Literature lesson summary by V.G. Korolenko. A word about the writer."In bad company"

Topic: V. G. KOROLENKO. "IN BAD SOCIETY."

A word about the writer.

RELATIONSHIPS OF FATHER, SON, DAUGHTER IN THE STORY

Purpose: to introduce the life and work of the writer, a man of extraordinary spiritual beauty, with the main characters of the work; awaken interest in the theme of the story and evoke in students a deep emotional response to the work; consider the role of portraits, landscape, comparisons, the environment in which the characters of the story live, the relationship between Vasya and his father after the death of his mother; reveal the characteristic features of the depiction of the spiritual world of the heroes, the idea of ​​life as a struggle between good and evil, suffering and happiness; encourage an optimistic perception of the world around us.

During the classes

I. Introductory speech about the life and work of V. G. Korolenko (textbook, p. 12).

Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko was born on July 15, 1853. His father was a district judge, a conscientious, honest man who did not know how to bend his soul. My father passed away early. His family and a whole crowd of poor people accompanied him on his last journey. The children of Galaktion Korolenko were left without a livelihood.

V. G. Korolenko graduated from the Rivne gymnasium, entered the Petrovsky Agricultural and Forestry Academy in Moscow, but was expelled for protesting against the actions of his superiors.

Prisons, prisons, exiles become his “universities of life” - these are rewards for his outlook on life. All this does not interfere with his writing; in addition, he manages to learn how to make a shoe and works on the railroad.

In 1885, in the Yakut settlement of Amga, the story “In Bad Society” was written. It was to Yakutsk that the thirty-three-year-old master of the pen was exiled for refusing to swear allegiance to Tsar Alexander III.

Summing up his life, V. G. Korolenko wrote: “Looking back at this episode of my past, I must say that then I acted exactly as my conscience, that is, my nature, demanded it, and the peace that came for me immediately after the decision taken clearly proved that in this respect I was right.”

Answers to questions 1, 2 “Test yourself”, p. 12-13.

II. A word about the work.

Korolenko's story is one of the best works in literature of the 19th century. about friendship between children. Reading the work, you discover the world of relationships between the characters, you understand the importance of mutual understanding in friendship, the value of help, care and support of friends in difficult times, you realize the severity of loneliness.

III. Reading chaptersIand II- “Ruins”, “Me and My Father” (textbook, pp. 13-19).

IV. Analysis of what you read.

Questions:

1. Did you like the work? What episodes were you most excited about? Why?

2. Who is telling the story? In what works have you read the story is told from the point of view of a participant in the events?

3. How does the narrator himself feel about disadvantaged people?

4. Is it possible to say that the author gives a description of the city at the beginning of the story to create a certain mood in the reader? Which one? (Reread the descriptions.)

5. Was old Yakut right when he dispersed the poor, destitute people from the castle?

6. When reading the text, one gets the impression that Vasya sympathizes with the misfortune of humiliated people. What caused the castle to become disgusting to the hero?

8. How can we explain that in the first chapter the author introduces us to Tyburtsy and his family? (Re-read the portrait descriptions of the heroes.)

9. What did the judge and his son think of each other? What were they really like? How do you feel about these characters? Why is there no trust between family members? Is it possible to say that Vasya is alone in his family? Is the father lonely? What leads Vasya to wander?

His father’s difficult experiences and his isolation repel Vasya, the boy withdraws into himself. But from the text it is clear that behind the gloominess, severity, severity there is a crystal clear, honest, unhappy man, depressed by the death of his beloved wife. Vasya’s laughter and cheerfulness cause irritation and hostility in the father towards his son; he is unaware of the boy’s difficult experiences.

Homework: readIII, IVchapters; prepare a third-person retelling of the episodes “In the Chapel” and “Valek and Marusya - Children of the Dungeon,” including a description of nature, as well as portrait descriptions of the characters.

Literature lesson in 5th grade

Summary of a literature lesson in 5th grade based on the work of V.G. Korolenko "In bad company"

Author: Marina Aleksandrovna Pavlycheva, teacher of Russian language and literature, MBOU “secondary school No. 23 with in-depth study of individual subjects,” Dzerzhinsk
annotation: development of a literature lesson for grade 5 on the topic “Life drama of children and adults in the work of V.G. Korolenko "In Bad Society" This material may be useful to teachers and students of secondary schools.

Summary of a literature lesson in grade 5 “Life drama of children and adults in the work of V.G. Korolenko "In a bad society".

Target:
1. Get acquainted with the work, understand why it was written, why it is so important for us.
2. Learn to determine what is in front of us - a story, story or novel.
3. Learn to understand what the author wanted to say to the reader. To do this, we will get acquainted with new definitions for you - landscape, portrait.
Equipment: textbook-reader edited by V.Ya. Korovina, illustrations for the work, workbook.
Lesson type: Combined
Lesson type: mixed
Intrasubject connections: with the history of Russian literature, with literary criticism.
Methods and techniques: reproductive method (teacher's word, reading an article), propaedeutic conversation, heuristic method (analytical conversation, heuristic conversation), creative reading method (commented reading).
During the classes:
I. Organizing time. Marking those present.
II. Introduction to studying a new topic.
Today we are studying a very interesting and important work for you. It is about relationships between people, about empathy, about mutual understanding. We will talk about all this in detail during 2-3 lessons.
III. Revealing the initial impression.
- You have read the work. What is your impression of what you read?
- What did you like about the work?
- Which episodes were especially memorable?
- Which of the characters impressed you? Why?
- What feelings did you experience when reading the work?
IY. Studying a new topic.
- You and I know that literary works are divided into epic, lyric and drama. The lyrics are presented mainly in verse; the lyrics show the inner world of the hero. Drama is basically plays, and plays are meant to be performed on stage. Today we will get acquainted with the epic. But the epic is also divided into 3 varieties (Figure 1).

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- Is Korolenko’s work a story, novella or novel? (the story, since there are 3 main characters - Valek, Marusya and Vasya, is not told about an extended period of time, there are several storylines).
- We determined that this is a story. It tells about the life of a child from a prosperous family and a family of beggars. The intersection of Vasya’s life path and Tyburtsy’s life path leads to their change.
Y. Literary conversation.
- Let's take another look at the topic of the lesson. Are all the words familiar to you?
- How do you understand the word drama? When do they say: “He had a drama”?
- Is drama a difficult event, an experience that causes mental suffering?
- Which words of the topic sound especially scary and why? (Children's dramas.)
- Think about the title of the topic. What do you think is the task we will set for ourselves today? (try to understand what the dramas of adults and dramas of children are, where the beginning of these dramas is).
- Of course, this topic is revealed throughout the entire story, but we will reveal it gradually, step by step, from lesson to lesson.
- Let's briefly describe what the drama of the main characters is? What misfortunes happen to them? (Vasya does not have a mother, he has a misunderstanding with his father.)
- Would Vasya want his father to love him and caress him? Find evidence of this in the text.
- What kind of drama do Valek and Marusya have? (they live in a dungeon, they starve, they also don’t have a mother).
YI. Text analysis.
- Let's see what means the author uses to show us the life dramas of people. Let's turn to the text. Let's see Knyazh - the town. Take your pencils and as you read, highlight key words that describe the city. What keywords can we identify?
- What are your impressions?
- What color predominates in the description of the city?
- What is the main architectural decoration of this city? (just imagine, in Dzerzhinsk decoration is..., and in this city there is a prison).
- Can you imagine what the rest of the city looks like if the prison is a decoration?! Would you like to live there? Why?
- Guys, why do you think the author describes the city this way?
- What is this description of the city and nature called in a work? (scenery).
- Let's write down the definition of landscape in a notebook.
Scenery is an element of a literary work that may include a description of a city, village, or nature.
- Why, before introducing us to the heroes, does the author draw a city in the first chapter? (It adjusts, prepares for perception, enhances the depressing feeling. After reading such a description of the city, we become scared, a premonition of something bad arises).
- When is the landscape gloomy? (Who is the sad person). Let's see if the people in this city are really sad.
- How did the hero feel about the castle in Prince City?
- And when did this attitude change (after people were kicked out). (Figure 2)

Find in the text how people were kicked out of the castle. Who are these people? (beggars are people who do not have housing or work, which means they are starving). These beggars are thrown out in the rain, at night.
- Why don’t they want to leave (because they have nowhere to go, they don’t have a home, it’s very scary to live when people don’t have a home.)
- On whose behalf is the story being told? (from the author-narrator)
- In literature there is a special way of presenting material - the author-narrator. Let's write down the definitions in our notebook.
Narrator- the narrating author is a character in the artistic world.
Narrator- this is a character who is presented as a writer in a work, but at the same time he retains the features of his speech and his thoughts.
- Why does Korolenko take a boy as the author-narrator? (because it is children who are especially sensitive to the cruelty and injustice of the world).
- Let's talk. Have you ever had a situation when you sympathized with poor people and wanted to give them something? What did your parents tell you?
- How does the boy treat beggars (with sympathy, not pity!)?
- Find evidence of this sympathy in the text.
- A special role in the works is played by the description of the appearance of the characters; through this description the author conveys his attitude towards the characters and what is happening.
- What is the name of the description of the hero’s appearance? (portrait). Are you familiar with this concept?
Let's write down another definition.
Portrait- this is one of the means of artistic characterization, depicting the appearance of heroes: their figure, face, clothing, movements, gestures and manners.
- Let's look at the description of the appearance of Marusya and Valek. Find those features that express the hero’s attitude towards Marusa and Valek. (Figure 3)

Topic: V.G. Korolenko “Children of the Dungeon”.

Lesson objectives:
– teach partial analysis of a work of art through the study of text, paintings by Russian artists, and creative works of children; improve the skill of expressive reading, the ability to express one’s thoughts orally and in writing;
– develop integrative qualities of thinking and artistic perception, the ability to analyze, compare, generalize, draw conclusions, develop the emotional and moral sphere of students;

– develop the ability to empathize; improve communication culture.

Lesson type:

Technology: elements of developmental education using information and computer technologies.

Lesson type: lesson - research with elements of discussion.

Equipment : computer, projector.

Didactic materials for the lesson: presentation.

During the classes

I. Organizational moment.

II. Teacher's word.

Guys, today in class we must find out what “bad society” and “dark personalities” are in V.G. Korolenko’s story “Children of the Dungeon”. But first, let’s check whether you know the content of the story well.

Exercise. Mark the numbers of the correct sentences(Slide 3).

    ( + ) The prison was the best architectural decoration of the city.

    (–) The castle became disgusting to the boy, as it had an ominous appearance.

    ( + ) Vasya and his father were separated by the death of Vasya’s mother.

    (–) Vasya and Valek first met in the grove.

    (–) Valek refused to go to visit Vasya because he was afraid of the judge.

    ( + ) Marusya was very different from Sonya.

    (+) Valek was the first to explain to Vasya that his father is a good man.

    (–) When Marusya was hungry, Valek asked Vasya for food for her

    (+) Meat was a rare food for Valek and Marusya.

    (+) Marusya fell ill in the fall.

    (–) Vasya secretly took the doll from Sonya.

    (+) Father understood Vasya after he learned the truth from Tyburtsy.

Now let’s get acquainted with the details of the writer’s biography. Let's start our acquaintance with the work on the portrait of V. G. Korolenko by artist I. E. Repin(Slide 5).

Look carefully at the portrait and try to suggest what the person depicted on it was like, what kind of life he lived. (The artist depicted the pensive, penetrating, slightly sad eyes of the writer, wrinkles on his face, a gray beard, tired hands lying on the armrests. All this suggests that his life was not easy; he, apparently, has seen a lot in his lifetime. He seems strict and kind.)

The soundtrack of the song from the movie “Generals of the Sand Pit” is played.

Why do you think the conversation about Korolenko’s story “Children of the Dungeon” is preceded by such a song?

(The children remember the extraordinary personality of Tyburtsy, thrown out into the street by life, Valek and Marusya, living among the “gray stones,” and also talk about the outcasts, the starving, about their forced kinship. This is what Korolenko’s story is about and this is what the song is about.)

What exactly did this story make you think about? What was the bitterest and saddest thing about it for you? Why?

(A story about Marusya’s illness and death, Vasya’s loneliness in his home, about his longing for a loved one, about the need to love and be loved.)

Teacher: The theme of the disadvantaged and unfortunate worried not only writers, but also many Russian artists, so works of literature and fine art often resonate with each other, complementing each other.

III. View the slideshow “Dark Personalities” from “Bad Society” (Slides 6–13) . The slides are shown against the background of organ music by A. Vivaldi “Adagio”.

These are paintings by Russian artists of the 19th century: V.G. Perov “Sleeping Children”, “Savoyar”, F.S. Zhuravlev “Beggar Children”, P.P. Chistyakov “Beggar Children”, F.A. Bronnikov “Old Beggar” " and others. After viewing the slide show, students answer the teacher's questions:

1. What is the consonance between the paintings of Russian artists in Korolenko’s story?
(The bare beaten feet of sleeping children, the broken shoes of Savoyard, bundles in the hands of beggars, the sad eyes of grandfather Vasily, puddles and cold rain in the painting by V.P. Yakobi, the unhappy faces of little beggars in the canvases of Chistyakov and Zhuravlev.)

2. People like those we saw on the canvases of Russian artists in the city of Knyazhye-Veno, where the events of the story take place, are called “bad society” and “dark personalities.” What is this “bad society”? Who belongs to it? These are “unfortunate dark personalities,” frightened, pitiful,” in rags, barely covering their thin bodies, left without shelter and a piece of bread, tramps and thieves, beggars and bottomless - those who had no place in the dusty small town where the prison is “ the best architectural decoration.” What attitude do these people evoke among the townspeople?
(The townspeople despise and fear these tramps, treat them with “hostile anxiety”; at night they go out into the streets and knock on the fences with sticks, letting the outcasts know that the townsfolk are on guard and will not allow them to steal anything or hide near human habitation The city knew that people were wandering along its streets in the stormy darkness of a rainy night, hungry and cold, shivering and wet, realizing that cruel feelings must be born in the hearts of these people, the city became wary and sent its threats towards these feelings.”)

3. Where do these “dark personalities” live? Why?
(Their refuge became an abandoned castle on the island and a dilapidated chapel “among the decayed crosses and collapsed graves” since “the unfortunate exiles did not find their rut in the city.” Only here, among the ruins, could they find shelter, because only “the old castle was welcoming received and covered the temporarily impoverished scribe and lonely old women and rootless vagabonds.”)

4. Find descriptions of the old castle and chapel. How do they feel? Describe how you imagine them.
(There are “legends and stories about the castle, each more terrible than the other.” Even on clear sunny days, it causes “attacks of panic horror” in children - the black hollows of the long-broken windows looked so scary, a mysterious rustling went through the empty halls; pebbles and plaster, coming off, fell down, awakening a resounding echo...” “And on stormy autumn nights, when the giant poplars swayed and hummed from the wind that came from behind the ponds, horror spread from the old castle and reigned over the entire city.” “At the chapel “here and there the roof collapsed, the walls crumbled, and instead of a booming, high-pitched copper bell, owls began to sing their ominous songs in it at night.”)

IV. Work on illustrations by V. Gluzdov “Old Castle” and V. Kostitsyn “Majestic Decrepit Building” (Slide 16).

1. Guys, based on the description of the old castle and chapel, draw verbal illustrations and compare them with the illustrations of V. Gluzdov and V. Kostitsyn.
(Gluzdov’s illustration is designed in sparse gray-green tones. It seems that we see a gloomy autumn sky, falling low over a dilapidated castle. The sun peeks through the fog, from which comes a feeling of pain rather than joy. Three huge crows bring sadness, hopelessness, anxiety. The old castle in Kostitsyn’s illustration seems to be protruding from the darkness of the night. Gloomy, gloomy, lonely, it produces a frightening and mysterious impression at the same time. It is precisely this kind of building that can be the habitat of “dark personalities.”)

2. What feelings did the castle and chapel evoke in Vasya?
(He always “looked with fear... at that majestic decrepit building,” but when the boy saw how the “pathetic ragamuffins” were expelled from there, the castle became disgusting to him.)
(Slide 17.)

3. Guys, let’s imagine that the walls of the gloomy castle and chapel were able to speak. What could they tell us about the events that took place here, about those who lived there? Will this story sound with sympathy or hostility?
(The walls could tell about the poor people who huddled among them, about their need, suffering, illness; about how they were expelled even from this miserable shelter. This story could sound like with sympathy. This is indicated in the story by the words: “Old the castle cordially received and sheltered everyone...”, and with hostility: “All these poor people tormented the insides of the decrepit building, breaking off the ceilings and floors...”.)

4. Who calls society “bad”, and the people who represent it “dark personalities”? From whose point of view is it “bad”?
(“The townspeople call him “bad” because ragamuffins pose a threat to their well-being and peace.)

5. Is there really anything bad in him and how is this manifested? (Yes, there is. “... These poor people, completely deprived of all means of living since the time of expulsion from the castle, formed a friendly community and were engaged in ... petty theft in the city and the surrounding area.” They are thieves. Taking someone else’s is a sin, a crime.)
– But what pushes the poor to it? (Need, hunger, rejection, it is impossible to earn money by honest work.)

V. Analysis of Chapter V. Valek and Vasya's conversation about rolls.

1. Why can’t Vasya, who firmly knows that “stealing is wrong,” not condemn his new friends and call them “bad”?
(Vasya’s regret for Valek and Marusya intensified and became aggravated, but the attachment did not disappear. The conviction that “it’s not good to steal” remained. But when his imagination painted the animated face of Marusya, licking her greasy fingers, Vasya rejoiced at her joy and Valek’s joy.)

2. Now let’s look at the illustration by V. Gluzdov “Tyburtsy with children”(slide 18). What's at the center of the illustration?
(A piece of roast, on which Tyburtsy’s thoughtful gaze is fixed.)

3. What is his expression?
(It is sad, because Tyburtsy also knows that “stealing is not good,” but cannot calmly look at the hunger of his children, so he commits a crime. Looking at the children devouring the roast, he sadly thinks about their fate: “I am a beggar, and he beggar. I..., and he will steal” The prospect is bleak and inevitable.)

4. How did the artist depict Valek and Marusya?
(The children eat greedily, licking their fingers. It is clear that “a meat dish is an unprecedented luxury for them...).

5. In the foreground of the illustration is Vasya. Why did the artist depict him turning away from the “feast” and with his head bowed?
(Vasya is ashamed of the bad inclinations of his friends, for the stolen food, but he cannot help but sympathize with their misfortune, their life, because they are beggars, they have no home, but Vasya knew that contempt was connected with all this. He felt how From the depths of his soul all the bitterness of contempt rises in him, but he instinctively defended his attachment to this bitter admixture.)

6. Why, in spite of everything, was he unable to cheat on Valek and Marusa?
(Vasya has a kind, sympathetic heart. He watched with suffering the expulsion of “dark personalities” from the castle; and he himself, deprived of love and affection, is able to appreciate and understand the loneliness of the tramps. Having given his heart to the little beggars, sharing their troubles and worries, he has matured.)

VI. Lesson summary.

VII. Reflection (Slide 19) .

Each student is asked to fill out a card and mark themselves.

    Are you satisfied with how the lesson went?

    Did you manage to gain new knowledge?

    Were you active in class?

    Did you manage to show your knowledge?

VIII. Homework (Slide 20) . Three options for written assignments (optional):

    The story of the old chapel walls.

    The story of the old castle walls.

    The story of the old castle.

Topic: V. G. KOROLENKO. "IN BAD SOCIETY."

A word about the writer.

RELATIONSHIPS OF FATHER, SON, DAUGHTER IN THE STORY

Purpose: to introduce the life and work of the writer, a man of extraordinary spiritual beauty, with the main characters of the work; awaken interest in the theme of the story and evoke in students a deep emotional response to the work; consider the role of portraits, landscape, comparisons, the environment in which the characters of the story live, the relationship between Vasya and his father after the death of his mother; reveal the characteristic features of the depiction of the spiritual world of the heroes, the idea of ​​life as a struggle between good and evil, suffering and happiness; encourage an optimistic perception of the world around us.

During the classes

I. Introductory speech about the life and work of V. G. Korolenko (textbook, p. 12). Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko was born on July 15, 1853. His father was a district judge, a conscientious, honest man who did not know how to bend his heart. My father passed away early. His family and a whole crowd of poor people accompanied him on his last journey. The children of Galaktion Korolenko were left without a livelihood.V. G. Korolenko graduated from the Rivne gymnasium, entered the Petrovsky Agricultural and Forestry Academy in Moscow, but was expelled for protesting against the actions of his superiors. His “universities of life” are prisons, prisons, exiles - these are rewards for his views on life. All this does not prevent him from writing; in addition, he manages to learn how to make a shoe and works on the railway. In 1885, in the Yakut settlement of Amga, the story “In Bad Society” was written. It was to Yakutsk that the thirty-three-year-old master of the pen was exiled for refusing to swear allegiance to Tsar Alexander III. Summing up his life, V. G. Korolenko wrote: “Looking back at this episode of my past, I must say that then I acted exactly as this my conscience, that is, my nature, demanded, and the calm that came for me immediately after the decision was made clearly proved that in this respect I was right.” V. G. Korolenko died on December 25, 1921. He was buried in Poltava.

Answers to questions 1, 2 “Test yourself”, p. 12-13.

II. A word about the work.

Korolenko's story is one of the best works in literature of the 19th century. about friendship between children. Reading the work, you discover the world of relationships between the characters, you understand the importance of mutual understanding in friendship, the value of help, care and support of friends in difficult times, you realize the severity of loneliness.

III. Reading chapters I and II - “Ruins”, “Me and My Father” (textbook, pp. 13-19).

IV. Analysis of what you read.

Questions:

1. Did you like the work? What episodes were you most excited about? Why?

2. Who is telling the story? In what works have you read the story is told from the point of view of a participant in the events?

3. How does the narrator himself feel about disadvantaged people?

4. Is it possible to say that the author gives a description of the city at the beginning of the story to create a certain mood in the reader? Which one? (Reread the descriptions.)

5. Was old Yakut right when he dispersed the poor, destitute people from the castle?

6. When reading the text, one gets the impression that Vasya sympathizes with the misfortune of humiliated people. What caused the castle to become disgusting to the hero?

9. What did the judge and his son think of each other? What were they really like? How do you feel about these characters? Why is there no trust between family members? Is it possible to say that Vasya is alone in his family? Is the father lonely? What leads Vasya to wander?

His father’s difficult experiences and his isolation repel Vasya, the boy withdraws into himself. But from the text it is clear that behind the gloominess, severity, severity there is a crystal clear, honest, unhappy man, depressed by the death of his beloved wife. Vasya’s laughter and cheerfulness cause irritation and hostility in the father towards his son; he is unaware of the boy’s difficult experiences.


On the topic: methodological developments, presentations and notes

Fragment of a literature lesson for grade 5 “Vasya’s friendship with Valek and Marusya (based on the story “In Bad Society” by V.G. Korolenko”). Case technologies are used. Section – “Russian literature of the 20th century...

The presentation was compiled for a literature lesson in the 5th grade based on the story by V.G. Korolenko "In Bad Society"....

Summary of the literature lesson "Bad Society and Bad Deeds" (based on the story "In a Bad Society" by V. G. Korolenko)

Subject: literature. Class: 5th grade. Author of teaching materials V.Ya. Korovina, V.P. Zhuravlev, V.I. Korovin Textbook “Literature 5th grade” in 2 parts, publishing house “Prosveshchenie”, 2012. Lesson topic : "...

) is very typical of what was considered "artistic" in the 1880s and 1890s. It is full of emotional poetry and “Turgenev” pictures of nature. The lyrical element today seems somewhat outdated and uninteresting, and we in general would probably prefer his last book, in which he almost completely freed himself from "poetry." But it was precisely this poetry that appealed to the Russian reading public of his era, which revived the cult of Turgenev. Although everyone knew that Korolenko was a radical and revolutionary, all parties accepted him with equal enthusiasm. The party-independent reception given to writers in the 1980s was a sign of the times. Garshin and Korolenko were recognized as classics (lesser, but classics!) before Leskov (who is much larger than them, but was born at a less fortunate time) received even remote recognition.

Portrait of Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko. Artist I. Repin, 1912

Although Korolenko’s poetry has faded over the years, his first works still retain some of their charm. For even this poetry of his rises above the level of “cuteness” in descriptions of the majestic northern nature. The northeast of Siberia, with its vast uninhabited spaces, short polar days and dazzling snowy deserts, lives in all its impressive vastness in his early stories. He masterfully writes atmosphere. Everyone who read it remembers the romantic island with a ruined castle and the tall poplars rustling in the wind in the story In bad company(see the full text of this story on our website).

But Korolenko’s uniqueness lies in the combination of poetry with subtle humor and undying faith in the human soul. Sympathy for people and faith in human kindness are characteristic of the Russian populist; Korolenko's world is a world based on optimism, for man is good by nature, and only the bad living conditions created by despotism and crude selfish capitalism made him what he is - a poor, helpless, absurd, pitiful and irritating creature. In Korolenko's first story - Makar's Dream- there is true poetry, not only in the way the Yakut landscape is written, but, most importantly, in the author’s deepest and ineradicable sympathy for the dark, unenlightened savage, naively selfish and yet carrying within himself a ray of divine light.

Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko. Video

Korolenkov's humor is especially charming. There is absolutely no satirical tricks in it. He is relaxed, natural, and has that lightness in him that is rarely found in Russian authors. Korolenko’s humor is often intertwined with poetry, as in a charming story At night, where children at night, in the bedroom, discuss the fascinating question of where children come from. Yom Kippur, with its amusing Hebrew devil, represents that mixture of humor and fantasy that is so charming in the early stories of Gogol, but Korolenko’s colors are softer, calmer, and, although he does not have an ounce of the creative wealth of his great countryman, he surpasses him in warmth and humanity . The most purely humorous of his stories is Without tongue(1895) - tells the story of three Ukrainian peasants who emigrated to America without knowing a word of any language other than their own. Russian criticism called this story Dickensian, and this is true in the sense that Korolenko, like Dickens, the absurdity of the characters does not prevent the reader from loving them.

Korolenko’s last work is his autobiography, a story about his own life, unusually accurate and truthful, but which, out of some kind of over-scrupulousness, he called the story not of his own, but of his contemporary. It is less poetic than his first works, it is not embellished in any way, but the two main qualities of Korolenkov’s prose are very strong - humor and humanity. We meet there charming pictures of life in semi-Polish Volyn; we see his father, scrupulously honest, but wayward. He recalls his first impressions - the village, the school, the great events he witnessed - the liberation of the peasants and the Polish uprising. He shows us unusually lively figures of eccentrics and originals - perhaps his portraits were better than all others. It is certainly not a sensational book, but it is a delightfully quiet story told by an old man (he was only fifty-five years old when he began it, but something of the “grandfather” in Korolenko’s character was always present) with a lot of time, and he talks with pleasure, reviving the memory of what happened fifty years ago.