th grade………………………………………………………………………………30
3.2 9 ? 11th grade……………………………………………………………………………….….41
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………56
References……………………………………………………………58
Applications
Appendix 1 Photo of B.P. Ekimov at a meeting with schoolchildren on February 16, 2007
Introduction

The topic of happiness and the meaning of life has been relevant at all times for thinking people.
In the conditions of the modern spiritual crisis, when old ideals are being destroyed and new ones are being created, moral values ​​are changing, it becomes especially acute, especially for the younger generation.
According to famous critic Lev Anninsky, Russian literature “has never been only literature. And it won't. This is its destiny, that it has always been philosophy, sociology, and much more. For us, literature has always been Everything.” Therefore, we turn our views to Russian literature - moral guideline, affirming the high spiritual values ​​of our people.
Volgograd writer, laureate of the State Prize of Russia, Boris Petrovich Ekimov is one of best writers modernity. The question of self-determination in life is central to his work. Our work is devoted to comparing the understanding of the meaning and happiness of life between the heroes of B. P. Ekimov’s stories and modern teenagers. We must build the future by being aware of the present and the past, comprehending our views and spiritually perceiving our moral achievements. This is the relevance of our research.
Research problem: what unites Ekimov’s heroes and our generation, what will help us get out of the crisis?
Object of study - fiction B. Ekimova and reflections on happiness and the meaning of life of modern teenagers.
The subject of the study is the theme of happiness and the meaning of life in the stories of Boris Ekimov;
understanding of the meaning of life by students in grades 7-11 of school No. 98.
Purpose of the study: to compare how moral values ​​change among students in grades 7-8 and 9-11 and why;
identify commonalities and differences in views on life, happiness, joy of life, its meaning of Boris Ekimov’s heroes and modern teenagers;
establish common moral values ​​that are vital both for the younger generation and for the heroes of Boris Ekimov;
clarify what moral values ​​are needed in our modern life to lead the country to the future.
Hypothesis: We assume the following. There will be more differences between the views on happiness and the meaning of life of Ekimov’s heroes and modern teenagers than points of contact. If we identify the common thing that unites everyone, then perhaps it will be exactly what we need to develop, educate, cultivate in ourselves in order to save Russia. Provided that positive differences are found, perhaps we will identify the qualities that are needed to the younger generation right now.
Research methods:
· general scientific, general theoretical (analysis and synthesis, comparison, contrast, induction and deduction);
· sociological (sociological survey);
· mathematical (statistical, data visualization);
· empirical (observation, comparison)
Research stages:
1. Reading and studying the stories of Boris Ekimov.
2. Identifying the disclosure of the theme and meaning of life in these works.
3. Study critical literature based on the work of Boris Ekimov.
4. Analysis, comprehension of the solution to the problem of happiness and the meaning of life by the heroes of Boris Ekimov’s stories.
5. Conducting a sociological survey among students in grades 7-11 on their understanding of happiness and the meaning of life.
6. Analysis of the results obtained: comparison, identification of similarities and differences in the views of Ekimov’s heroes and modern teenagers, formulation of conclusions.
Research influences our personal self-awareness, self-determination in future profession, perhaps, will influence the students of our school, prompting them to think about why and for what they live.
It develops our moral qualities: spirituality, the ability to understand oneself and others, the surrounding world;
the ability to analyze (works of art and life phenomena), compare, generalize, and draw conclusions;
instills interest in the work of our fellow countryman - writer Boris Petrovich Ekimov.
Practical significance of the study.
This work can be used by students and teachers in preparation for lessons. extracurricular reading in grades 7 - 11 based on the works of B.P. Ekimova;
class teachers to prepare for cool watch dedicated to self-determination in life;
for personal self-awareness of schoolchildren;
for the preparation of literary evenings, dedicated to the work of B.P. Ekimova;
for writing essays on modern Russian literature;
to awaken interest in the writer’s work among teenagers - the opportunity to prepare a report or message.
Enough is devoted to the work of B. P. Ekimov a large number of critical works. His works became the subject of consideration in articles by A. Gorlovsky, V. Vasilyev, P. Basinsky, I. Pitlyar, V. Novikov, Y. Udin and others.
Among the advantages of B. Ekimov’s prose are life-affirming pathos, the ability to “listen to the world,” and acute social vision.
Question about the meaning of life? one of the most important in his work.
Volgograd writer B. P. Ekimov? one of the best modern Russian writers

The discovery of the writer Boris Ekimov took place in 1979 after the appearance of the story “Kholushino Compound”. He entered Russian literature “as a writer who strives to comprehend the crystal clear, simple and wise foundations of the folk way of life, which make human life full of deep meaning and worthy of respect. main topic his creativity is a person’s self-determination, the search for his place in life.” (9, p. 202)
Boris Ekimov's stories attract people with their maturity of thought and the serious significance of the issues raised. V. Serdyuchenko classifies his story “Fetisych” as one of the “peak achievements of short Russian prose of the 20th century.” According to the critic, it is B. Ekimov who “balances all the sick, worn-out, deprived of the king in the head of modern Russian literature. (20, p. 95)
It is no coincidence that in 1998 Boris Petrovich Ekimov became a laureate of the State Prize of Russia, and in 1994 - a laureate of the I. Bunin Prize. In 1996, the New World magazine awarded him the “Best Prose of 1996” award. The writer became the absolute winner of the international literary competition based on the prose “Moscow-Penne” in 1996. In 2004, he was awarded two literary prizes. The first - for the best prose of the New World magazine. The second, literary prize "Best Story of the Year" named after Yuri Kazakov - for the story "Don't Cry." In 1998, an article about our fellow countryman was included in the biobibliographic dictionary “Russian Writers, 20th Century”. In the 80-90s. B.P. Ekimov fruitfully cooperates with leading magazines and publishing houses. His stories are published in the magazines “New World”, “Our Contemporary”, “Znamya”, “Volga”, and are also published as separate books.
Skarlygina E. notes that the writer appreciates in people the kindness that comes from the depths, the tenderness and gentleness of character, the moral feeling that restrains them from doing bad things. His favorite heroes are endowed with these qualities, and they do not turn into some kind of declared abstraction, but become overgrown with living flesh, appearing in concrete deeds. A boy saves a newborn calf from death; a son, who recently buried his mother, comes every week to an empty parents' house to bring clean well water to the elderly neighbors whom I grew up next to; the grandson is on duty at night at his grandmother’s bedside, trying to save her from nightmares - the consequences of the ordeals of the war. These “small deeds” in which the soul is manifested are very dear to the writer. (21, p.230)
AB. Vasiliev finds his own word to characterize Ekimov’s hero. This word is master. The word master in the mouth of B. Ekimov is the highest assessment of a person and his attitude towards the environment. This assessment is extremely multidimensional and from story to story it is enriched with various shades of meaning, touching essentially all aspects human life. But the main thing in it remains unchanged: the owner means one who lives by his own labor, the greatest worker. This is the main source that feeds the writer’s heroes with confidence in life; it determines all other human qualities: the master of his feelings and his words is the master own destiny- master in the family, at home and in the farmstead - master in the public field - master of the country. (4, p.153)
I. Bogatko sees in his prose attention to the entire living world and considers the source of this to be love for the homeland. Motherland, native land is the writer’s love, and he strives to convey this love, he seeks it in the depths of the soul of those people about whom he writes. This love drives the actions and behavior of many characters in Ekimov’s stories. (3, p.293)
The magazine "Father's Land" has repeatedly published notes from our Volgograd literary critics about the work of Boris Ekimov. I. V. Velikanova dedicated several works to him. She believes that the poetic depiction of the nature of the Don region is an important and integral part of B. Ekimov’s prose, which largely determines its originality. The beauty of nature in its various manifestations is open to the observant gaze of the artist, and he generously endows his heroes with his own vision, this genuine gift. (7, p. 74) In B. Ekimov’s prose, the heroes working on the land are endowed with special authorial sympathy, which is explained by the creative nature of this work, its conformity with natural laws. The landscape in this case is intended to emphasize the internal balance between human life and the life of nature. (7, p. 77)
Boris Ekimov’s two-volume book “Favorites” (Volgograd, 1998) includes the best works of the writer, which have been repeatedly published in Russia and abroad. Read together, they add up to a large epic canvas of modern Russian life. Behind the many situations that are outwardly unrelated to each other, the unity of the author’s worldview is revealed, based on a deep conviction: the main thing in a person is his soul, his humanity, the ability to compassion and empathy, leading to the establishment of unity between people.
B. Ekimov's heroes are for the most part ordinary, outwardly unremarkable people, shown in everyday life. However, in a certain situation, they commit actions dictated not by personal gain or practical considerations, but by compassion for another person, the ability to understand someone else's pain. This feature of Ekimov’s heroes illuminates their character in a new way and gives it moral depth. (6, p.211)
The magazine “Literature Lessons” (supplement to the magazine “Literature at School”) No. 8 - 2005 is entirely devoted to lessons based on the stories of Boris Ekimov. This confirms the significance and relevance of his works specifically for the younger generation.
Understanding of happiness and the meaning of life by the heroes of B.P.’s stories Ekimova
Labor is the means, goal and meaning of life for Ekimov’s heroes.

Rural workers, who work on the land all their lives and feed from the land, are the main characters of many of Ekimov’s stories. All the bitterness and joy of their life is in their work. Take away their right to work, and they will stop feeling like people. Who are they? Old people, and to a greater extent old women, who work all their lives, simply cannot do otherwise. And how much warmth, openness, all-encompassing kindness they have...
And the first among them was Kholyusha from the story “Kholyusha’s Compound,” who revealed Ekimov to the whole country. His real name is Varfolomey Maksimovich Vikhlyantsev. (St. Sergius of Radonezh was also called Bartholomew).
“No one on the farm remembered that in the Vikhlyantsevsky house, where seventy-year-old Kholyusha lives, there once lived a strong family: father, mother, three sons and a daughter. Everyone worked in it. Just five or ten years ago, “a hunchbacked, shrunken old woman with a twig, in a tied skirt, wandered along the shallow stretch. It was Kholyusha's mother; she usually took care of the birds. But now his mother died, and Kholyusha lived alone.” He lived and continued to run a huge farm, often not knowing exactly how many birds and livestock roamed his farmstead. Why does he need this, Kholyusha himself does not know, justifying his economic activity with the only phrase: “The authorities are calling us.”
So, maybe the main incentive for Kholushin’s truly hard labor is profit, maybe the god he worships is money?
No.
It's not a matter of thirst for accumulation, but something else. If Kholyusha is greedy for something, it’s only for work. V. Palman is right, he has “such a greed for work that everything else is discarded, there is no thought about the comforts of life, just as there is no thought, by the way, about wealth and idleness commensurate with the accumulated thousands” ( Literary Review. 1981. N 7. P. 26). For Kholyusha there is and cannot be any other life except the eternal peasant labor. He is a slave of one passion, the owner of a single, but extremely necessary, “scarce” talent for our time - hardworking obsession.
Indeed, Kholyusha, with all his advantages and disadvantages, is nurtured by the “power of the earth”, inspired by the “poetry of agricultural labor”, which... satisfies the peasant both morally and aesthetically, and is at the same time the means, the goal, and the meaning of life.” (22, p.136-137)
It seemed like it would be possible to rest: he was old, sick, and had his own house, in the city.
But no, Kholyusha cannot do this. It’s easier for him to die in his yard, “poking his blackened face into the ground.” (22, p. 138)
And here is another heroine, Baba Polya from the story “The Last Hut”.
Like Kholyusha, Baba Polya is the flesh of the village, a piece of nature itself, living by its dictates. Even when she is sick, she cultivates the garden herself, so that it is done “with her own hands, in an amicable way,” although she then had to “lie flat and crawl for a whole week...” Here are her moral laws of life:
“But for me, it’s better to have little, but honestly... Copper, but your own... in a divine, human way...”
“In a divine way, in a human way...” This is how Baba Polya lived, and this is how she dies in her nondescript hut, praying before her death to God not for herself, but for her children, “for whom to live and live, to live and rejoice.” He dies calmly and cleanly, as the righteous died in Rus'. (22, p.139)
Ekimov has a hero who is not a peasant, but also obsessed with work.
Such is the “official man” Trubin, the hero story of the same name, for whom almost half of his years were devoted to the plant. “The days fly by unnoticed, similar to one another, to the brim - from early morning to late evening - filled with work, hectic, crazy, with shouting, with eternal running.
He asks himself the question “Do I love my job?”, and he answers it: “What kind of normal person can love such madness: you are scolded every day, and so are you; running from morning to night...” And then follows the author’s comment: “No, Trubin didn’t like his job.”
But, the next day, Dmitry Pavlovich comes to the workshop: “And it was as if some kind of switch flipped in Trubin and knocked out his memory of everything that remained beyond the threshold of the workshop, and ordered him to do his job.”
Then it becomes clear true attitude a hero to work, to his life. And the question he asks himself can be formulated differently - “do I love the air I breathe?” Essentially it will be the same. You may not love the air, but live without it?.. This “crazy” work has long become a part of Trubin himself, and he will not be able to live without it, just as he will not be able to leave the factory. “Lifelong factory worker” - this definition given to Dmitry Trubin by one of the young workers reflects inner essence hero" (5, p. 187).
He will not be able to decide on this, because he does not think of himself outside of a large, socially significant matter, because in it there is moral law, forcing him to do everything according to the dictates of his Conscience, connecting Trubin with a thread of civil continuity with the generation of factory veterans. “Eh, old man, well done, old man,” Trubin reflects about one of them, “if only everyone were like that, how well they worked... Such people should be added to their age. And it was taken away from them: by war, and by years of hunger, and by such work. They experienced everything the hard way, and instead of becoming embittered, they became kinder and more honest. How many, how many years have I known him, but just to see him doing nothing at least once... Was it? No, I haven't seen it. If you need it on a day off, it will work, if you need to stay after the shift, it will stay. He will stay on his own, no need to ask. He sees the need himself. And it will be possible to get on the machine at the end of the month. And never say a word. He knows - need. And he doesn’t need any words.”
“He himself will remain... He himself sees the need...” It is no coincidence that the writer so persistently emphasizes this “himself.” It contains the essence of the character of a person who works not under duress and not in anticipation of a long ruble, but because he cannot help but work, realizing the eternal natural greatness and realizing his own need. After all, no one calls on Baba Polya, who goes to bed, having strained herself, and Kholyusha, who sticks his blackened face into the ground, to straining labor. They do everything themselves... It's theirs own choice, their desire. And therefore, with all the hard labor of his work, Kholyusha is the most free man, enjoying genuine, and not imaginary freedom, which others are proud of, who has excommunicated himself from work that brings joy and pleasure. (22, p.140)
This attitude towards work amazed us, simply shocked us, aroused admiration for these people and pride in them
Active love is the basis of life behavior, the moral core of Boris Ekimov’s heroes.

“The problem of the meaning of life is one of the central ones in the work of B. Ekimov. His characters reflect on moral principles human existence, its true and false values. One of the heroes of the story “The Boy on a Bicycle,” Victor, comes to a sharp reassessment of his own life. The once beloved profession, aviation, seems unnecessary and even harmful to people, own life- wasted." (6, p. 212)
He understands that the meaning of life is completely different: “Cars, cars... And where is the limit for them? Where is the reasonable limit? Is there enough space on earth yet? Is there enough space in the sky yet? Aren't we in a squirrel wheel? Maybe we are no longer trying for people, but for machines? They need more and more oil, metal, coal. More and more, but what does a person need... A person, in general, needs a piece of bread and a mug of water. The rest is superfluous. Bread and water. This is where he lives. And a living soul. And wisdom to understand: he does not come to earth to overeat or get drunk, and not to collect trinkets. But to live. The only time. On beautiful land, arranged wonderfully: with green forest and grass, with blue water and sky, with people-brothers, dear, loved ones. And all the wisdom of the world, everything the best people from century to century, they say: live simpler. The highest wisdom is not to split hairs. The most important thing you have been given is life. Otherwise you will be deceived by yourself. In the world without and the world is not known? it's about us..."
Victor, looking for the reasons for spiritual emptiness, realizes that one of the main ones is immersion in the world of material interests:
“No, we don’t work for bread. Our mothers are on honest bread, and we are on the devil. Are Japanese furniture sets really bread? What about German bathrooms? Silverware, gold trinkets? And even in food: pates, olives, all sorts of nonsense - what kind of bread is there..."
The hero understands that the happiness of life lies in life itself in his beloved native land:
“What do we spend our lives on, what do we do with it... After all, it will no longer exist. And we are wasting it.
I stayed at home for fifteen days. And this is equal to fifteen years of life. Yes, yes... Long days, wise, happy. Go to Vikhlyaevskaya Mountain and sit, look, think. How grasses grow. How the clouds float. How does the lake live? This is human life. Work in the garden, weave fence in the yard. And live. Listen to la-stok, wind. The sun rises for you, the dew falls, the rain - everything is good and sweet. Earn your bread with something and live. To live long and wisely, so that later, at the very edge, you don’t curse yourself, don’t grind your teeth. A second life is not given, and regretting it is empty. But to miss your one and only... What a disaster.”
And Khurdin, Victor’s friend, also turns his thoughts to his native Don land:
“Motherland... Far from it, everyone remembers a piece of land that has stuck to their heart since childhood. There the sky is more spacious and bluer, there the sun looks with a tender maternal eye, there the wind - close your eyes - will again take you to a distant, irrevocable time...
And Victor was right: all their affairs are nothing more than a toy. What about life? How many golden days have floated away? And now we need to count the rest.”
In the 90s, Boris Ekimov created a number of works in which the writer’s desire to comprehend the most important fundamental foundations of human existence is manifested. In them the narration is told in the first person, and it seems that we hear the voice of the author himself.
And very often the topic of the meaning of life is inextricably linked with the topic of the homeland. Only here, on our native land, is happiness possible.
“Yes, no darkness can hide from a person’s eyes that inch of earth that was born with him and held him in her arms more often than his mother; she offered her soft palm when he fell, unable to stay on his still unsteady legs; she treated his boyish abrasions - without any doctors, with her own grass, burdock, plantain, or just light dust; throughout the years she fed me with marigold, tragus, rolls, string, sour sorrel, sweet licorice, birch and poplar catkins, mushrooms and berries, fed without fail both in bad years and in good times, gave water clean water and lifted her to her feet.
No darkness, except mortal darkness, will hide from a person’s eyes that inch of earth that is called his homeland.” ("Moving")
Moreover, this theme of the homeland sounds, as in the above case, most often in an organic, unbreakable connection with a nature theme.
The image of the surrounding world is subordinated to the affirmation of the idea of ​​​​the intrinsic value of life - one of the main ones in the writer’s work. The critic Gorlovsky believes that the main thing in Ekimov is “the author’s love for ordinary life.”
Story"Music of the Old House".

“Before, when I was young, loving music, I went to philharmonic concerts, Opera theatre. Piano, gentle violin, mighty organ, Symphony Orchestra, romance, song, aria, duet or opera - everything was to my heart.
Time has passed. And now?.. Thanks to the music! She helped me - not suddenly! - but to hear the previously unknown music of life.
Involuntarily you listen to a thunderstorm, a noisy downpour, a powerful ice drift, a sea storm. But little by little, it’s as if hearing is opening. From thunder and lightning you move on to the simple, everyday, but no less beautiful, and it is always nearby, near the old house, in our yard.
As children, we all dream of something distant, great: the Himalayas, the Alps, the Great Ocean - incomprehensible beauty. Thanks to the artists. They opened my eyes and helped me see differently. Sketch in the Russian Museum. I don’t even remember whose, it seems Shishkina. A piece of land, grass and simple daisies. But suddenly, it was as if the walls were gone and there was no big city, but the living earth was here, and there was living grass and a flower. Isn't it a miracle? Or a portrait of Nadya Derviz, Valentin Serov, unfinished, painted not even on canvas, but on a sheet of roofing iron. And not at all, beauty. But what eyes... What a marvelous face! Here he is - your man, close to me. And how many of them are there?.. They pass by me unnoticed. Thanks to the artists. They helped me. Now I rarely go to museums, but every day I see the beauty of the earth, people, life. And all this is here, near the old house.”
"Voice of Heaven"

“... Sometimes even in everyday life: in the bustle of the city, in household chores, you accidentally raise your eyes and freeze, forgetting about everything. Is this to blame? distant sky, clouds or evening star: rest for the eyes, peace for the heart, great consolation for the soul. This? a high voice that sometimes calls us, raising us from the abyss of the earth, so that we remember: in this wide world we live under a white sky.”
The main idea of ​​the story “Passing Through” is that the life given to a person has absolute value, the natural world is beautiful and eternal, in the face of it petty human passions seem absurd. This thought was prepared by the previous landscape - a description of the Don, the river expanse, the land that opens to the gaze of the observer from the high Don bank. The main thing in this landscape is the feeling of the limitlessness of space.
“Petty human squabbles seem so absurd on... a piece of land floating in the green and blue universe.
And at night, especially in autumn, when the starry world descends on this earth and warms and cools the eternal soul, how can you not understand that the earth’s firmament is just a small island in eternal space and long time, and you are completely dust. So be glad that you live in this dazzling and divine world, live and rejoice with gratitude in your heart and on your lips.”
“The happiness of life is in life itself, love for one’s native land,” Ekimov’s heroes convince us, this was a real discovery for us.
The main and little things in the life of the heroes of Ekimov’s stories.

Talking about happiness and the meaning of life, we thought about what is most important for Ekimov’s heroes, and what is unimportant? The stories “Speak, Mom, Speak...”, “Containers and Bars”, “Rose Bush”, “From Fire to Fire” tell us about this.
In the story “The Rose Bush” the hero is busy with the usual thing - he needs to bring a car of coal and drag it to the barn. He went out onto the porch and suddenly “saw: the rose had bloomed... Just yesterday it was green, but today it was strewn with scarlet roses. And it shone as if the young morning dawn was playing on it. She played and didn’t stop.” And something changed in the person, turned upside down in his soul. The heart, opening towards the beautiful, seemed to thaw and come to life.
You had to pay for coal at the post office. The cashier angrily cut him off and did not fill out the paperwork: transfer of money. “I didn’t want to swear today, I didn’t take a shower. “Well, God be with you,” he said. - I'll wait. Half an hour, or something, you have this gimmick. I'll smoke in freedom. ? He looked at the cashier and felt sorry for her.
- Wait... - he said. - Do your own thing. I'm currently on leave. Two days, no hurry. And our rose has bloomed today,” he added inopportunely and laughed.
The sun was rising and it was hot. The flowering bush has now become completely beautiful; it seems to be covered in scarlet, from top to bottom. On the green foliage, in the shade, the flowers gently crimsoned in drops of dew, and from above they burned with red fire, emitting a barely audible smell.
While resting, Timofey sat down next to a flowering bush. I didn't want to smoke. He sniffed noisily, caught the subtle flower spirit, looked at the roses, and his eyes squinted in a smile, in a grin at himself. After all, I never liked flowers, man.”
His relationship with his mother-in-law did not work out very well, but then he suddenly realized that all this was trifle, all this nonsense and resentment.
“He was smoking, and some thoughts were wandering in his head: oh today; about life, about my mother-in-law and about myself too. He looked at the summer kitchen. It was built as an outbuilding, warm, habitable in winter, with a long view - for the elderly. Timofey's old men died. And it’s time for the mother-in-law to come here and retire, there’s no point in hanging around alone. And the old things, all this nonsense, all sorts of lieutenants and other grievances - why remember. He’s no longer young, his temples are grey. I have to tell Valentina.
I remembered my own, my mother and father are dead. Childhood. How they lived, Lord... Especially after the war. It's sickening to remember. And now it’s a sin to complain. If only there was no war”... And warmth and love also comes to this house. But this is the most important thing.
We were especially excited by the story “Speak, Mom, Speak...”. Katerina, a withered, hunchbacked old woman, but still agile, has a daughter who lives in the city, one and a half hundred miles from her. It’s hard for her alone on the farm, but a “messenger” appeared - a mobile phone:
“Mobile!” she proudly repeated the words of her city grandson. - One word - mobile. Pressed the button and right away? Maria. Pressed another - Kolya. Who do you want to feel sorry for? Why shouldn't we live? - she asked. - Why leave? Throw away the house, the farm...
Singing funny music, the light will flash in the box. At first, it seemed to old Katerina that her daughter’s face would appear there, as if on a small television. Only a voice was announced, distant and not for long.
- Mom, hello! Are you okay? Well done. Any questions? That's good. Kiss. Be, be.
Before you know it, the light has already gone out, the box has fallen silent...
- Before you even have time to open your mouth, the box has already gone out.
“What kind of passion is this...” grumbled the old woman. - Not a telephone, waxwing. He crowed: be it... So be it. And here..."
But there was a lot in her old life that she wanted to talk about in more detail: about her dreams, insignificant for other events, about how she fell near the black meat pear, which her daughter loved so much. But I heard in response:
“Mom, please be more specific. About myself, not about the black meat. Don't forget that this is a mobile phone, a tariff. What hurts? Didn’t you break anything?”
But these little things are also important. And what’s even more important is that loved ones are alive. Fortunately, my daughter realized this in time. It's not what he says that matters close person, and what he says simply lives.
“In a distant city, her daughter heard her and even saw, closing her eyes, her old mother: small, bent, in a white scarf. I saw it, but suddenly felt how unsteady and unreliable it all was: telephone communication, vision.
“Tell me, mom...” she asked and was afraid of only one thing: suddenly, and perhaps forever, this voice and this life would end. - Talk, mom, talk...”
In the story “Tara and Bars” “ an old house, which long years seemed cozy and warm, but suddenly became cramped.” Vanity and petty grievances destroyed his warmth.
“Either Grandma Lyuba will not please the young people, and Valentina will snort, or the young people themselves will do something wrong. Word for word... The scandal is not a scandal, but they began to live differently.
It used to be that in the evening they would come together - containers and bars...
It's good to sit in the yard. It's evening. The dawn is playing in the sky. Conversations go on like so what. Grandmother Lyuba transmits street news, Polina and Valentina convey her own. The neighbors will come over. Taras and bars...
But this summer the bench under the pear tree was often empty. Or Grandma Lyuba is dozing alone. A neighbor will look in, say: “Don’t sit?..” - and leave. Sometimes Polina will sit down for a while. And the young ones are in the room. Valentina will run from home or into the house - and that’s all. It became sad.
And then Grandma Lyuba goes to the garden, looking for care there. Or he’s talking to a cat.”
And then I saw a kitten.
“My daughter passed by. Grandmother Lyuba called her:
- Go and look...
- What? - Polina stopped.
- How is your child...
He was so good, this little fluffy kitten, in all his childish charm, he looked at the world so naively and trustingly. He looked and looked and yawned.
The daughter and mother smiled at the same time.
“A child, that’s what a child is,” Polina said thoughtfully.
“Child...” Grandma Lyuba agreed, not taking her eyes off the kitten.
- He looks... And he sees everything, and understands everything. He just won't say anything.
“Well, of course,” Polina didn’t believe it. - Pointless.
“How meaningful,” Grandma Lyuba said with conviction. - Valechka used to come out like that.
- Which Valechka? - Polina didn’t understand.
- Which... yes, ours. Valechka was little,” Grandma Lyuba explained. - It looks like this too. She was not yet a year old, eight months old. The first tooth has erupted... I’ll tell her, it used to be: grow, grow, Valechka, grow, my shovel. As you grow up, you’ll begin to understand our way, and then you and I will get drunk. Long life...
Valentina, the same granddaughter we were talking about, stood frozen and caught every word, heard every word. There was no reproach or pain in the old grandmother’s eyes. Only in the last one: “... let's get drunk. Long life..." something was heard.
And the young woman suddenly felt such pity and pain that her heart ached. She stepped back, quietly, so that her grandmother and mother would not hear, stepped back and sat on the porch. “Lord...,” she thought. “Lord... What a fool I am... A cruel fool... Little things, petty insults... My God...” Tears welled up, she didn’t wipe them away and, getting up easily, rushed to her grandmother in a heartfelt outburst, ran up to her and , bending down, kissing the soft cheeks, whispered: “Babanechka... Babanechka...” Then she sat down next to her.”
And peace came to the old house. All these are little things, but the main thing is to take care of your family and friends, and not your loved ones too, to give them your warmth and love, while it is possible, while they are alive.
We found the story “From Fire to Fire” very interesting. It is not just about seeing the beauty of the reality around you, as the narrator saw it in an ordinary willow bush, but also about bringing your joy and discovery to other people.
“There are so many such warm moments in our life that will go away, but are remembered. Everyone has it? yours.
Childhood memory, one of the ordinary days. Some morning, late evening, when your mother or grandmother leans towards you. Warm hands, kind face. Wave of love. It passes, but remains.
And here? little child in the cradle. Still unthinking, he babbles something. He reaches out his hands to you, and his eyes are so happy... Or - the yellow leaves of the poplar, their soft carpet. It's autumn. Blooming willow bush in spring. Someone's bright face...
People can also be lights and bring their light, their warmth to others.
These are the heroes of Boris Ekimov’s stories. Do we understand what is most important to them? to give others your soul, your warmth, to be the lights that help you live and survive in this life. Quarrels, minor troubles? These are all little things, they should not obscure living, feeling people from us.
Writer Boris Ekimov about happiness and the meaning of life.

Reflecting on the heroes of Boris Petrovich Ekimov’s stories, we thought about how the writer himself understands happiness and the meaning of life?
On February 16, 2007, a meeting between the writer and schoolchildren took place, which we attended. He shared his thoughts with us:
The writer told us about the experience of humanity and complained that we have no experience of human life. Ten thousand children in our country suffer from cancer, every third of them will die. And at the same time, one of the rich at the resort lives 200,000 euros in one day. The artist of words spoke about the main things in our lives and the little things. Nice trinkets, rings, mobile phones - they're all adjectives, they're all little things.
“What is the most precious thing in life? - Life!
Do I need too much? -
A piece of bread and a drop of milk.
Yes, this is heaven. Yes, those clouds.
Do we see this sky? Look around you! We see neither the sky nor beautiful people, we do not hear the whistling of birds.
You have to understand that life is long, but you can waste it. You must try to become a human being, to understand why you came into the world. If you don't like the world, create your own. How important is the peace of the family! Nowhere will you receive so much sincerity and sympathy, and at any time you will be covered by the hands of your loved ones, the hands of friends. We must cherish this."
To the question: “What pleases and surprises you in life today?” Boris Petrovich Ekimov replied: “Life! Life in all its manifestations!”
And when one of the teachers noted the tragedy of his stories, the writer objected: “I write about happiness. Oh happiness to live!
Let's summarize everything said above. The happiness and meaning of life for the heroes of Boris Ekimov’s stories and the writer himself lies in life itself, active love for people, nature, native land, the ability to feel and understand its beauty, and work for its good.
UnderstandinghappinessIand meaningAlifemodernmiteenageramicompared toheroes of stories by B. P. Ekimov

To find out how happiness and the meaning of life are understood modern teenagers, at school No. 98 a sociological survey was conducted among students in grades 7-11. 118 people participated in the survey, of which 47 people were in grades 7-8, and 71 people were in grades 9-11. The guys were asked the following questions:
1. What do I see as the meaning of life?
2. Why do I live?
3. What is happiness for me?
4. The highest joy is...
5. The biggest problem is...
6. The main thing in life is...
7. The little things in life are...
8. The joys of life are...
9. To be human means...
10. Why do I love life?
Not all students answered some questions. We analyzed separately the responses of students in grades 7-8 and 9-11.
We asked the writer B.P. Ekimov the same questions over the phone. He said: “Everything is in my stories, I answered all the questions in them,” but still agreed to give short answers:
1. In life.
2. In order to live.
3. Life.
4. Life.
5. Death of loved ones.
6. Live.
7. Everything except life itself.
8. There are many of them. You can't list them all. Brings joy every day. Close people, nature, much more.
9. Be Human.
10. Because this is human life.
We compared, of course, not only with these laconic answers, but also with the writer’s statements in the press and with his characters’ understanding of happiness and the meaning of life.
7-8 grades

We were interested in whether there was anything in common in the understanding of the meaning of life between 7th and 8th grade students and Ekimov’s heroes.
We built a diagram and compared the percentage of answers that differed from the understanding of the meaning of life by Ekimov’s characters with the percentage of answers that were similar to them. The result surprised us: for nine out of ten questions there were more common answers.
Let's look at what values ​​come first for younger teenagers, and in what ways they coincide or do not coincide with the values ​​of the heroes of Ekimov's works. Let's analyze what the meaning of life is, why they live, what happiness is for them.
Analyzing the answers to questions from students in grades 7-8, we received the following results:
The question “What do I see as the meaning of life?”