And Dumas Three Musketeers are the main problems of the novel. “The Three Musketeers - Friendship” essay

"The Three Musketeers" is a typical historical feuilleton novel. But that doesn't stop it from being amazing.

good and evil

Traditionally, book heroes are divided into positive and negative. At the same time, the line between these two characteristics is never clear. So it is with Dumas. On the one hand, all the characters in the book can be attributed to one or another “camp”: the reader is completely clear that the root of all troubles in the novel is the insidious Cardinal Richelieu, as well as his close associates Count Rochefort and Milady. At the same time, the reader has no doubt that the musketeers, together with D’Artagnan, represent the “forces of good”, as they fight against the Cardinal, prevent the Queen from tarnishing her honor, help the King, etc. At the same time, the three musketeers, if you look more closely, are the most disgusting people: together they kill people left and right (while de Treville tries in every possible way to “cover up” them and justify them before the King), individually they also have few attractive features: Athos - a drunkard, Aramis - a hypocrite prone to posing, Porthos lives at the expense of a woman. And they do not always act correctly and well. At the same time, at certain moments, you begin to understand that the Cardinal is not so bad, and maybe he really does everything “for the good of France,” no matter how Dumas tries to denigrate him (who, by the way, in the book “Twenty Years Later” "pays tribute to the deceased Cardinal, noting that the current one (Mazarin) is only his shadow). The king is presented as a weak-willed person who follows the lead of others. Much can be said about Anne of Austria...
Good and evil in Dumas' novel merge, mix, and often mutually replace each other. He makes it clear that not everything that is good is really good, and from all sides, but everything that is bad is not so evil in fact.

Things are bad with love in the novel, in the sense that in Dumas in The Three Musketeers, love is really a problem that can bring nothing but bitterness and pain. The story of Athos speaks most eloquently about this, as well as his words spoken to D’Artagnan: “I want to say that love is a lottery in which the winner gets death! Believe me, dear d'Artagnan, you are very lucky that you lost! Always lose - that is my advice." At the same time, Athos is the only person in the book generally capable of such a feeling. Since D'Artagnan is too frivolous and young, Porthos is only interested in material well-being, while Aramis, despite the fact that he is secretly in love with two women, Marie de Chevreuse and Camille de Bois-Trassy, ​​loves himself most of all (in my opinion).But, despite all these reservations , love plays an important role in the book.

Friendship in the novel “The Three Musketeers” is its most important component, because without it there would be neither the plot nor the novel itself. It is amazing, of course, how quickly D'Artagnan and the three musketeers become friends, but their friendship cannot but arouse envy. It can even be considered a standard, which is why it is, without a doubt, one of the main ideas of the novel. It is friendship that is the thing for which the heroes of the novel are worth living. The importance of this cannot be overestimated, since even love could not become such a thing.

Faith, religion, and the church in the book are personified by Aramis, who from childhood was preparing to be ordained, but life took a turn in such a way that he had to become a musketeer. But of course, not for long. Aramis dreams of his spiritual future, constantly reminding everyone around him that he is a musketeer only temporarily and that in the future a cassock awaits him. But all this can be understood in two ways. On the one hand, he is really ready to be ordained; he sees his future only in the monastery and does not find his place among the musketeers. “The world is a crypt,” he says, and this is precisely what expresses his entire attitude towards worldly life. However, at the same time, on the other hand, he is sorry to part with everything that is in his current life. Aramis is incredibly prone to posing. Sometimes his desire for spiritual life takes on an indicative character, for example, he uses Latin expressions appropriately and inappropriately, sometimes he sits down to write a theological dissertation, sometimes he drops everything and runs to his beloved. It begins to seem that what attracts him to monastic life is not the internal (spiritual) component, but only the outer shell. The opportunity to get away from everyone and everything that is not in his spirit and not to his liking.
What follows from this? Contradiction. Since the 17th century, the Catholic Church has been losing its position; it no longer plays the same comprehensive role as in the Middle Ages. Distrust in the church appears, and Protestantism has been gaining momentum since the 16th century. Faith becomes superficial.
In the 19th century, when Dumas writes “The Three Musketeers,” everything happens the other way around: the Catholic Church begins to make up for its positions and regains its former authority. Religiosity is being revived.
Thus, Dumas plays on contradictions: he shows the Catholic Church at a time of its weakness, but tries to give it an authority that was not inherent in it at that time.

The novel "The Three Musketeers" is one of my favorite books. And despite the fact that the attitude towards the plot, characters and their actions changes after each new reading, “The Three Musketeers” will never leave the “favorite” region, because it is something that you don’t want to let go of.
A 19th-century man, tired of bourgeois boredom and sober practicality, looked for his ideal in 17th-century France, and one can understand why. Dumas paints historical reality so attractive that you want to grab the hilt of your sword and jump into the book towards adventure. And it doesn’t matter that there is intrigue, murder, blood... What matters is that there is friendship, honor and heroism. People look in books for what they are missing around them. currently. And it doesn’t matter what century these people live in - in the 21st or 19th, everyone is equal before the dream, especially when it is so attractive.
Dumas has an amazing command of language. The novel is incredibly dynamic, it doesn’t let go for a second, and carries you along to new and new places. All the characters in the book are written down to the smallest detail and do not leave the reader indifferent. It is impossible not to admire the mind of Athos, despite all their shortcomings, it is impossible not to observe and evaluate the development of D’Artagnan throughout the book, it is impossible not to fall in love with the kind Porthos (and it doesn’t matter that he can’t sing!), or to take his eyes off the beautiful Aramis.
Sometimes, you begin to forget who Richelieu was in historical reality, you begin to hate him, and wish good luck to the musketeers, despite the fact that not all of their actions are correct.
"The Three Musketeers" is a novel worthy of multiple readings. I don't think he can get bored. It’s a bit of a pity that this book passed me by as a child, and I managed to read it for the first time not so long ago. But... what else can I say?

Alexandre Dumas is a master of his craft.

The novel “The Three Musketeers” (1844; written in collaboration with O. Make) embodied the vision of history characteristic of the writer’s work in the first half of the 40s of the 19th century.

In the novel “The Three Musketeers” we meet heroes who, in the subsequent novels of the trilogy “Twenty Years Later” (1845; co-author Macquet) and “Vicomte de Bragelonne” (1848; co-author Macquet) will end up in new era. Historical circumstances change, but heroes remain.

Now Dumas is looking for in all eras bright personality, maintaining presence of mind in any situation; emphasizes the value of the individual as such, the value that is not given through ranks and titles. The author draws our attention to the elusiveness of the goals that a person strives for - fame, honors, career. The whole life of the main character is d'Artagnan's step to the highest military ranks. It is no coincidence that at the end of each of the books in the trilogy, the author talks about what the brave Gascon achieved at this stage.

At the end of the novel "The Three Musketeers" d'Artagnan writes his name on the patent for the rank of lieutenant. "Twenty Years Later" ends with a message about his appointment as captain of the musketeers. And finally, last book The trilogy ends with the news of his death on the battlefield already with the rank of marshal.

Dumas pays great attention to the life and behavior of the hero in a certain period of time. What matters to him is the moment of life and how the hero manifests himself at that moment. The heroes of the novel seem to be deprived of the past and the future; they live only here and now. This peculiar cult of the moment combined unusually well with the requirements of the genre of the feuilleton novel, at the origins of which Dumas stood and in the spirit of which The Three Musketeers were created. A feuilleton novel is read differently than an ordinary novel: it is published in a newspaper in chapters, and therefore the writer needs to take into account that each chapter should be interesting in itself, but at the same time combined with the whole... The heroes are active, they have an air of energy, optimism, excess strength, festivity. They regard every moment of their life as the only one and live with such indescribable dedication and completeness that it cannot but infect the reader.

About the duel

A duel is a duel between opponents using deadly cold or firearms. The reason for the duel was an insult to honor, and its goal was to wash away this insult.

The roots of the duel go back to the Middle Ages, when knights defended their honor with weapons in their hands.

The duel, in the meaning in which it was understood over subsequent centuries, arose and became widespread in France in the 15th century, from where it migrated to other European countries. In those days, according to custom, one had to apply to the king for permission to duel. If the king gave permission, the duel took place in a solemn atmosphere, in the presence of the king, who could, at his discretion, stop the fight by throwing a scepter between the opponents. When in 1547 one of the king's favorites was killed in a duel, his death so shocked Henry 11 (King of France in 1547-1559) that he swore an oath never to allow duels again. Since then, duels were prohibited by law, and punishments for participating in them became increasingly severe. The duelists' property was subject to confiscation, they were pilloried, tried as murderers and excommunicated.

Despite the fact that sometimes the king could commute the duelist’s sentence, the duel itself was considered a crime against the king - “an insult to majesty and peace.”

By law, a duel was equivalent to murder. However, the duelists themselves were obliged to strictly observe the rules of the duel, the so-called “duel code”.

According to the "duel code" of France, a duel must take place in the presence of witnesses who determine the conditions of the battle and observe its correctness. There must be seconds impartial and should not have any personal interest in the upcoming fight. Therefore, close relatives of the duelists could not become their seconds. Having found out all the circumstances of the case, the seconds must make every effort to achieve reconciliation between the opponents, if possible. The seconds were required to draw up two protocols: the protocol of the meeting and the protocol of the fight. IN minutes of the meeting the seconds entered all the conditions of the meeting, and in fight protocol recorded the course of the duel in great detail. Both protocols were signed by the seconds of the warring parties. The presence of seconds served as a guarantee that the duel would not turn into a simple massacre or a deliberate attempt on life and health.

Depending on compliance with the rules of the “duel code,” there were 3 types of duels:

1) correct fight;

2) wrong fight;

3) a treacherous or treacherous duel.

Main difference correct duel - equal conditions of the fight for the participants in the duel.

Opponents must use the same weapons; conditions for attack and defense must also be equal. When the conditions of the duel were violated, the duel was considered not correct. And finally, the duel was recognized treasonous or treacherous when for one of the opponents the danger of a duel has been reduced or eliminated. For example, when one of the duelists put on chain mail, or when one of the pistols was not loaded.

According to the rules of the duel, the axis forbade shooting or striking with edged weapons before the command to start the duel and after the command to stop it. It was forbidden to attack a fallen, wounded or disarmed enemy.

In accordance with customs or the preliminary agreement of the opponents, the duel continued until first blood or until the moment when one of the duelists could not continue the fight. In addition, there was a condition fight to the death. Duels with this condition were punished especially severely, and not only the one who made the “deadly challenge” was punished, but also the one who accepted it.

Not only duelists, but also their seconds and even instigators of the duel were subject to prosecution. According to Western European law, the only ones present at the fight who were exempt from judicial punishment were doctors.

& Continue the list

A. Pushkin " Captain's daughter»

N. Gogol “Taras Bulba”

A. Tolstoy “Peter I”

A. Chapygin “Razin Stepan”

S. Zlobin “Stepan Razin”

V. Shukshin “I came to give you freedom”

V. Pikul “Pen and Sword”, “Favorite”

V. Ivanov “Primordial Rus'” “Great Rus'”

A. Yugov “Warriors”

HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE SOUL
IN THE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL GENRE

Autobiographical works like literary genre L.N. Tolstoy, M.M. Prishvin, I. Shmelev, V. Astafiev. Polemical works
V. Zheleznikov, W. Golding.

Autobiographical prose is associated with the traditions of Russian literature, primarily with artistic experience L. Tolstoy and S. Aksakov. These works about the formation of a creative personality are close to the novel of education.

Historiography of the soul

Of particular interest are autobiographical works, close to “non-classical” prose. Among them: “Kashcheev’s chain” by M. Prishvin , “The Life of Arsenyev” by I. Bunin, “The Summer of the Lord” by I. Shmelev.

Autobiographical hero- type literary hero. The writer gives him a biography, in his fate he reflects his own destiny, and in his character - his character. Often the autobiographical hero even looks similar to the author.

Often the illusion of complete coincidence between the author and his hero is supported by the very form of the narrative: many autobiographical works are written “in the first person.” For example, autobiographical trilogy L.N. Tolstoy “Childhood”, “Adolescence”, “Youth”; autobiographical chronicle novels by S.T. Aksakov “Family Chronicle” and “Childhood years of Bagrov - grandson”; novel by I.A. Bunin’s “The Life of Arsenyev”, M. Gorky’s stories from the collection “Across Russia” and his autobiographical trilogy “Childhood”, “In People”, “My Universities”. The external similarity of autobiographical heroes provokes readers to put an equal sign between them. But an autobiographical hero is never a literal repetition of the author. The author is just a prototype. An autobiographical hero may not only comprehend the true biography of the writer.

PECULIARITIES: artistic detail, description of life, way of life. Inner monologue. Moral - psychological dominant.

L.N. TOLSTOY

(1828-1910)

I stand for the interests of children. Give more attention to children's reading. Introduce children to different countries and inhabitants. Getting to know people is valuable. Let them with early years learn to love people in general, no matter what science they belong to and no matter what faith they profess.

Lev Tolstoy

The best biography of L.N. Tolstoy - his trilogy “Childhood”, “Adolescence”, “Youth”.

Starting from the second half of the 19th century, close attention to the world of the child became characteristic of Russian literature. A new hero has come to literature - a child.

Tolstoy was the first to see and identify the three initial stages in a person’s life and showed how different they are from each other.

First impressions of people, nature, social events - all this forms character. The main character of the work, Nikolenka, asks endless questions, analyzes himself, “his complex nature,” tries to raise himself as a person who is not ashamed to live on earth. Nikolenka often lies, but he always stood for the truth. The reason for this, oddly enough, is his conscientiousness and his own weakness. Untruth in thoughts and actions is in many ways “growing pains.”

He is not so much kind as he strives to become kind and sincere. He does everything to educate himself.

In the trilogy, the reader sees the world for the first time human soul in its non-one-dimensionality: unsteady and mobile in complex internal transitions, in constant struggle and contradictions. So Nikolenka Irtenyev, the hero of the trilogy, on whose behalf the story is told, early in the morning, on her birthday, wakes up from the shot of a paper cracker intended for swatting flies, and, instead of being happy, she is indignant and angry.

He is angry with his kind teacher Karl Ivanovich, who killed a fly right over his head with a firecracker. Nikolenka thinks : “Suppose I’m small, but why does he bother me? Why aren’t there flies around Volodya’s bed? There are so many of them! No, Volodya is older than me; and I am the least of all: that is why he torments me. That’s all he thinks about all his life...”

Karl Ivanovich sits down on Nikolenka’s bed, says kind words, and begins to tickle Nikolenka’s heels.

The boy's mood changes. “How kind he is and how he loves us, and I could think so badly of him!”

Now Nikolenka thinks about Karl Ivanovich that he is good, not evil, but kind. This makes Nikolenka annoyed with herself. Nikolenka cries, but cannot tell the truth to Karl Ivanovich, so she says that he had a bad dream - that maman died and they were taking her to bury her. Karl Ivanovich consoles the boy, and it already begins to seem to him that he definitely saw this terrible dream, and is now crying for precisely this reason. This image is typical of Tolstoy. This is how he depicts Nikolenka’s love for Sonechka Valakhina. His hero loves, and not at all dislikes, and does not love at all. And all this almost simultaneously. Tolstoy is interested not in what is on the surface, but in what lies deep.

With special sympathy Tolstoy draws people from the people - Grisha and Natasha. In people like Natalya, everything is whole and true. Whole feelings, simplicity and naturalness in behavior and actions, spontaneity in experiences. For Tolstoy, they embodied the poetry of a simple soul. This - ideal heroes. Ideal in the sense that Tolstoy sees his moral ideal in them, and also because Tolstoy noticeably idealizes them. Consciously idealizes. Tolstoy wrote in his diary: “The common people are so much higher than us with their lives filled with labor and hardships that it is somehow not good for our brother to look for and describe the bad in them.”

When creating the images of the characters in the story, the writer used his personal impressions and experiences, but the story is only partially autobiographical.

He wrote not only about his childhood, but about what is in every person’s childhood.

I.S. SHMELEV

(1873-1950)

The story “Pilgrim”, the book “The Summer of the Lord” and the two adjacent stories - “Martyn and King” and “An Unprecedented Lunch” - form a special cycle: here the writer, in search of support, returns to Christian Russia, to the Moscow of his childhood. The hero-narrator in these works, the boy Vanya, is an autobiographical character. On the way to Sergiev Posad for a pilgrimage, the boy meets many good people. These meetings have an impact on the child’s soul: he discovers a big world for himself, previously limited to his native Zamoskvorechye, learns to distinguish between good and evil people, righteous people and “cheers”, and treats both with Christian love. Shmelev’s palette is dominated by gold, pink, and bright blue colors; The author's style is emphatically lyrical, the story is imbued with a mood of gratitude and tenderness.

I. Shmelev wrote the novel “The Summer of the Lord” in Paris, in exile. The earliest childhood impressions sank into my soul forever. Finding himself in a foreign but luxurious France, he remains a Zamoskvoretsk man.

The name “Summer of the Lord” is taken from the Gospel of Luke, where it is said that Christ came “to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” The book consists of 3 parts, each of which covers about a year.

The second part, “Joy,” describes events that are inevitable in a person’s life. The sequence of holidays is determined by natural and climatic cycles. Along with traditional holidays, natural and religious calendars present their unforgettable phenomena - joyful and sad. Of these, both well-known and long-forgotten: Petrovsky, Pokrov, Filippovka, Govenye, Palm Sunday, Radunitsa.

Finally, in the third part - “Sorrow” - a personal tragedy, the death of his father, which serves as a sign of the end of the hero’s childhood, in it we meet the stories: “ Living water”, “Bitter Days”, “Blessing of the Children”, “Unction”, “Death”, “Funeral”, etc. The third part is contrasted with the first two. Thus, joys and sorrows are correlated, reviving and oppressing the human soul.

And the circle of life completes. Holidays that repeat from year to year, the awakening and withering of nature, the birth of a new person and the passing of loved ones.

Summer is calculated not according to the astronomical calendar, but according to the folk calendar, in which church holidays have been featured for centuries. Orthodox holidays very often they become labor holidays: on the second Spas it is customary to pick apples, after the Assumption - to pickle cucumbers, after the Intercession - to pickle cabbage, etc.

The works provide a description of Moscow life, natural phenomena, and people. The characters in Shmelev's books spout proverbs, sayings, jokes, sing songs, and observe Orthodox rituals.

The book is valuable for its artistic idea - the resurrection of rituals, holidays, and the way of life of a departed life. But the main wealth is the magnificent vernacular. “Shmelev is now the last... of Russian writers from whom you can still learn the wealth, power and freedom of the Russian language,” wrote A.I. Kuprin. Shmelev is the most Russian of all Russians, and even a native, born Muscovite with a Moscow dialect, with Moscow independence and freedom of spirit." Year after year, until the end of his life, Shmelev increasingly improved his language, no longer memorizing, but restoring words. From afar, he restores them in new splendor: “Christmas... In this word one senses strong, frosty air, icy purity and snowiness. This very word seems bluish to me.”

Until the end of his days, Shmelev felt longing and love for Russia and masterfully conveyed this to the reader. The “memorial” book “The Summer of the Lord” is valuable historical material and will be especially interesting to modern and young readers.

MM. PRISHVIN

(1873-1954)

My whole journey was from loneliness to people.

M. Prishvin

Spiritual formation The novel “Kashcheev’s Chain” is dedicated to personality, its self-determination in nature and society; the largest of the writer’s works, closest to his own biography.

The hero of the novel, Alpatov, exists in the book separately from the author, lives in his own environment. As a child, Misha Alpatova family of origin Incomprehensibly and affectionately nicknamed Kurymushka. His father bequeathed to him a dream of blue beavers. Associated with childhood is the memory of a radiant phenomenon - the beauty of the proud and sweet girl Masha, the queen of his childhood years. Through her, the boy was touched by the charm of feminine youth, and he gave his fairy-tale princess the fairy-tale name Marya Morevna.

And together with Marya Morevna, a certain Big Blue came to him. He showed up at the window at dawn, and that was it clear sky And White snow, that was the light itself, and in them all the nature friendly to man.

But there is something else, something that obscures the light and goodness. There is an illegal situation for Aunt Dunechka; and the nasty secret of the Mad Master, somehow connected with the disappearance of the rebel worker Ivan. The same mystery seems to Misha about the need to exchange the comfort of home for the deathly life of the gymnasium. Little hero breaks out of this terrible world - he runs to the unknown “Asia”.

But when the fugitive is caught and returns in disgrace to the hated gymnasium, he becomes embittered. Then he understands that children and adults are shackled by a single invisible “Kashcheev’s chain.” And the Bank, and the incomprehensible power of the terrible teacher “Cow Death”, and many other sinister secrets are just its individual links.

Prishvinsky's hero dreams of getting to Kashchei and defeating him by cutting the cursed chain. And so Alpatov is trying to choose a path. He reaches out to the students of the “school of people’s leaders”, then to the revolutionary Marxists. He went through solitary confinement, but even in prison he was supported not by the conviction of a revolutionary, but by the power of his imagination. The hero is still lonely and has not found himself. Going abroad, he turns his attention to practical science to become an engineer - a peat master. Mentally, he already sees a golden meadow in place of the present one, sees the miracle of a renewed land, which he will give to people as the work of his own hands.

The big dream remains the dream of the bride, of his “Marya Morevna”, of the most creative of all the forces of the earth - the creative power of love.

But here Kashchei overtakes him again, subjecting him to the final test. The “prison bride” Inka Rostovtseva eludes him. A chain network of conventions and prejudices holds her in captivity at Kashcheev and separates her from her lover forever.

The hero falls into complete despair, he becomes ill physically and spiritually, and reaches the idea of ​​self-destruction.

And only the Big Blue of his childhood lends him a helping hand. Alpatov runs - from the city, from society, from his theories - to a lost forest region, to simple, almost primitive people. And there he finds a source of new vitality. But the writer himself was able to emerge victorious from all the trials of fate and gain his true recognition in artistic creativity.

V.P. ASTAFIEV

Some of V.P.’s books are based on childhood memories. Astafieva. In the stories of the 1960-1970s, the main character was a boy, a teenager. This applies to Ilya from “The Pass”, and to Tolya Mazov from “Theft”, to Vitka from “The Last Bow”, to the boy from “Ode to the Russian Garden”. What these heroes have in common is their early orphanhood, encounters with material difficulties in childhood, increased vulnerability and exceptional responsiveness to everything good and beautiful. The main thing in the self-analysis of the hero of “The Last Bow” (1960-1989) is the understanding of what his family and friends gave him and what his family and friends were for him. In constructing a story, what is important is not the biographical sequence, but the principle of highlighting the first discoveries of the world, the first tests of strength, courage, the first assessments of older people. “I lay there, thought, tried to comprehend human life, but nothing worked for me. Subsequently, I became convinced that even adults do not always succeed in comprehending life; “... but I don’t know any of this yet, while I am free and joyful, like a sparrow that has wintered safely.”

In “Ode to a Russian Vegetable Garden,” the author’s irony is felt when depicting a boy. The reader notices a bitter smile in the adult’s attitude to childhood ignorance: “Naive boy! If only everything in the world were done according to the will of children who know no evil.” In the Boy’s actions, more attention is paid to what he would like to forget, but fails to do, what lies stained on his conscience. The hero's path is through torment, suffering, purification, awareness of responsibility.

Stories “The Smell of Hay”, “A Horse with pink mane", "Monk in New Pants" and others help children discover, first of all, the two most important qualities of V. Astafiev’s grandfather and grandmother - hard work and kindness.

They live on the Yenisei, near the taiga, near swamp lakes, and this requires a lot of strength, calmness, inner composure, human thoughtful attitude to fellow villagers.

An amazing example of lyrical prose is the story “Zorka’s Song”. The hero of the story experiences boundless happiness from being with his grandmother “were seen off and greeted by bird voices”, them “Pine, spruce, rowan and birch trees bowed low...” for them “The red lights of strawberries lit up in the dewy grass from the sun.” The ending of the story is a hymn to the Siberian land: “And the birds still loudly and loudly praised the morning, the sun, and the dawn’s song, the song of the awakening day, poured into my heart and sounded, sounded, sounded...”

These stories by Astafiev can be compared with the work of M. Prishvin “The Pantry of the Sun” and the poems of S. Yesenin.

The beginning of the story “The Horse with a Pink Mane” looks like a fairy tale. The little hero is sent by his grandmother to a distant hill with an important assignment, the conscientious fulfillment of which promises him a great reward - a gingerbread horse, the dream of all village children.

The task is quite doable - there are a lot of strawberries on the ridge, they are not far away, the weather is good, and you will have to pick the berries not alone, but in the company of neighboring children.

The boy's sweet anticipation of the promised reward is very great, and it is no coincidence that his description takes up almost an entire page. Gingerbread in the form white horse with a pink mane - this is not just a delicacy, but a touch to the fairy-tale world.

And now the magic gingerbread is about to be in the boy’s hands.

But in life, as in a fairy tale, obstacles arise on the hero’s path to realizing his dream. A trifling temptation, personified by Sanka, scratched, “with bumps on his head from fights and various reasons.”

Sanka finds his most vulnerable spot: he accuses him of cowardice in front of his grandmother and of greed.

“I’m weak,” I swaggered, looking sideways into the suit. There were berries already above the middle. - Am I weak? - I repeated in a fading voice and, so as not to give up, not to be afraid, not to disgrace myself, I decisively shook the berry into the grass: - Here! Eat with me!

The Levontiev horde fell, and the berries instantly disappeared. I only got a few tiny berries. It's a pity for the berries. Sad". Here we would have to start everything over again and improve the situation by adding new berries to the bunch. But this is the danger of any temptation, even the most insignificant in appearance. “But I pretended to be desperate and gave up on everything. It's all the same now! I rushed along with the Levontiev children to the river and boasted: “I’ll steal grandma’s kalach!”

The guys encouraged me: they say, act, and bring more than one loaf of bread. Maybe you can grab a shaneg or a pie.”

Further “fun” led to cruelty that we ourselves did not realize: “We splashed cold water from the river, wandered through it and caught a sculpin with our hands. Sanka grabbed this disgusting-looking fish, and we tore it to pieces on the shore for its ugly appearance, then we shot stones at flying birds and hit a swift. We fed the swift from the river, but it bled into the river, but could not swallow the water, and died, dropping its head. We buried the swift on the shore, in the pebbles, and soon forgot about him...”

Sanka suggests how you can deceive your grandmother by creating the appearance of collected berries with grass stuffed into a container, sprinkled with a thin layer of strawberries on top.

At night, the boy, tormented by his action, decided to tell his grandmother everything in the morning. But in the morning my grandmother left. The hero changed his mind a lot while waiting for his grandmother to return during the day.

The grandmother did not deprive the boy of the promised reward, although he did not deserve it at that moment. And the boy felt indebted to his grandmother, to the world of good people. And this feeling is the key to future honesty and hard work. “How many years have passed since then! How many events have passed!... And I still can’t forget my grandmother’s gingerbread - that marvelous horse with a pink mane.”

VC. ZHELEZNIKOV

You can despise, show,

To help, but torment is not good, it’s a shame, it’s impossible.

This hardens a person. We must be merciful.

V. Zheleznikov

Vladimir Zheleznikov is a widely known name in children's literature. He spent most of his life writing good books about children. “Colorful stories”, “To good people - Good morning", "Traveler with Luggage", "Eccentric from Sixth B" - even in their titles you can feel the author’s smile. His life position is optimistic.

Then a disaster happened in the writer’s life, and he realized that he couldn’t write about children in the same light and fun way.

After a long break, the writer returned to his desk. Wrote the story "Scarecrow". The book became an event not only in the literary life of the country, especially after the film adaptation. They argued about her. They did not agree with her, she was rejected.

The main character of the work is a thirteen-year-old teenage girl, Lena Bessoltseva. Her character is formed in an intelligent family, where kindness and sincerity in relationships between people are valued. And so Lena finds herself in an environment where they dominate “the amazing cruelty of well-fed and super-wealthy guys; the blindness of parents and the alienation of their own children.”

Lenka the Scarecrow bravely resists this environment.

Here is Mironova, a girl with a strange nickname, Iron Button. Her remarks are filled with not childish anger at the world, deprived of the spontaneity inherent in this age, dry and categorical: “Do you know what you get for betraying ideals?”, “But we are united”; “I have one account for everyone. If you don’t live according to the truth, there will be retribution.” At first glance, the last thought is correct. But it's not that simple. Iron Button, who has absorbed the “philosophy” of her mother (to scold everything and everyone, and in return create her own rules and live by them), when the world she built begins to collapse, falls into despair: “It’s all because of her! Because of her! – Mironova repeated, wiping away tears. - Because of my mother... she believes that everyone can live as they want... and do what they want... And nothing will be asked of anyone. If only everything was covered and covered!..”

The Iron Button couldn't stand it! She does not have the support that Lena has - art, love of beauty, the ability to appreciate sincerity in human relationships.

After reading V. Zheleznikov’s story, you involuntarily come to the conclusion that the teenage community in “Scarecrow” is a kind of model of adult society. An adult is programmed into a teenager. And the program, unfortunately, is not always reassuring. Public persecution of a person who stands out from the stereotypical framework of behavior is not such a rare phenomenon. The world of the “iron” Mironovs is unforgiving in its laws.

So, Lena Bessoltseva - emotional, romantic, naive and infinitely compassionate, “wonderful” - became the object of severe persecution from her peers not so much for her fictitious betrayal, but for her originality. And at the same time, Lena did not become bitter. She even feels sorry for her classmates: "You poor, poor people."

When the misunderstanding is cleared up, classmates will be shocked, but no amount of repentance will change the fact that grandfather and granddaughter will leave forever the place where generations of their ancestors lived. So there are people who “they will never persecute anyone... And they will never poison anyone”

The author draws attention to the unusualness of the Bessoltsov house. The house is closely connected with the life of the ancient town: “But time passed, the war ended, and the town was reborn again. It now stood, as before, sweepingly and freely on several hills, which approached the wide bend of the river with steep cliffs.”

This description emphasizes the importance of small Russian towns that preserve history.

“On one of the hills stood the house of Nikolai Nikolaevich - old, built of strong logs, completely blackened by time. Its austere, simple mezzanine with rectangular windows was intricately decorated with four balconies facing all directions.”

The Bessoltsovs' house was filled with paintings. It was the paintings that shaped people with a living heart and a compassionate soul. That is why Nikolai Nikolaevich was different from other residents of the town.

His granddaughter was also different.

Before his departure from the city, Nikolai Nikolaevich donated a house with priceless paintings to the city. “And the whole class gasped. The guys, of course, did not understand the true meaning of the paintings that Nikolai Nikolaevich gave to the city, but famous house on the hill they knew from childhood. Although it was a fairy-tale palace for them, about which they knew so many wonderful stories, it really existed for them. And the fact that the Bessoltsovs’ house now belonged to the city made a stunning impression on them. They looked with delight and great surprise at Lenka, as at a person related to something incomprehensible to them, but wonderful.”

This is how the story of the house ended. What is the meaning of a miracle? And the point is that the city acquired a house, the property of which has already become the property of more than one family; historical and moral values ​​have touched many hearts.

There is hope that mercy will sprout.

Let's look at the guys through the eyes of Nikolai Nikolaevich: “He looked at their faces, trying to look into their eyes, and saw that in many of them an inquisitive thought was beating, and in some there was indifference, and in others there was even anger and misunderstanding. But there are those in whom an inquisitive thought beats, beats, and breaks through, and this will always be!”

The story “The Eccentric from the Sixth B” brought success. From that time on, it was kindness that became for Zheleznikov the fundamental quality of a person, giving a person the right to be called such in in every sense words. Then he appeared new option the story “The Life and Adventures of an Eccentric.” Perhaps, in the process of working on a new version of “Eccentric,” Zheleznikov came to the conclusion that it was possible to children's team such cruelty that even adults are not capable of.

Perhaps the story “Scarecrow” would have gone unnoticed, but the film based on the story, directed by Rolan Bykov, opened the eyes of many adults. The story today is not only not outdated, but has become even more relevant. Teenage cruelty, the division of children into “rich and poor”, the moral deafness of many adults - these problems have become even more acute these days.

In recent years, V. Zheleznikov has been working on a new story. The story “Scarecrow-2” was published in 2001. It is not a continuation of the first one, but it talks about the same thing: about the place of a teenager in modern world, about the terrible consequences of selfishness, irresponsibility, rudeness.

In the story, all conflicts are sharpened to the limit. Her heroes have become older in age, but their souls have matured immeasurably. Unfortunately, this is not moral growth. Teenagers of fourteen years have become even more cruel, selfish, they fight for their place in life by any means, not hesitating to steal and deceive. They smoke, have sex, and shamelessly take advantage of the love of those who are devoted to them.

The hero of the story “Scarecrow-2” is the talented but unhappy Kostya, whom his mother adores, but spoils his son with his unprincipled love.

New look- the awkward but fair Zoya, who is also called the “scarecrow”, but who comes to the aid of everyone who has a difficult, unrequited, devoted love for Kostya, helps in trouble Glazastaya, whose father poisons his deaf son to a special boarding school, and shoves his rebellious daughter into a mental hospital.

An English writer addressed this topic somewhat earlier. WILLIAM GOLDING.

IN 1954 The novel Lord of the Flies was published. This first book of the writer brought him wide fame and soon after its release it was even included in the course English literature in many universities around the world. Critics define Golding's books as philosophical parables. In Lord of the Flies, reflections on the historical paths of mankind are based on a parody-adventure narrative about a group of English schoolchildren who find themselves on a desert island.

And very quickly Golding's characters not only do not strengthen in gentlemanship and civilization, but degenerate into a tribe standing at a very low level. The history of civilization seems to be scrolled by the writer in the opposite direction. Goldin’s boys are being “educated”: education does not help them because it is not supported by spiritual upbringing. The boys from the church choir took the path of brutality. There is no punishing adult hand - and everything collapses. The novel contrasts "The Glittering World of Evil Murder" And "the world of a perplexed mind."

"The World of the Perplexed Mind" fails. Dying fat boy named Piggy, the walking embodiment of pragmatic and self-confident rationalism. Doomed to death, but Ralph is miraculously saved, defending, without knowing it, the idea of ​​equality and self-worth of the individual.

And the author comes to the idea: “There is more evil in man than can be explained by the pressure of social mechanisms alone”. He returned to this thought more than once, clarifying the meaning of what was said. One of these clarifications directly relates to Lord of the Flies: “What the Nazis did, they did because some specific capabilities, inclinations, vices inherent in them - call it what you want - were released...” The name of this evil is atavism: the animal, bestial nature in man, or, in the language of Christian doctrine, original sin.

According to Golding, man, unlike the beast, is a moral being, which is what his human nature is, and morality is understood as a person’s conscious desire and ability to recognize and suppress the animal nature in himself, to expel evil from himself. The “beast” in the parable has no form. This is the materialization of the fear that boys experience from the feeling of being lost and defenseless not only in front of the elements, but also in front of each other. The rationalist Piggy convinces: there is no “beast”, you just don’t need to scare each other. But Seimon gropes for the main thing: “Maybe this beast is... Maybe... it’s ourselves,” then Ralph will confirm Seimon’s rightness, telling Piggy: “I’m afraid of ourselves.” However, even before this confession, the Lord of the Flies appears in the text - a pig's head, impaled on a stake in the middle of the clearing by Jack and his hunters as an offering to the “beast”. Pig head takes on the role of “prince of darkness” in the novel.

Golding in in a certain sense destroys the established image of children in European humanistic literature as the embodiment of purity and innocence: many young characters are not inferior to adults in cruelty and the ability to get drunk on violence. However, not all boys obey " world of evil murder."

Golding is undoubtedly alien to Ralph, Piggy, the twins Eric and Sam, and some of the other guys. But still, the writer is not inclined to see inveterate villains in the rest. The meaning of this Golding parable is not only that evil lies dormant and can awaken in a person, but also that a person is able to curb the awakening evil.

L.N. Tolstoy

"Childhood"

Chapter XIX. Iviny

(excerpt from the story)

-Volodya! Volodya! Iviny! - I shouted, seeing through the window three boys in blue capes with beaver collars, who, following a young dandy tutor, crossed from the opposite sidewalk to our house.

The Ivins were relatives of us and were almost the same age as us; Soon after our arrival in Moscow, we met and became friends with them.

The second Ivin - Seryozha - was a dark, curly-haired boy, with an upturned hard nose, very fresh red lips that rarely completely covered the slightly protruding upper row of white teeth, beautiful dark blue eyes and an unusually lively expression on his face. He never smiled, but either looked completely seriously, or laughed heartily with his ringing, distinct and extremely entertaining laugh. Its original beauty struck me at first sight. I felt an irresistible attraction to him. Seeing him was enough for my happiness; and at one time all the strength of my soul was concentrated in this desire: when I happened to spend three or four days without seeing him, I began to miss him, and I became sad to the point of tears. All my dreams, in sleep and in reality, were about him: when I went to bed, I wished that I would dream about him; closing my eyes, I saw him in front of me and cherished this ghost as the best pleasure. I would not dare to trust this feeling to anyone in the world, I valued it so much. Perhaps because he was tired of feeling my restless eyes constantly fixed on him, or simply, not feeling any sympathy for me, he noticeably liked playing and talking with Volodya more than with me; but I was still happy, I didn’t want anything, I didn’t demand anything, and I was ready to sacrifice everything for him. In addition to the passionate attraction that he inspired in me, his presence aroused another feeling in me to an equally strong degree - the fear of upsetting him, of offending him in some way, of not liking him: perhaps because his face had an arrogant expression, or because that, despising my appearance, I valued too much the advantages of beauty in others, or, what is most correct, because this is an indispensable sign of love, I felt as much fear for him as love. The first time Seryozha spoke to me, I was so confused by such unexpected happiness that I turned pale, blushed and could not answer him. He had a bad habit, when he was thinking, to fix his eyes on one point and blink incessantly, twitching his nose and eyebrows. Everyone found that this habit spoiled him very much, but I found it so sweet that I involuntarily got used to doing the same thing, and a few days after I met him, my grandmother asked whether my eyes hurt because I slam them, like an owl. Not a word of love was ever spoken between us; but he felt his power over me and unconsciously, but tyrannically used it in our childhood relationship; I, no matter how much I wanted to tell him everything that was in my soul, was too afraid of him to decide to be frank; tried to appear indifferent and resignedly obeyed him. Sometimes his influence seemed heavy and unbearable to me; but it was not in my power to get out from under it.

It saddens me to remember this fresh, wonderful feeling of selfless and boundless love, which died without being poured out and without finding sympathy.

It’s strange why, when I was a child, I tried to be like a big man, and since I stopped being one, I often wanted to be like him. How many times has this desire - not to be like a little one, in my relationship with Seryozha, stopped the feeling that was ready to pour out, and forced me to be a hypocrite. Not only did I not dare to kiss him, which I sometimes really wanted to do, to take his hand, to say how glad I was to see him, but I did not even dare to call him Seryozha, and certainly Sergei: that was the custom with us. Every expression of sensitivity proved childishness and the fact that the one who allowed himself to be still a boy. Having not yet gone through those bitter trials that drive adults to the point of caution and coldness in relationships, we deprived ourselves of the pure pleasures of tender childish affection simply by a strange desire to imitate others.

&Questions and assignments. L. Tolstoy “Childhood”

1. Determine approximately the age of the narrator. Justify your assumption. Who can be considered the main character of this episode?

2. How great was Seryozha’s influence on Nikolenka? Was Seryozha aware of his power?

3. What does the narrator regret?

? Questions for discussion I.S. Shmelev "Summer of the Lord"

1. Roman I.S. Shmelev's "Summer of the Lord..." is called a poem about old Moscow. Do you agree with this opinion?

What do you think is the value of the novel?

2. The Russian people, their traditions, morals, customs in the novel by I.S. Shmelev. To what extent have we lost these traditions today and is it possible to revive them?

Z. The human world and the higher, divine world. How do they coexist in the novel? Are they both necessary for a person?

4. Raising children in patriarchal Russia. What value can be gleaned from the book in this regard? Is it advisable to include this book in school curricula, as many educational institutions in Russia are already doing?

5. The language of the novel “The Summer of the Lord.” Do you agree that I.S. Shmelev, in essence, restored this already lost, magnificent, old Russian, old Moscow speech?

6. Abundance, the culture of Russian cuisine, Russian hospitality in the novel by I.S. Shmeleva. Is it possible to return them today or are they lost forever?

7. There is an opinion that the author somewhat embellishes life pre-revolutionary Russia. “If everything was so wonderful,” say supporters of this opinion, “how could it happen that a revolution took place in the country?” Do you agree with them?

Check yourself:

1. What Christian rite is called “Radunitsa”?

2. How many Spas are known in Rus' and which ones?

3. What custom required the following preparations: “They will cook compote, make potato cutlets with prunes and sear, peas, poppy seed bread with beautiful curls of sugar poppy willows, pink bagels, “crosses” on Krestopoklonnaya... frozen cranberries with sugar, jellied nuts , candied almonds, soaked peas, bagels and saiki, jug raisins, rowan pastille... And fried buckwheat porridge with onions, washed down with kvass!.. and kutia with marmalade on the first Saturday, some kind of "kolivo"! And almond milk with white jelly... And kalya, extraordinary kalya, with pieces of blue caviar, with pickled cucumbers... and melted, sweet, sweet “Ryazan”... and “sinners”, with hemp oil, with a crispy crust, with warm emptiness inside!.."?

? Questions for discussing V. Zheleznikov’s work “Scarecrow”

1. Why is the work called that?
2. How do you see grandfather Bessoltsev? How do others perceive him?
3. What story made Lenka and her grandfather famous people?
4. Give a description of Lenka's classmates (Iron Button, Valka (Flayer), Somov, Red). Why are they persecuting Lenka? Your attitude towards them.
5. What role did Margarita Ivanovna play in this whole story? Could she change the situation?
6. Which moral lesson did the guys extract it?

? Questions for discussing the work of W. Golding “Lord of the Flies”

1. Literary criticism classifies W. Golding's story “Lord of the Flies” as a parable, that is, a work that contains a certain philosophical thought. What idea lies behind the plot and development of events in the story?
2. Which of the characters do you sympathize with, and which ones cause active hostility in you?
3. What do you think: what did the author want to say with the death of Piggy? Was it by chance that he endowed his portrait with such a detail as glasses and myopia?
4. Why do you think English boys so quickly and for the most part slipped into savagery, “evil violence”?
5. What causes the cruelty and inhumanity of individual teenagers living in our country?

SCIENTIFIC AND FICTION LITERATURE
FOR CHILDREN

Features of educational and educational literature for children. E. Seton-Thompson, G.S. Zhitov, M. Prishvin, V. Bianki, N. Sladkov

Educational and educational literature for children is amazing in its diversity. Books on history, natural science and geography, technology and medicine, books about the culture and life of Russians and other peoples are published for children. Most of these publications were carried out with the participation of scientists and talented popularizers, so they combined strict scientific principles with lively and entertaining presentation.

Genres of popular science literature and types of publications have been developed and approved for many years. Biographies of outstanding people, alphabet books, anthologies, almanacs, lotto and other picture games, picture books, albums with engravings and texts, etc. appear. Encyclopedias for young readers are becoming especially popular.

In 1919, the popular science magazine “In the Workshop of Nature” was founded, with the goal of “cultivating the spirit of curiosity, arousing interest in the active study of nature.” In 1924, the first works of Zhitkov, Bianki, and Ilyin were published in the magazine “Sparrow”. During these years and later, M. Prishvin, I. actively published their works for children. Sokolov-Mikitov, traveler V. Arsentyev (“Dersu Uze-la”), artist and animal trainer V. Durov (“Beasts of Grandfather Durov”), scientist V. Obruchev (“Plutonia”, “Land of Sannikov”), etc.

The spirit of “fighting nature” permeated all literature at that time; it not only enjoyed official power, but was also quite sincerely supported by many writers.

But the real benefit to the reader was brought by books with a different “spirit of struggle” - they taught how to overcome difficulties in comprehending the secrets of nature, which is characteristic of science.

Along with scientific and technical trends, the trend of scientific and poetic understanding of nature also developed. The creators of children's nature books relied on the rich traditions of Russian literature with its moral and philosophical approach to nature.

Children's artistic and educational literature of the 60-80s of the 20th century rises to new heights, which is associated with the humanization of public consciousness. Scientific ideas about nature, technology, and space are changing.

The authors of books for children (N. Sladkov, S. Sakharov, Yu. Dmitrikov, etc.) sought to give readers an idea of ​​the unity of the world, to instill the idea of ​​human responsibility for preserving a common home - the beautiful planet Earth.

N. Durova’s books are devoted to the mutual understanding of humans and animals, the possibility of friendship between them, as well as her performances for the animal theater, which she directs.

Ernest Seton-Thompson

Writer, artist, naturalist. He was born in England, but spent his childhood and youth in Canada, where the whole family moved shortly after his birth. From an early age, Ernest dreamed of becoming a naturalist. The reference book “Birds of Canada” became a welcome book.

The works of Seton-Thompson can be a unique guide for young naturalists.

"Wild Animals as I Know Them" (1898)

"Biography of a Grizzly" (1900)

"From the Life of the Persecuted" (1901)

"Biography of a Silver Fox" (1909)

He has written books written in the genre of adventure novels. “Little savages, or the story of how two boys led the life of Indians in the forest and what they learned” etc.

A male and a female form a family once and for all, only the death of one of them forces the other to look for a mate. Together they raise wolf cubs, together they teach them to hunt, and protect them from danger. Zoologists consider wolves to be intelligent predators. They cause great damage to cattle breeding and hunting. But it is necessary to regulate their numbers very carefully.

"Lobo" story

Writer:

The plot of the story "Lobo" is simple. In a pastoral region called Currumpo, in the land of “rich pastures” and “huge herds,” a pack of wolves appeared, the leader of which was old Lobo. The flock was small. Nevertheless, she terrified the herd owners.

The hunters could not destroy the predators. Each time, Lobo avoided the traps placed and neglected the poisoned baits. The wolf's mind seemed in no way inferior to a human's. Fear of a predator parodied superstition. And yet Lobo was defeated. The hunter received a bonus. That's all.

But the simplicity of the plot only enhances the psychologism of the story and its dramatic tension. The reader sympathizes with the wolf. Why?

Seton-Thompson admits that his author's goal was to evoke sympathy for the predator. Lobo is a strong, intelligent, calculating and cunning predator. He unerringly finds a way out of the most difficult and dangerous situations. He - unusual wolf. His abilities amaze people. Lobo is a leader, a leader. He has only one weakness - a passionate attachment to his friend, the she-wolf Blanca.

He is a clear indication of how generous and rich nature is and how naive we are, believing that our superiority over everyone is absolute.

Our idea of ​​the wolf was primarily formed under the influence of fairy tales.

Tales of the Wolf:

So the German naturalist Alfred Brehm writes: “In fairy tales and fables, the wolf is portrayed as a foolish creature who constantly allows himself to be outwitted and deceived by the fox, but this image does not at all correspond to reality, since in cunning, cunning, the ability to pretend and caution, the wolf is in no way inferior to the fox and rather surpasses it in many ways. In most cases, he knows how to find a way out of a difficult situation.”

So, it can be argued that wolves are wise and careful. So what really killed Lobo?

Love destroyed him!

“In the end, he must have picked up on our trail and, when he reached the spot where she was killed, he uttered a heartbreaking, pitiful howl. I never thought before that it would be so hard for me to listen to him. Even the stern cowboys were surprised at this sorrowful howl.” I did not stop looking for my beloved, I fell into a trap, which was not difficult to see and neutralize before.

Wolf and dog:

Alfred Brehm: “The wolf has many of the qualities of a dog. He is just as strong and persistent, his external senses are also well developed and the same intelligence is noticeable. But these properties have a one-sided development, and the wolf seems less noble than the dog, no doubt only because man has no educational influence on him.”

He truthfully and accurately described the habits and behavior of birds and animals. For his research in zoology, he received the position of “state naturalist” in Canada. And for scientific works was awarded the highest award awarded in the USA - the “Golden Eliot”.

In addition to his interest in zoology and literature, Seton-Thompson had a passion for painting from childhood. I drew my favorite birds and animals. Later he also painted the heroes of his works. Stories about animals were accompanied by drawings in the margins of books. Many of the writer’s contemporaries did not like these illustrations. They accused him of wanting to humanize the four-legged inhabitants of the forest, claiming that images of animals made by the hand of an artist-naturalist convey their mood and feelings, but, they say, animals cannot have feelings. But Seton-Thompson remained true to himself.

This writer's stories about animals often have tragic endings. Preferring death over captivity, the wild horse dies in the story “Mustang the Pacer.” Risking his life, he saves his silver friend Miss Domino from a pack of dogs (the story “Domino”). Protecting its owner, a tiny dog ​​(“Silly Billy”) rushes at the huge grizzly bear. The leader of the wolf pack, Lobo, dies of melancholy, having lost his wolf friend Blanca (“Lo-bo”).

The story "Lobo" is one of Seton-Thompson's best stories. The “wolf cycle” also includes the stories “Tito. The Story of the Meadow Wolf”, “Badlensky Billy, or the Victorious Wolf”.

Wolf from a zoological point of view. Body length 160 cm. Weight 50 kg.

They live in one place for no more than 2-3 days (“Legs feed the wolf”). Wolves run 180-200 km per day. They can reach speeds of up to 85 km per hour.

A dog's devotion to humans is amazing. Her love for her owner.

Thus, Seton-Thompson shows deep knowledge of the life and habits of wolves. And he clearly loves them. Sometimes, instead of a signature, he drew a wolf's footprint. Sometimes signed "Wolf Thompson". The Canadian Indians called him "Black Wolf." Seton-Thompson himself said that “wolves have always been a favorite subject of my drawings.” He devoted entire canvases to this topic. (For example, "The Chase").

The characteristic features of Oblomovism are embodied by the artist not only in the image
Oblomov, but also in the figure of Zakhar. Despite the fact that Oblomov is a gentleman, and
Zakhar is his serf servant, they are akin to each other. Both of them, master and
slave, grew up on the same soil, were saturated with the same
juices, experienced “the charm of Oblomov’s atmosphere, image
life."

Goncharov sought to show that the corrupting influence of the serf
rights affected not only the local nobility, but also the spiritual
the appearance and lifestyle of other segments of society. In his works
(most of all in “The Precipice”) he condemned, for example, “aristocratic
Oblomovism" - the ugly Oblomov morals of the highest aristocratic
circles Oblomovism was infected with inertia, apathy, laziness, moral
slavery and servants - people of the serf household.

Comparing the figures of Oblomov and Zakhar, the novelist pursues the idea that
that the destinies of these people are inseparable, the life of one of them is impossible and
unthinkable without the other. “The ancient connection,” says the novel, “was
indestructible between them." They are doomed to be together forever, like
hermit crab and snail. The concept of your right to own and dispose
Zakhar, as his property, as a thing, is also indestructible in
Oblomov, how ineradicable his moral slavery is in Zakhara. Although
Zakhar is angry with the master for eternal reproaches of laziness and carelessness, and grumbles
to his whims, but to himself he “respected all this internally, as a manifestation
master's will, master's right." Without these whims and reproaches he cannot
I would feel the master above me.

Zakhar also had his own dream, his own “romanticism”. “Zakhar loved
Oblomovka, like a cat in its attic.” He could not forget the “lordly wide
and peaceful life in the wilderness of the village”, “outdated greatness”, its livery, in
which for him embodied all the dignity of the old Oblomov house.
If not for these memories of the past, “nothing would resurrect youth
his".

Zakhar, according to the novelist, belonged to two eras, and both
they put their seal on him. From one passed to him by inheritance
“boundless devotion to the Oblomov house,” and from another, later one, -
certain vices. “Passionately devoted to his master,” Zakhar rarely
will lie to him about something. He loves to drink and run to his godfather
suspicious character, always strives to “count” the master’s ten-kopeck piece.
Melancholy covers him if the master eats everything. He loves to gossip
spread some incredible story about the master. Untidy. Awkward. Not
God forbid, if he is inflamed with zeal to please the master: there will be no troubles and losses
end. But despite this, it still turned out that he was deeply
the master's devoted servant. He wouldn't think twice about burning or drowning for him,
not considering this a feat and acting “without any speculation.”

Despite all the outward gloominess and savagery, Zakhar, as the artist shows, “was quite soft and

Good heart."

Deeply feeling the truth of life's phenomena, all
complexity and inconsistency of human relationships and psychology,
the novelist not only brings together the types of Oblomov and Zakhara, but also
sometimes contrasts them with each other. This allows him to go even deeper
reveal the essence of Oblomovism, show how much both Oblomov and Zakhar -
both were equally hopelessly mired in laziness, apathy and lack of culture.
This is perfectly depicted in the following scene: “Oblomov with reproach
looked at him, shook his head and sighed, and Zakhar was indifferent
looked at the window and sighed too. The master seemed to be thinking: “Well, brother, you
there are even more Oblomovs than I myself,” and Zakhar almost thought: “You’re lying!
You are only a master at speaking tricky and pitiful words, but to dust and to
You don’t care about the web.”

Zakhar is necessary in the novel; without him, the picture of Oblomovism would be incomplete.

Quite recently I became acquainted with the great novel by A. Dumas “The Three Musketeers”. Of course, before reading the book, I watched the serial film based on this work. And even then I really wanted to read a novel about the musketeers, to once again become a participant in their adventures.
While reading the book, I never ceased to envy D'Artagnan and his friends. Which interesting life these people had! What noble and fearless deeds they were ready for! What a significant era the musketeers had to live in!
Dumas's novel teaches us many very important lessons. So, on the pages of this work we learn courage. The author calls this quality one of the most important virtues of a real man: “Courage always commands respect.”
Already at the very beginning of the novel, we see how D'Artagnan and the three musketeers bravely fight the cardinal's guards, despite the numerical superiority of their rivals. The young Gascon was not afraid of Richelieu’s soldiers and fought on a par with the experienced Athos, Porthos and Aramis. And, most importantly, the heroes defeated their enemies!
The musketeers appreciated the bravery of young D’Artagnan and accepted him into their company: “If I am not yet a musketeer,” he said on the threshold of de Treville’s house, addressing his new friends, “I can still consider myself accepted as a student, not Is it true?
Soon rumors about the hero's valor spread throughout Paris, and after a little more time, D'Artagnan was able to show his courage, saving the French queen herself!
But the main character and his friends are not only brave warriors, they are also true friends, loyal and devoted to each other. The motto of the four friends has long become popular: “One for all and all for one.” And the musketeers justified him more than once: they never abandoned each other in trouble, they were always together, even in the face of mortal danger. Let us at least remember the episodes associated with the insidious Lady Winter: D'Artagnan became the sworn enemy of this woman, she tried with all her might to destroy the hero. However, the Gascon, with the help of his friends, who did not leave their young friend for a minute, managed to deal with the villainess: “ - Charlotte Buckson, Countess de La Fere, Lady Winter, - ... - your atrocities have exceeded the measure of patience of people on earth and God on sky. If you know any prayer, read it, for you are condemned and will die.”
We can say that the heroes of Dumas’ novel are my ideals, people whom I want to imitate. I admire that D'Artagnan and the musketeers honor honor and dignity above all else. Thus, heroes faithfully serve their king and fatherland. That's why they risked their lives to bring Anne of Austria's pendants from England. That is why D'Artagnan refused to swear allegiance to the cardinal - worst enemy King Louis and France. That is why heroes will never leave a helpless person in trouble (remember how the Gascon saved Constance Bonacieux from the cardinal’s soldiers).
I want to admit that I consider myself a student of the heroes of the novel by A. Dumas. In my opinion, a real man should be like D'Artagnan and his friends - brave, courageous, fair, honest, devoted to his beliefs and loved ones. I will strive to be at least a little like my favorite characters - real Knights and Heroes.

Belinsky called the 19th century “primarily historical,” meaning the widespread interest in history typical of this century and the reflection of historical events in its literature. This definition is quite applicable to the Fraction, where historical drama and the historical novel began to flourish in the first decades of the 19th century.

French writers carefully studied their country's past, resurrecting paintings from ancient times for a wide variety of purposes.

Vigny, in his novel Saint-Map, elegiacly mourned the “nobility” and “beauty” of feudal-aristocratic forms of life, looking with bitter despondency at the spectacle of modernity, which, in his opinion, was the cemetery of all his hopes.

Hugo in his works combined the burning issues of our time with colorful scenes from past times. His historical novels are imbued with a feeling of deep protest against modern bourgeois social relations. He exposed the selfishness of the bourgeoisie and at the same time called on it to compassion and humanity towards the disadvantaged people.

Merimee spoke with historical novel(“Chronicle of the Times of Charles IX”), whose task was to convince the French reading public that there had never been “good” eras in history; and in the old days, baseness triumphed over noble dreams, but in the writer’s contemporary reality, as he portrays it, the dominance of bourgeois mediocrity was established, which almost completely destroyed hopes for any changes in the social system.

Dumas was very different from his contemporaries, who created outstanding examples of the French historical novel.

He did not strive to be a thinker and never made an attempt to solve certain historical problems - either in relation to the past or in relation to the present.

There is no doubt that many French novelists went through the school of Walter Scott, who enjoyed wide recognition in European countries in the 19th century. Dumas perfectly understood the method of creativity of the English novelist, and his first novel, “Isabella of Bavaria,” was written under the obvious influence of the author of “The Puritans.” Subsequently, when experience and skill were gained, Dumas was critical of the artistic principles of Walter Scott. “Indeed,” he says, “should one begin a novel with something interesting or should it begin with a boring one, should one begin with action or should one begin with preparations, should one talk about characters after one has shown them, or should one show them after one has told them? ? Dumas resolutely affirms the first method, preferring fast-paced action that immediately captivates the reader with unusual adventures, skillfully woven intrigue, and an unexpected plot twist.

The popularity of Dumas's novels, with their picturesque depiction of the past, a motley picture of adventure and struggle, is explained by the fact that they gave the reader a break from the boredom and vulgarity of bourgeois life.

They transported him to the world of bright and effective characters, to the world of unselfish passions, courage and generosity. However, Dumas's ideological limitations led to the fact that his novels did not arouse active protest. They called for complete reconciliation with reality.

Dumas revives in a unique form the tradition of the bourgeois adventure novel of the 17th–18th centuries.

But in the 17th–18th centuries, bourgeois society was just taking shape and moving towards its dominance. It was a different matter in the 19th century. During the years of the July Monarchy, the life of the ruling classes in France received the imprint of bourgeois boredom and sober practicality. Without seeing active, brave, resourceful, attractive heroes in modern life, Dumas searches and finds them in the historical past.

The writer clearly sought to please a wide range of French readers with his novels. On the pages of his works, history loses its epic grandeur, it becomes simple and homely; remote historical events are given against the backdrop of the intimate life of the characters. The writer seeks to show that kings, queens, generals and ministers were also people over whom passions and whims had great power. Such an image was supposed to inspire the mass reader with good-natured optimism in his attitude towards life and towards the “great ones of this world”.

Attaching exceptional importance to the entertaining plot and dramatic tension of the narrative, Dumas used for these purposes the effective method of construction common among contemporary novelists. love affair. The intrigue was complicated by the fact that the hero and heroine belonged to different nations and parties that were in hostile relations with each other.

Thus, a barrier was erected on the path to the triumph of the characters’ feelings, which the novelist skillfully overcomes.

The most popular novel from his series of historical narratives is undoubtedly The Three Musketeers. This novel is characterized by rapidly and rapidly developing intrigue, an optimistic portrayal of life as a continuous activity, an intense dramatic composition, and easy and simple language.

The composition of “The Three Musketeers” was predetermined by the genre of the feuilleton novel, which required the writer not only to complete the chapters, but also their organic connection in the holistic development of the plot. Dumas wrote each chapter of the novel so that its ending served as the beginning of the episode presented in the next chapter. Intended for a wide readership, this novel contained many fascinating events, adventures, descriptions of conspiracies, fights, and complex intrigues that added dramatic tension to the narrative.

Energetic, clear, devoid of archaisms language corresponds to the rapid flow of events, episodes and incidents unfolding in the novel.

Brave and enterprising musketeers, who miraculously intervened in the most important historical events, are persons of the noble rank, they trade their swords, serving the king: they are paid for blood in louis d'or and are provided with a decent allowance. But at the same time, Dumas tries to preserve the features of some kind of chivalry in the appearance and behavior of his heroes, forcing them to go through fire and water for the honor of the French queen, which not every one of them even saw. And yet in the novel they appear as ordinary people who play the roles of servants.

In order not to diminish the greatness of the heroes and to justify their actions in the eyes of the reader, the novelist refers to the mores of that era, which shaped the morality of his heroes. “In those days,” notes Dumas, “the concepts of pride that are common today were not yet in fashion. The nobleman received money from the hands of the king and did not feel humiliated at all. D'Artagnan therefore, without hesitation, put the forty pistoles he had received into his pocket and even poured out expressions of gratitude to His Majesty.'

Assessing the past through the eyes of a bourgeois chronicler, Dumas, in his attempt to bring historical events closer to the level of understanding of the contemporary mass reader, was forced to show the dependence of the destinies of the “great” people of the past on the energy and ingenuity of simple, ignorant people. At the most critical moments, three musketeers always appear, and with them d'Artagnan, who save the honor of the queen and France with their courage.

Dumas makes the arrogant aristocrat Duke of Buckingham move at the news of d'Artagnan's amazing exploits: “Listening to d'Artagnan, who told all this with the greatest simplicity, the duke glanced at him from time to time. young man, as if not believing that such forethought, such courage and devotion could be combined with the appearance of a young man who was barely twenty years old.”

All the “gentlemen”, that is, the noblest persons of France and England, act in the novel as mannequins. They are hung with jewelry, bow politely, perform majestically, at any moment they are ready to die for the love of a beautiful lady, but, in essence, they do nothing, they cannot change anything either in their own or in anyone else’s fate.

Intentionally or not, Dumas in his novel shows that national energy was by no means embodied either in Louis XIII, or in Anne of Austria, or in the nobles of the royal court.

And it so happened that all the interest of the heroic narrative focused on the actions of the brave musketeers, who, although they obediently serve the court, at the same time oppose court morality in their views. The cold arrogance of the nobles in “The Three Musketeers” is contrasted with the generosity and valiant courage of the heroes, in whose minds only occasionally the guess slips in that they, in fact, have to experience a hangover at someone else’s feast.

This, in particular, is evidenced by the worldly sober reasoning of d'Artagnan, who, having avoided mortal danger after a duel with the Count de Wardes, was struck “at the thought of the strangeness of fate, forcing people to destroy each other in the name of the interests of third parties, completely alien to them and often even having no idea about their existence.”

The main characters of the novel always try to act together, as if they drew additional energy from friendly communication with each other. And if any of them happens to receive a reward, it is immediately divided equally among all.

Such an image of the selflessness and spiritual nobility characteristic of the musketeers turned into a kind of reproach directed at the bourgeois society of France, as it emerged after the July Revolution of 1830 and as it was portrayed by the realist writers Balzac and Stendhal.

In the final chapter of the novel, which melodramatically depicts the retribution that befell the villainess Milady, whose numerous crimes almost killed the three musketeers and d'Artagnan, Dumas introduces a significant episode: a man who agrees to cut off Milady's head is offered a bag of gold as a reward; the executioner throws him into the river - he is incorruptible, he does his job not for the sake of money, but in the name of fair retribution.

The Three Musketeers and D'Artagnan act in the novel and perform their exploits in an atmosphere of inexhaustible heroism. This heroism is the natural destiny of those people who are created for tireless activity, the destiny of those who are brave and generous, who value friendship, who are ready to calmly turn away from the pile dishonestly acquired gold. The twenty-first chapter of the first part of the novel tells how the Duke of Buckingham tried to reward d'Artagnan with valuable gifts and how this offended d'Artagnan: “He realized that the duke was looking for a way to force him to accept something from him in a gift, and the thought that he would be paid for the blood of him and his comrades in English gold caused deep disgust in him.”

The trilogy of the Three Musketeers covers a significant period in the history of France - from 1625 to the time when the monarchy of Louis XIV, continuing its aggressive policy, launched a war against Holland in the 70s in order to conquer foreign lands and strengthen its economic and political power in Europe. Having traced the fates of his magnanimous heroes and thoroughly pleased the reader with them extraordinary adventures, the novelist ends his lengthy narrative with a picture of the battle between French troops and Dutch troops. In this battle, d'Artagnan dies, a few minutes before his death he received the rank of Marshal of France.

Dumas had an amazing gift - the ability to captivate the reader. Among the readers of his works were Marx, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Gorky, Mendeleev. In France, connoisseurs of his talent included George Sand, Balzac, and Hugo. The historian Michelet wrote to Dumas: “I love you, I adore you, because you are a phenomenon of nature.”

One can cite Victor Hugo’s enthusiastic review: “Alexandre Dumas is one of those people who can be called the sowers of civilization; it heals and ennobles minds, instilling in them an inexplicable light, bright and strong; it fertilizes the soul and mind of man. It excites the thirst for reading, it loosens human heart and throws seeds at him. He sows French ideas. French ideas contain so much humanity that wherever they penetrate, they bring about progress. This is the source of the enormous popularity of people like Alexandre Dumas” (“Deeds and Speeches”).

Dumas' works were extremely popular in Russia. In the 30s and 40s of the 19th century, translations of his novels and stories were published in various magazines, in particular in Telescope, Library for Reading, and Otechestvennye Zapiski. After Dumas’ drama “Henry III and His Court” was staged at a theater in France, it was translated into Russian and published separate publication. The famous tragedian V. A. Karatygin staged Dumas's plays on the Russian stage in his own translation.

One of the first Russian translators of Dumas was V. G. Belinsky. In 1834, Telescope published Dumas’s works “Revenge” and “Mount Gemmi” translated by Belinsky. In a review of the book “Modern stories of fashionable writers. Collected, translated and published by F. Koni” Belinsky noted the presence of deep poetic thought in Dumas’s story “Masquerade” and wrote about the “powerful and energetic talent” of A. Dumas. True, the great revolutionary democrat subsequently condemned the lightweight nature of some of Dumas’s dramas and novels.

Dumas' shortcomings as a historical novelist are well known and obvious. But the reader should not look for a genuine depiction of historical reality in his novels. In his best works, Dumas remains a magnificent, fascinating storyteller, a master of intrigue and composition, the creator of forever memorable heroic characters, which uniquely, even naively, but still embodies the writer’s belief that a person with a clear mind, will, self-confidence and rightness, honesty and generosity, can and should actively intervene in life, protecting, as far as their strength and understanding, goodness and truth, fighting lies and evil. Dumas is one of those writers whom entire generations begin to read in childhood and re-read until old age. And one must think that such recognition is not given in vain.