Victory and defeat in the novel “Oblomov” and the parable “The Old Man and the Sea. Arguments for an Unified State Exam essay on the topic: Victory and defeat. What does it mean to accept defeat with dignity?

Since the 2014-2015 academic year, the program for the state final certification of schoolchildren has included a final graduation essay. This format differs significantly from the classic exam. The work is of a non-subject nature, relying on the graduate’s knowledge in the field of literature. The essay aims to reveal the examinee’s ability to reason on a given topic and argue his point of view. Mainly, the final essay allows you to assess the level of speech culture of the graduate. For the examination paper, five topics from a closed list are proposed.

1. Introduction
2. Main part - thesis and arguments
3. Conclusion - conclusion

The final essay 2016-2017 requires a volume of 350 words or more.

The time allotted for the examination work is 3 hours 55 minutes.

Topics for the final essay

The questions proposed for consideration are usually addressed to the inner world of a person, personal relationships, psychological characteristics and concepts of universal morality. Thus, the topics of the final essay for the 2016-2017 academic year include the following areas:

1. "Victory and Defeat"

Here are concepts that the examinee will have to reveal in the process of reasoning, turning to examples from the world of literature. In the final essay 2016-2017, the graduate must identify the relationships between these categories based on analysis, construction of logical relationships and application of knowledge of literary works.

One such theme is “Victory and Losing.”

As a rule, works from a school literature course are a large gallery of different images and characters that can be used to write a final essay on the topic “Victory and Defeat.”

• Leo Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace"
• Roman I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons"
• Tale by N.V. Gogol "Taras Bulba"
• Story by M.A. Sholokhov "The Fate of Man"
• Story by A.S. Pushkin "The Captain's Daughter"
• Roman I.A. Goncharov "Oblomov"

Arguments for the theme “Victory and defeat” 2016-2017

• “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy

The theme of victory and defeat itself is present in the war in its most obvious manifestation. War of 1812 - this is one of the largest and most significant events for Russia, during which the national spirit and patriotism of the population, as well as the skill of the Russian high command, were demonstrated. After the council in Fili, the Russian commander M.I. Kutuzov decided to leave Moscow. Thus, it was planned to save the troops and thereby Russia. This decision does not demonstrate defeat in military operations - but on the contrary: it proves the invincibility of the Russian people. After all, after the military, all its residents, representatives of high society and the nobility began to leave the city. The people demonstrated their disobedience to the French by leaving the city to the enemy rather than be under the rule of Bonaparte. Napoleon, who entered the city, did not meet resistance, but saw only burning Moscow, which people had abandoned, and realized not his seemingly victory, but defeat. Defeat from the Russian spirit.

• “Fathers and Sons” by I.S. Turgenev

In the work of I.S. Turgenev, the conflict of generations is manifested, in particular, in the confrontation between the young nihilist Evgeny Bazarov and the nobleman P.P. Kirsanov. Bazarov is a self-confident young man, he boldly judges everything, considering himself a man who made himself with his own work and mind. His opponent Kirsanov led a riotous lifestyle, experienced a lot, felt a lot, loved a secular beauty and thereby gained experience that influenced him. He became more reasonable and mature. In the dispute between Bazarov and Kirsanov, the outward victory of the young man is manifested - he is harsh, but at the same time maintains decency, and the nobleman does not restrain himself, breaking into insults. However, during the duel between the two heroes, the seemingly won victory of the nihilist Bazarov turns into a defeat in the main confrontation.

He meets the love of his life and cannot resist his feelings, nor admit it, because he denied the existence of love. Yes, here Bazarov was defeated. Dying, he realizes that he lived his life denying everything and everyone, and at the same time lost the most important thing.

• "Taras Bulba" N.V. Gogol

In the story by N.V. Gogol can be found as an example of how victory and defeat can be intertwined. The youngest son Andriy, for the sake of love, betrayed his homeland and Cossack honor, going over to the enemy side. His personal victory is that he defended his love by boldly deciding to do this kind of act. However, his betrayal of his father and homeland is unforgivable - and this is his defeat. The story demonstrates one of the most difficult battles - the spiritual struggle of a person with himself. After all, here we cannot talk about victory and defeat, since it is impossible to win without losing on the other side.

Essay example

In life, a person is accompanied by a large number of situations in which he has to resist something or someone. Often, these are some circumstances, specific conditions and a struggle where there are winners and losers. And sometimes these are more complex situations where victory and defeat can be viewed from different points of view.

Let us turn to the treasury of arguments from Russian classical literature - the great work of Leo Tolstoy “War and Peace”. A significant part of the novel consists of military actions during the Patriotic War of 1812, when the entire Russian people stood up to defend the country from the French invaders. The theme of victory and defeat itself is present in the war in its most obvious manifestation. After the council in Fili, the Russian commander M.I. Kutuzov decided to leave Moscow. Thus, it was planned to save the troops and thereby Russia. This decision does not demonstrate defeat in military operations - but on the contrary: it proves the invincibility of the Russian people. After all, after the military, all its residents, representatives of high society and the nobility began to leave the city. The people demonstrated their disobedience to the French by leaving the city to the enemy rather than be under the rule of Bonaparte. Napoleon, who entered the city, did not meet resistance, but saw only burning Moscow, which people had abandoned, and realized not his seemingly victory, but defeat. Defeat from the Russian spirit.

In the story by N.V. Gogol can be found as an example of how victory and defeat can be intertwined. The youngest son Andriy, for the sake of love, betrayed his homeland and the honor of the Cossack army, going over to the enemy side. His personal victory is that he defended his feelings by boldly deciding to do this kind of act. However, his betrayal of his father and homeland is unforgivable - and this is his defeat. The story demonstrates one of the most difficult battles - the spiritual struggle of a person with himself. After all, here we cannot talk about victory and defeat, since it is impossible to win without losing on the other side.

Thus, it is worth saying that victory does not always represent the superiority and confidence that we are accustomed to imagine. And, besides, often victory and defeat go side by side, complementing each other and shaping the characteristics of a person’s personality.

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Everyone has faced personal and professional defeats and major failures in their lives. Those who are considered chronic losers do not get out of this state for years; for others, defeat is an extraordinary event. Some experience such situations extremely painfully, others quickly recover and move on. The ability to accept and competently use a failure, drawing experience and lessons from it for the future, is a very useful skill, psychologists say. But this also needs to be learned.

“And now - disco”

A fresh example of the collapse of hopes, illusions and expectations is the World Cup that ended in Russia. The winners are rejoicing, the losing Croats and their fans are trying to come to terms with the facts. However, the latter’s tears due to the loss quickly gave way to tears of happiness: the very next day after the championship, July 16, Zagreb greeted the silver medalists as winners and heroes, and they themselves behaved exactly like that. Croatia even organized a new competition with France - on the topic of who rejoices more, and tried to at least outdo the enemy in this. The pages of Croatian fans are filled with photographs of celebrations from France and Croatia, designed to show how sadly the French are celebrating and how fun the Croats are.

But in the first minutes after the end of the final match, the Croats were overcome by very contradictory feelings, which they shared with the MIR 24 observer.

“We were unlucky with the first two goals, although it’s hard to say that our team played poorly. They played great, and, I think, better than the French. But we didn't have enough luck. A little more and we would have defeated them. But, in any case, I am very glad that I am in Russia. This is a great experience for me. We also visited Nizhny Novgorod, everything was great,” said Marco (looking saddened, to say the least).

“We are very pleased with this spectacle and the results of our team. We think that we were better than the French and lost undeservedly (one penalty is worth it). But the French turned out to be more effective, they used their chance, but we did not. That's all. The French are younger, but our team is better. And for a small country like we are, this is in any case an excellent result. And we don’t look happy because we are tired - many flew in on the morning of July 15 specifically for the final match, didn’t sleep for 24 hours, and now we have to fly home. Some of our compatriots spent almost a month in Russia, but not everyone could afford it - some had to work. Therefore, in Russia we saw nothing except a bus, an airport and a stadium, which we really liked. I hope that on our next visit – which, no doubt, will take place soon – we will see more,” Damir hopes.

“It was the greatest match for Croatia. Our team played very emotionally, but we were really unlucky. I think there shouldn't have been a penalty. But I am very proud of my country, although I, like everyone else, expected our team to win. One way or another, we saw wonderful football, our team is the best, and the French simply used all their chances wisely,” Davor is sure.

“I don’t want to talk to anyone right now, but I want to cry. I want and I will, don’t take me off,” Jacob was upset. – Some played terribly, but don’t print that. And the weather was terrible, and when we lost, it started to rain. Heaven cried with us. This is true".

“You know what...We lost, yes. I can’t say that we won, no matter what – it didn’t happen. This is terrible, just a nightmare. But personally I am very happy! How is this why! Because I flew to Moscow, because the Croats danced today,” Kreshemin rejoiced with a huge (and obviously not the first) glass of beer in his hand.

Domagoj, the namesake of one of the Croatian national team players, was also both upset and happy at the same time. “But the game was good anyway! We lost - ok, it's over. Now I can’t hang myself on Red Square! Now we're going to have a drink. Where is your club with beer and punk rock?” - he asked.

Luka didn’t know what to say at all. “What can I say! I came for a group of friends, I’m not a fan at all. Well, ours lost, it’s sad, but not the end of the world,” the guest from Croatia noted gloomily.

The “independent referee” – Russian football fan Vladimir – was objective. “The game was interesting, I feel sorry for the Croats, although the French won with dignity. The goals were scored beautifully and very competently, the fight was fair. The French are a serious team, and the Croats are young, let them train further,” he advises.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger"

It all depends on the person’s personal perception of loss, a psychotherapist and coach is sure Alexander Polishchuk: the attitude towards what happened will determine both feelings and further actions. “Either the attitude “I’m bad, I’m a loser, I’ll never succeed, this is not mine” will be reinforced, psychotrauma, or the person will realize: yes, it’s unpleasant, sad, offensive, but this is experience, and experience makes us stronger . Therefore, it is important to learn how to turn any loss into experience. Defeat is not a collapse, not a crime, it is a mistake, and a mistake is equivalent to experience. Therefore, it is already possible to take some positives out of the experience,” he says.

Hence the first rule: find the positives even in defeat, without diminishing the negatives. Defeat must be recognized as a fact, but further analyzed: what useful things can be learned from this situation in terms of further self-improvement.

The second point: a person hopes for the best, strives for the ideal, but in a specific situation he does only what he can. Therefore, there is no point in reproaching yourself after the fact for not being up to the mark: you did exactly what was “best” in this situation. More effectively, having analyzed mistakes, it will be possible to act tomorrow, but not “yesterday”. “Yesterday a person could jump a meter, today or tomorrow – ten. This means that yesterday the limit of his capabilities was exactly this, and no other - he simply could not jump ten meters,” says the expert. So, you shouldn’t blame yourself for this.

The third point is reconciliation with loss. “To be reconciled means to be at peace. Don’t resist, don’t be angry at your loss and yourself, but come to terms with it. Let the couple get out, scream, get angry, and then just accept the fact. It happened, period. But you shouldn’t leave this in limbo - next you need to work on mistakes, think about how to act in such a situation next time, play out the ideal option in your head in order to do better next time,” says Alexander Polishchuk.

But the most important thing is the understanding that life always consists of a series of victories and losses. “Winning is good, but so is losing, in terms of experience and lessons learned. You need to develop stress resistance, the right attitude to the situation, which will help and support, and not kill. The more experienced a person is, the easier it is for him to accept defeat. If a person loses in the first game, it is, of course, difficult for him. If he has hundreds of games and hasn’t always won, then losing should be easier to accept,” the expert believes.

This begs the question: when should you stop? For example, if a person loses 3 times out of a conditional 200 games, this is one situation. If 100 – different. But does it make sense to fight if he has never won?

“Let’s imagine two boxers, one of whom won 20 out of 20 fights, and the second - 20 out of 50. But the second has much more experience, his body is trained to various surprises, and, accordingly, he also has more chances of winning. In terms of experience, quantity is more important than quality. If out of 10 fights all 10 are lost, either it is not yours, or, on the contrary, it is a signal to continue, but only if the person himself likes it. The world knows stories of success that came to a person only after many years of hard work, this happens - although this is, rather, an exception to the rule. But these people did what they liked, they did not force themselves. Such people, even if they lose 10 times out of 10, perceive everything differently because they are playing their favorite game. Loving what you do helps a lot. In this case, the loss is interpreted not as a reason to give up everything, but as an incentive to develop further,” emphasizes the MIR 24 interlocutor.

One way or another, you need to learn to lose from childhood.

“Some people are not used to losing, and it really bothers them. They do not know how to accept loss, they give up every time, they avoid difficulties, look for easy ways, and crave constant approval. Such people will be neither successful nor happy. Or, on the contrary, if a person is a perfectionist, he will demand the maximum from himself and from others, which is also too much. And the reason is common: in childhood they were not taught to lose, to shake hands with an opponent, to go deal with their emotions so that they come out, “dissipate”, and, finally, start working on mistakes,” says the expert.

Athletes in this sense are the standard: they constantly play, experience both victories and defeats, because they enjoy the process itself. “Good athletes often go into business and management - discipline helps, the ability to take yourself “by the scruff of the neck” and move towards the goal, through defeat, through “I don’t want to.” They see the meaning in this - it is necessary, therefore it is necessary. Therefore, it is important to accustom children to sports from an early age, so that, falling and rising, they learn to achieve their goals,” says Alexander Polishchuk.

"I didn't have enough luck"

As for the notorious luck, you shouldn’t rely heavily on this ephemeral phenomenon - nor should you attribute all the events of your life to it.

“Luck or chance may exist, but they are dictated by some cause-and-effect relationships. A person can say that he was unlucky - he didn’t have time for one minute, went the wrong way, turned the wrong way, and so on. But, in fact, the person himself made the decision to delay, to choose a different path, his brain calculated this action based on experience. It happens that a player - a true professional in his field - gets nervous, or his emotional state is lost, and instead of concentrating, he becomes emotionally involved in some other process. I missed, I didn’t do something, I couldn’t. From the outside it seems that, being a professional, he should have managed it - he was just unlucky, but the reason is that his emotional mood was knocked down. That's why professionals train to win in any situation. Even if they are shooting around, they must do their job clearly and evenly. The essence of training is to calculate possible force majeure, to be prepared for endless surprises and options. If a person has played, including training, not 20 times, but a hundred thousand times, his body is more experienced, his brain has a more extensive repertoire of options. So, behind what is commonly called luck and fortune, in fact, hides a colossal amount of work,” the expert noted.

In this sense, the principles are the same in sports, business and personal life. “It doesn’t matter where the loss happened - on the football field, in a career or in personal relationships, you need to recognize the fact and not resist it. Yes, it happened, but it doesn’t mean that I’m bad, worthless and weak. You cannot automatically attribute all these qualities to yourself in case of loss. You need to let yourself cool down, as they say, spend the night with these thoughts, and then mobilize and analyze your mistakes. Understand what advantages there were in this situation, thank yourself for these advantages, for trying, and then, having understood what is necessary for victory, tune in specifically to it,” summed up Alexander Polishchuk.

There is a difference between actually losing and feeling defeated. Don't dwell on events that have already happened, but instead try to focus your attention on what the right thing to do next time in a similar situation. Remind yourself that all bad things will sooner or later remain in the past. Try to let go of what you can no longer change, and do your best to respect people or circumstances that have surpassed you.

Steps

Part 1

Understand your emotions. Think about your experience and try to understand how you feel about it. If you are angry, ask yourself why this is happening. Before you can accept and control your emotions, you must first understand them.

• Think about how you would feel if you had not failed. Compare your two states and understand what remains similar in them.
• Write down your thoughts and feelings. Talk to someone you trust, such as a close friend or family member, about your feelings. Chances are you know how to deal with your emotions, so do your best to manage the situation.

1. Convince yourself. Tell yourself that there is no reason to “feel wrong.” Emotions are not inherently good or bad. They just arise, and it's great if you can accept them. Accept the fact that all your feelings are completely acceptable.

   • Keep in mind that while it is important to be aware of your emotions, it is very unwise to act on some of them (such as anger or self-hatred).

2. Think about the future. You may not be able to prevent personal failure, but you can control how you react to what happens. Take a deep breath and try to be as reasonable as possible. Remind yourself that you cannot change what has already happened. This attitude will allow you to be more insightful and adapt faster, and you will begin to navigate and feel better when similar negative or disastrous situations arise in the future.

   Don't take yourself too seriously. The situation can always get worse. Consider whether there are positive aspects that you did not immediately notice. Try to approach what happened with humor and move on with a smile on your face, even though this may be difficult for you. You can realize that a situation is much funnier or more absurd if you abstract from personal interests.

   Accept defeat. When you fail, your emotions can influence your perspective. Don't dwell on what has already happened and don't let your failures continue to defeat you. You may be bursting with anger, disappointment or resentment: such feelings will only eat you up from the inside. Learn to recognize these emotions, but not cling to them and throw them aside.

   • You may move forward by letting go of negativity, or you may find yourself constantly looking for ways to retaliate. Letting go of failure will free you from it, while the desire for retribution will only bind you even more to failure.
   • Don't judge yourself. Accept that failure is a part of life. People will always face failures, but they all approach them differently.

   Part 2

   Be a worthy competitor

   1. Learn to lose with grace. Show respect for the people and circumstances that have gotten the better of you. Shake your opponent's hand and congratulate him on a job well done. Don't be petty if you lose a fight, debate or competition. You cannot change the outcome with your negative attitude towards the winner. Be polite and accommodating as much as possible.

      • Thank your opponents for their time and congratulate them on their victory. If you lose gracefully, the winner will likely feel uncomfortable about bragging about their accomplishments to you once again. This changes the situation from a winner-loser game to a relationship between two people who respect each other and have enjoyed their time together.

   2. Don't let judgment affect you. Let others judge you for failure. You know who you really are and you don't have to justify yourself to people who don't know you well. Be the center of yourself. Failing with self-esteem will be your greatest victory.

      • People around them should encourage everyone to take part. If they forget about their role, then you should not forget about yours. Be interested in defending your interests.

   3. Don't blame. If you start blaming another person, group of people or circumstances that contributed to your defeat, then you will not be able to fully understand what happened. Blaming yourself will make you unhappy, and you will miss the chance to gain useful experience. Try to look at the situation this way: what happened happened, and no amount of self-flagellation can change it.

      Focus on admiring your opponent rather than focusing on your mistakes. Praise your opponents for their intelligence and effective actions. This position gives you an added advantage, allowing you to adopt effective strategies and work on identifying your weaknesses.

      Admit that you were wrong. If you have lost an argument or made a weak argument, then you can improve your image by accepting the possibility that you were wrong. After all, it is more humiliating to cling to what has already happened than to admit that someone did the right thing.

   Part 3

   Forward movement

   1. Try to take advantage of the current situation. If you can accept failure as a learning experience rather than a disgraceful failure, you will be able to move beyond the current situation and move on. You may have been defeated, but you don't want to be a loser. You are not a loser if you stay on top, learn useful things, and continue to move forward in life with a smile on your face. You have grown above yourself and learned something new. If this is how you perceive each defeat, then each time it will be much easier for you to endure them, and over time you will realize that you have won in something else: in self-education and self-improvement.

      • Try to accept that failure occurs in your life. Ask yourself the reasons for failure; understand what you can learn from the situation; figure out why this happened.
      • Think about the reasons for failure and whether you can do anything about it. Ask if you were subconsciously setting yourself up for failure because you weren't sure what you wanted to achieve was the right goal.

   2. Learn from your mistakes. Remember what happened and learn from it. Analyze the situation objectively. Understand what you can actually do to avoid failure in the future. Focus on perspective.

      • The more you focus on future victories, the better impression you will have of your last loss. Not all champions won their first match. You will do rash things if you cannot accept defeat gracefully. People will definitely notice your inability to handle setbacks like a mature person.

A person cannot win all the time. Each of us loses from time to time, but some hold on with dignity, others become despondent, complain and become disappointed in themselves. Of course, the one who controls himself in any circumstances is right, but what does it mean to “survive defeat with dignity”? How should you behave? I consider these questions to be the most relevant for my generation, because we will soon set out on a long independent voyage, so we need to immediately take the right course. Reefs and storms await everyone, which means we must learn to cope with them and respond to them.

Who can teach this important skill? Of course, classical literature, examples from which we will analyze in order to find out the answer to the question posed. I remember Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov”. The main character lost the battle for a woman's heart to his best friend Stolz. Olga sympathized with Ilya Ilyich, but soon realized that Andrey would be better suited to her in terms of temperament and hobbies. Oblomov tried to overcome himself, change and accept a way of life alien to his nature. However, against nature, human will ultimately turns out to be powerless: everything returns to normal. The hero understands this and does not interfere with the happy union that made him unhappy. He resigned himself to fate, sincerely rejoicing for his friends. Ilya Ilyich did not withdraw into himself and did not plot secret intrigues against Stolz, but still built his own life the way he wanted. He married a thrifty and kind woman, surrendered to his idleness and remained in physical and mental peace until the end of his days. In my opinion, such a delicate reaction and complete absence of destructive ambitions is a worthy defeat, because the loser did not seek pity or revenge: he resigned himself for the sake of general harmony.

As a second example, I would like to cite Hemingway’s work “The Old Man and the Sea.” The main character caught a huge and valuable catch - a swordfish of gigantic size. But he was old and weak, swam too far and could not bring anything back except the skeleton of a sea creature. Along the way, she was gnawed by sharks, almost killing the old man himself. Santiago fought desperately, but what could he do against dangerous predators? Perhaps, the power of the great human spirit, which turned out to be undefeated. Yes, they laughed at his defeat, but many recognized that, despite his advanced age, he was a skilled fisherman and a fellow villager worthy of respect. The old man himself did not kill himself and did not regret, did not boast and did not lie. His reaction was calm and balanced. He equally indifferently listened to praise and condolences, because he suffered defeat only formally, turning it in his favor. Therefore, a worthy loss in the village was considered a victory.

Thus, to survive defeat with dignity means to respond to failure in a balanced manner and, if possible, get out of a problematic situation without humiliating your dignity with complaints. You also need to be able to forgive victory over yourself, since it is not a person’s fault that he turned out to be better or more capable. It is necessary to take into account not only your ambitions, but also the feelings of other people, so that your triumph does not turn into a tragedy for them. To lose with dignity is already half to win.

>Essays based on the work Fathers and Sons

Victory and defeat

The desire to win is inherent in almost every person. Some of us are more competitive, some less. However, everyone needs victories. Every day we defend our views on life and there are always people whose views do not coincide with ours or simply contradict our worldview. In the novel “Fathers and Sons” I. S. Turgenev showed the conflict between the older generation and the younger. In addition, we see how one social layer collides with another and an inevitable confrontation occurs.

The main character of the work is a young medical student Evgeny Bazarov. Together with his friend Arkady Kirsanov, he goes to visit him at the family estate. Arkady, of course, is looking forward to coming home. His only relatives are his father and uncle - Nikolai Petrovich and Pavel Petrovich. The Kirsanovs were brought up on old principles and it is not easy for them to understand the younger generation, although Arkady’s father immediately makes an effort on himself and smoothes out awkward moments in every possible way. Pavel Petrovich, an aristocrat to the core, perceives the arrival of his nephew and his friend differently.

He doesn’t like Evgeny Bazarov at all, who has polar views on life with him. The author does not come to the defense of any particular character. He sees strengths and weaknesses in both young and mature. Kirsanov Sr. spent his entire life on idle festivities and love for a socialite, who later rejected him. To Bazarov, this seems absurd, just like the concept of love itself. He is an outspoken liberal and a nihilist, that is, a person who denies generally accepted social principles.

Pavel Petrovich was once a brilliant officer. Having fallen in love with Princess R. and not receiving reciprocal feelings in return, he lost interest in life. However, having experienced this most important feeling in his life, he got rid of his former arrogance and self-confidence. Bazarov could not afford this. Fate gave him a chance to reform when he brought him together with the famous widow Anna Sergeevna Odintsova. Despite the fact that the young people immediately found many common topics for conversation and experienced something like lightning-fast sympathy, Evgeny decided not to change his rule and not let the feeling of love into his life. Perhaps this was his most important defeat.

Later, when he was already seriously ill and near death, he realized how little attention he paid to his dear and loving parents, what a mistake he made by not accepting Odintsova’s favorable attitude. Even if his feeling remained unrequited, he could learn a lot from this relationship and gain valuable experience. Courage and determination in any struggle are essential. But sometimes excessive self-confidence clouds your eyes and prevents you from correctly assessing the situation. This is exactly what happened to Turgenev’s main character, who passed away young and misunderstood.